Robert Scoble adopts mendicant role

Microsoft evangelist, Robert Scoble, is holding out his fedora for a blank check from Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer to make a significant acquisition for the company.

In a “personal note” to MS chiefs ~ broadcast to the world ~ he asks for money to buy a major Web 2.0 property. In return, he promises a “permanent invite to O’Reilly’s Web 2.0 conferences”.

Sorry, I can’t identify what I’m thinking of here, but promise you, it’s a big deal and will help solve some things we aren’t going to solve in Windows Vista, either. Gotta move fast, things are gonna happen at the Web 2.0 conference, next week, that will make the deal harder to make happen (and will make you look less brilliant if you do the deal afterward than before).

Could this be a PR stunt for next week’s conference? Is Scoble moonlighting for Tim O’Reilly? Stay tuned for more action!