CES Confidential: MySpace v. Facebook, YouTube’s Robert Kyncl, Ben Parr

A lot of off-camera and mic and newspaper gossip flying around at the Consumer Electronic’s Show 2012. This is Friday the 13th here in Las Vegas, so I’m sure this day will reveal more interesting items, but for now, here’s what I’ve got.

According to MySpace representatives, the new music oriented MySpace’s platform design will be redone for release in March – just when in March was not said. It’s a new start for the first truly widely successful social media platform, and some of the players involved with MySpace and its partner Panasonic think that MySpace can eventually catch and overtake Facebook in user size. In other words, MySpace could grow to 800 million users.

That’s a tall order, and I wonder if it’s really achievable given MySpace’s current image, or just bravado talk? Time will tell.

YouTube’s Robert Kyncl Party Man

Speaking, or blogging, about bravado, how about YouTube’s Robert Kyncl, VP of content for Google and Global VP Of Content For YouTube giving a great Thursday morning Entertainment Matters Keynote at 10 AM, after staying up and out late, closing down the Entertainment Matters Party at LAVO Nightclub at 2 AM. That means Kyncl probably didn’t get to sleep until 3 AM, and may have got up at 8 AM for the speech.

That means Kyncl got five hours of sleep that night, and still gave a rocking presentation that morning. That makes Robert Kyncl The Man, no question about it.

The Woman at the YouTube presentation was YouTube Partner Michelle Phan, and she wasn’t even there. But her channel by the same name has not only become a hit, it’s now YouTube’s signature example of the company’s content future. But equally important, is that by picking Phan, YouTube presents a person-of-color (Asian) as its face, and gets away from it’s white male teenage (or seemingly teenage) comedy video makers as the representatives of the “best of” the YouTube Partner Program.

As a YouTube Partner who’s pushed for a more diverse presentation of our ranks, this is a great new step in the right direction. If you’ve not seen Ms. Phan’s work (I’m a subscriber to her channel) here’s a look:

Ben Parr And Mashable: The Real Story

The popular view of what happened that led to Ben Parr’s departure from the blog Mashable is that he was ousted after wanting a promotion and was given a $250,000 cash bonus.

My well-placed CES 2012 sources say not so.

What happened was that Parr reportedly made a “critical” mistake in issuing embargoed information that he allegedly could have been the only person to get from someone else at Mashable. That was how it was explained to me. That revelation caused Mashable heads to bring up some other allegations that I will not print, and with all of that, plus Parr’s occasionally prickly way, he was, sadly, gone.

Parr didn’t get $250K because, as my source said, “Mashable doesn’t have $250,000 it can just give to Ben. Mashable’s self-funded, and can’t do that.” So no huge walking money for Ben.

My take on the Ben Parr / Mashable issue is that Ben probably felt he was bulletproof and that Pete Cashmore could not live without him – and at times Parr acted like it and for good reason. Ben built a following. But what Ben has not (yet) done is take his following and set up shop in such a way that it makes money for him online.

Bob Jensen Director, New Media Contracts, SAG Party Guy

I met Bob Jensen, whos’ the Director of New Media Contracts for the Screen Actor’s Guild, at the On Star Party Wednesday night. After talking with some other new friends, Jensen and his fellow SAG staffer William Marshall, said they could get us into the same Entertainment Matters Party at LAVO, that Robert Kyncl was at. My friends and I were skeptical, but we all plowed into the OnStar van anyway, and were taxied over to The Palazzo Hotel.

We had a great time riding over and looking and laughing at my interview of SAG member Josie Goldberg – this one:

But as my two Boston Friends and I poured ourselves out of the van, Bob and William disappeared. Just ran off. My two Boston Friends were not surprised because they didn’t trust Bob anyway; I was fuming. People who do that think you’re not going to see them again, and don’t mind screwing with you for whatever reasons.

Well, Bob was wrong. As usual with people who are not nice to me, they always see me again.

Bob saw me the next evening, and much to his surprise, at the International Web TV Academy Awards. I said to him “Why did you run off.” He said “We didn’t. I was there.” He wasn’t, and I said so. And it was Bob Jensen’s idea for us to go over to LAVO in the first place, not mine.

And rather than come over and ask me how I liked the show, Bob did what a guilty person does: worked to avoid me, even though I didn’t care to talk to him. For what reason, I don’t know or care now, but it’s fun to show that people should always watch how they treat others.

Even in Las Vegas.

Other than that, my long time friend Stuart Guskind committed suicide, and I got the call this morning. Ruined my day in Las Vegas. Here’s Stewie and I talking about the NFL Ticket Issue at the Dallas Super Bowl last year:

We went to a bunch of Super Bowl’s together. Man, I will miss him. I don’t know why he felt ending his life was the thing to do, but it’s not the answer. Stuart Guskind: RIP.

Stay tuned.