Seesmic, a startup that allows users to have video conversations via short video clips they shoot themselves, has fired two of its staff of 20-plus. Valleywag reported the layoffs and theorized that they signal trouble for the company, but CEO Loic Le Meur denies that, arguing that it's a strategic move: While the company had once shot its own content, it is no longer interested in that, and the fired staff were working on that part of the company. Unclear to us: Why Seesmic was shooting its own content in the first place.
In non-layoff news, tomorrow Seesmic will release a mobile client, which will allow users to upload videos from their Nokia phones (more handsets to come, Loic says). And in a few weeks, the company will unveil its site redesign, which is also when they’ll start experimenting with actual revenue. Also unclear to us: What those are.
Seesmic closed a $6 million Series B Round in June, and they’ve raised $12 million to date, a sliver of which came from TechCrunch proprietor Michael Arrington, who uses the software on his site's comment sections. Seesmic has powered video comments on 7,000 blogs, and its 30,000 users have created half a million videos, Le Meur said.
Here's the official word on the layoffs from Rachael Joy, one of two employees Le Meur let go.
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