Well-known Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble is leaving the company and the region. I suppose it was only natural that bloggers were the ones to break the news -- even before Scoble was ready for it -- since he lived his life under the blogging microscope.

Scoble is reportedly leaving for a Silicon Valley startup called PodTech.net, a podcasting site that recently received $5.5 million in funding.

People who have talked to Scoble have confirmed it, although Scoble doesn't directly announce the news in his first public comments on the issue:

"This is a rapidly-evolving part of my life. I just made this decision and it got out before I was completely ready to talk about it. I invite you to meet with me at the VLoggerCon tomorrow evening at 3 to 6 p.m. in San Francisco where we'll talk about it further (and I'll post again tomorrow about what's going on in my life and why I made this decision)."