| Amanda Thornton Congdon | |
|---|---|
Amanda Congdon promo shot |
|
| Born | August 4, 1981 New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Video blogging |
| Notable works | Rocketboom |
| Spouse | Mario Francesco Librandi |
| Website | |
| http://amandacongdon.com/ | |
Amanda Congdon (born August 4,[1] 1981 in New York City) is a video blogger. She began her on-screen career as the first anchor of the online daily news show, Rocketboom, which she hosted and produced until 23 June 2006. She was also the host and co-producer of a weekly vidcast for ABC until September 2007.[2] She remains the co-owner (49%) of Rocketboom, but a dispute between her and the 51% shareholder Andrew Baron has resulted in her no longer hosting or producing the show. Later, she was the co-executive producer of JETSET (now EPIC FU) for the first several episodes of the show.[3] Presently, she has an independent videoblog, Sometimesdaily.
Congdon was born and raised in Manhattan and graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University.[4] After graduating, she took a job at Saatchi & Saatchi, an advertising agency.[5] She had leading roles in Waafrika (Red Room Theater), Independence (Manhattan Theatre Source, and during the second season, appeared as the coat check attendant on Rocco's The Restaurant.[5] She has appeared on CSI, The Chris Rock Show, a Showtime pilot, and Cake Presents.[4]
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Congdon began as Rocketboom's anchor with the show's 26 October 2004 debut.
The show went from an initial 700 viewers in 2004 to 70,000 viewers in the first ten months. The show's success was noted by CBS Evening News, Wired, the Associated Press. BusinessWeek labeled it "the most popular site of its kind on the Net".[6] More viewers visited Rocketboom after a 11 June 2006 interview with Congdon on CNN.[7] The following day, ABC News described her usual approach:
| “ | Congdon sits behind the news desk, in front of a world map, as if she's going to report hard-hitting news, but when she starts talking, she is everything but a typical news anchor: Her eyes pop with expression, her content is quirky, and her hand gestures animated.[8] | ” |
Rocketboom's audience continued to increase, going from 100,000 vlog viewers at the end of 2005 to 300,000 by the spring of 2006. Congdon's catapult to fame was noted in the media. Brad Stone, writing in Newsweek, commented:
| “ | It helps, of course, to have talent and some youthful, Web-savvy insouciance. Amanda Congdon has both, and her daily videocast, Rocketboom, is another breakout Web hit. Congdon, 24, was a struggling actress in late 2004 when she answered an Internet ad by Web entrepreneur Andrew Michael Baron, who was looking to start a newsy Webcast. Today their three-minute episodes, starring and co-written by Congdon, riff off things ranging from White House scandals to the new Web-browser wars. "One of the best pieces of advice I ever received from an acting coach was to go out there and create your own vehicle," she says. "The Internet allows you to do that."[9] | ” |
Congdon sometimes went on the road. One episode showed her dancing in various locations throughout St. Petersburg, Russia. She has performed her frenetic signature dance in the streets and parks of Austin and other cities. In the 15 April 2005 episode, she stood in Washington Square Park and posed the question "Mac or PC?" to anyone walking by.[10] Eight months later, she returned to the same spot to ask, "Internet Explorer or Firefox?"[11] In an Office Pirates 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.[12]
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.
On 5 July 2006, Congdon released a video statement on her blog, Amanda UnBoomed, announcing her departure from the show.[13] Andrew Baron, majority stakeholder of Rocketboom, stated she was leaving the show to "pursue opportunities ... in Hollywood"[14] and Joanne Colan stepped in as Congdon's replacement.
Congdon states that she was fired.[15][16] The same day as her announcement, Congdon received an open job offer from Jason Calacanis, the CEO of Weblogs, Inc.[17]
Six days after her departure Congdon was interviewed on MSNBC.[18]
Congdon's first endeavor after Rocketboom was AmandaAcrossAmerica.com, a blog based on Congdon's travels through America in a hybrid 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 developed the web site.[19] The show was hosted by blip.tv.[20] 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.[21]
Congdon was developing a television program for HBO.[22] The program was reported to be a comedy.[23] She was the host of a weekly video podcast for ABC[24] and has appeared on Good Morning America as a web correspondent.[22]
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.[25]
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.[26] She is co-president of Oxmour Entertainment along with Librandi.
Congdon and her business partner, Mario Francesco Librandi, married in June 2009 at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City.[27] She has announced publicly that she will retain her given birth name and continue to be known professionally as Amanda Congdon.
She can be seen in a Northstar music video which aired on MTV2, FUSE, and VH1's My Coolest Years.[4] She promotes a plant-based vegan diet,[28] which she follows and credits for curing her heart condition around 2010,[29] and cofounded with her husband (in February 2011) Vegan Mario's Organic Kitchen in Oak View, California.[30] Mario Librandi's parents own the Meeting Place, a family restaurant in Seymour, Connecticut, where he had been reared.[27] She also studies nutrition online through Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.[29]
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