Is Scoble Ruby Off the Rails?

Fascinating stuff from Scobleizer today. After asking whether he would be as interesting outside Microsoft, he then proceeds to give us 12 reasons why startups shouldn’t buy Microsoft. Sailing close to the wind, or what?

This is getting to be a habit. He’s been reflecting on his position for a while now, dropping huge hints that there’s a hinterland beyond Redmond, Wash. If I were a betting man, I’d say he’s trying to tell us something. More, he’s trying to take us with him into the world of open-source startups. Or Google, perhaps?

Here’s just a flavor of his mood today :

Now, why am I telling you this stuff? After all, I’ve just given you a list of perceived competitive advantages for Linux, Ruby on Rails, MySQL, and others. Isn’t this yet another example of why Scoble should be fired for being negative on his own company?

No.

See, I don’t want uninformed customers. That doesn’t help me. It doesn’t help Microsoft. It doesn’t help the customers. I want you to ask your Microsoft salesperson the tough questions before you buy into any of our new Web stuff. And, I start with the presumption my readers are smart enough to use Google or MSN or Yahoo to find out this information anyway. If you don’t get the right answers from Microsoft when it comes time to consider new Web technologies/methodologies/tools, er, if we don’t answer these points above, then I want you to run to the competition.

Now, a man who can see the opposition’s point of view is on a spiritual journey, whether he knows it or not. The question Scoble must ask himself is whether that’s compatible with a company that says it will use “brute force” to dominate web-based services, while looking for a “more elegant” solution for the longer term? Such musings rarely end with status quo.

Keep telling it like it is, Scoble. If Microsoft’s got any understanding of the world, they’ll sense your tone is totally compatible with the very world they want so much to enter.
[Source: Scobleizer]

Update: Robert Scoble replies to this on Scobleizer : “John Evans thinks I’d leave to go to work for Google. Hmmm, no, I’m quite happy at Microsoft thank you very much!

That said, if I did leave, it wouldn’t be to work for two kids from Stanford. My wife went to Cal. That just wouldn’t go over in the family very well. ;-)”

Well, OK, but I think the wink says it all. ;-)

Update: Further clarification by Scoble : “John (Microsoft Weblog): I am on a spiritual journey, but I’m not leaving Microsoft. The world is about to change, though, you’re right! Microsoft is going to need to change with it. ”