Amanda Congdon
Encyclopedia
Office Pirates
Office Pirates was a website for young men focused on mainly satirical humor, as it relates to Corporate America, a "daily blend of funny videos, strange news and downloads, rolled up in an office-themed wrapper". The site was under the ownership of Time Inc in New York City, New York. The...
video parody of Rocketboom, Manhattanites were asked, "Coffee or tea?" Congdon's news desk idiosyncrasies — her signature head swivel, "hair flip" and habitual paper tossing — were mocked.
Rocketboom's flexible format allowed her to use a variety of comedic characters, both male and female. Her brother, Andrew Congdon, and her friend Leila Meninski, also appear in some sketches.
Departure from Rocketboom
On 5 July 2006, Congdon released a video statement on her blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, Amanda UnBoomed, announcing her departure from the show. Andrew Baron
Andrew Baron
Andrew Michael Baron is the creator of Rocketboom, Know Your Meme and the video aggregator site, Magma. Baron holds a BA in Philosophy from Bates College and an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design. Baron has taught undergraduate and graduate classes at Parsons and was...
, majority stakeholder of Rocketboom, stated she was leaving the show to "pursue opportunities ... in Hollywood" and Joanne Colan
Joanne Colan
Joanne Colan is the former MTV Europe VJ and former anchor of the vlog Rocketboom. She currently is on Discovery's show "Dean of Invention" alongside Dean Kamen as a correspondent.-Television:...
stepped in as Congdon's replacement.
Congdon states that she was fired. The same day as her announcement, Congdon received an open job offer from Jason Calacanis
Jason Calacanis
Jason McCabe Calacanis is an American Internet entrepreneur and blogger. His first company was part of the dot-com era in New York, and his second venture, Weblogs, Inc., capitalized on the growth of blogs before being sold to AOL....
, the CEO of Weblogs, Inc.
Six days after her departure Congdon was interviewed on MSNBC.
Amanda Across America
Congdon's first endeavor after Rocketboom was AmandaAcrossAmerica.com, a blog based on Congdon's travels through America in a hybridHybrid electric vehicle
A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...
vehicle. The show was produced by "mobile producers" Congdon, Mario Librandi, Rob Librandi, and Emily Golub. Timothy Shey served as stationary producer, and Rudy Jahchan
Rudy Jahchan
Rudy Jahchan is the co-producer and star of popular internet shows Galacticast, A Comicbook Orange, and Kitkast. The primary writer and director of the shows, he also manages the technical aspects such as devising the special effects and developing their websites, and acts alongside his partner and...
developed the web site. The show was hosted by blip.tv
Blip.tv
The website Blip.tv is a platform for web series. The company offers a for the "best in original web series" and also offers a dashboard for producers of original web series to distribute and monetize their productions....
. The journey took a circuitous route with stops in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee, D.C., Missouri, Wisconsin, Arizona and California. The show focused on interviews with activists and bloggers. In Arizona, Congdon's trip across America concluded the week of November 20, 2006, with a Where the Hell is Matt-inspired video.
Television and commercial projects
Congdon was developing a television program for HBO. The program was reported to be a comedy. She was the host of a weekly video podcast for ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and has appeared on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
as a web correspondent.
During her time with ABC, Congdon appeared in a series of vlogs for "American Express' Members Project" and starred in TV ads promoting the activity. In 2007, she "hosted a series of five DuPont infomercials" aimed at promoting various DuPont products and the science behind the products. These "DuPont videos" featured products such as: Nomex, Kevlar, SentryGlas, StormRoom and Hot Hues Custom Finishes. Since she worked on these "infotainmercials" during the same time she was working with ABC News, her involvement with these commercial videos was interpreted by some viewers as a violation of journalistic integrity. Congdon maintained that her "blogger" role at ABC and HBO did not require her to abide by more traditional journalistic ethics.
It was announced September 21, 2007 that her relationship with ABC would not continue at the end of the year.
Current project
As of April 2009, Congdon is working on a video blogging project entitled Sometimesdaily with Mario Librandi which was picked up for mobile distribution in April 2009 by FLO TV. She is co-president of Oxmour Entertainment along with Librandi.Personal life
Congdon and her business partner, Mario Librandi, married in June 2009. Amanda announced that she will keep the name for her professional appearance.She can be seen in a Northstar
Northstar (band)
Northstar was an American band formed in 1997 in Huntsville, Alabama.Since the band's inception, they have had around five guitarists and three different bassists, have been a three-piece, four-piece, and a five-piece. Due to a lack of a dedicated music scene in the Huntsville area, the band...
music video which aired on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
, FUSE
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
, and VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's My Coolest Years
My Coolest Years
My Coolest Years is a television program that aired on VH1 in which actors, musicians, and other celebrities reminisce about their high school years.-Overview:...
.
External links
- Amanda Congdon official site and blog
- Starring Amanda Congdon
- Amanda Across America
- Amanda Unboomed blog (no longer active)
Audio
- NPR's Morning Edition: John Ydstie interview with Amanda Congdon, 11 May 2006
- Podcast of Congdon and Julianne Shepherd discussing vlogging and political issues, 13 August 2005
- Audio interview with Baron and Congdon: The Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
Video