Microsoft hires InfoWorld hack

MICROSOFT has hired respected InfoWorld journalist and author Jon Udell to help fill the hole left by departed blogger and media node Robert Scoble.

Udell drops the bombshell on his podcast here, disclosing that his official job title will be Evangelist.

In the old days, before the internet flood, the name meant bringer of good news and early examples included people like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who would talk about casting your bread on the waters. Today it would appear to involve blogging and casting your blogs and videos on Microsoft sites. That's progress, folks.

Scoble surely caused mayhem through his impression of a loose cannon in what was previously a very tightly PR-managed company but he served a valuable purpose in making behind-the-scenes developments at Microsoft more accessible to the world beyond Redmond. Udell might well be able to pull off the trick without the Scobleizer's histrionics.

Of course, Udell is far from being the first journalist to sign on for Big Green. In fact, Microsoft UK made a series of hires in 1996 from the BBC and elsewhere when it populated its MSN site with original news and other content. µ