My Thoughts: Starting my blog...

Well here I am, officially starting my blog. I actually started this a few weeks ago, but didn’t really understand the point at first. But now I’m starting to get it. Blogs are quite a phenomenon and have hit the Internet with a boatload of steam. Bloggers are the new voice on the Internet and are starting to even spread through the media circles. This election campaign, for example, has really shined a light on the power that bloggers have and how quickly their messages can spread. It was actually bloggers that cracked the whole Dan Rather blotch a few weeks ago – it was a good thing somebody did. ;-)

At any rate, I’ve been thinking about whether or not I should start a blog the last couple of days (a blog that I will contribute to on a regular basis). I’m so busy as it is, yet I’ve seen so many other successful people “doing it,” so I figured I would at least ask around.

I came across a venture capitalist’s blog a few weeks ago. Brad Feld works for Mobius Ventures in Colorado. I ended up subscribing to his blog and found myself reading his posts whenever he updates them. I originally found him because he invested in an RSS company out west and RSS is something I’m paying very close attention to, another reason for starting my blog.

At any rate, I asked Mr. Feld why he started his blog and why he spent so much time updating it, being such a busy VC. Here is what he told me:

1. I love the idea of the “personal essay”. Blogs are a good way to express myself through that medium.

2. It's a great vehicle for people to get to know me better (my interests, perspectives) that’s very low impact on me.

3. It’s good exposure for my companies and the types of things I'm working on.

4. It's personally rewarding to participate in what I think is the beginnings of a new communication phenomenon.

His reasoning made a lot of sense to me. I like all four of them, especially #4. Like Mr. Feld, I believe quite heavily in RSS as a communication medium and in fact, we have big plans here at Excedent with regards to RSS (I can’t tell too much in my blog now).

Mr. Feld also copied some other CEOs in the industry on his response to my email. One wrote back – the CEO of Return Path. This gentleman had recently posted a blog on the exact subject, so I read his posting. I liked his thinking as well.

I really am convinced that blogging and RSS are going to be major forces on the Internet and communications world moving forward. I look forward to joining that world and helping to push it forward.