Back in the blog saddle.

I'm back!

Now, what to write?

First, it's good to take a week off. I spent a lot of time looking at the blogosphere and listening and learning.

I did a bit of soul searching. Looking at what value I can add here and how much I can do.

First, I can't be the geek aggregator anymore. It was killing me. Too much posting and too little saying anything. So, I'll be more selective in what I post here and what I say.

Second, I don't know if you noticed, but http://blogs.msdn.com has gotten some excellent bloggers in the past few weeks. For those who don't know, that's where Microsoft employees are now being given free blog space. So, you'll see more and more Microsoft employees there.

Brings me to aggregation. I couldn't keep up with that page anyway. There's more than 260 Microsoft bloggers on that page alone (and that doesn't count guys like me or John Porcaro who post on non-Microsoft-owned properties).

So, I'll change, but I'm not quite sure yet how I'll change. But life is boring if you live today the same way you lived yesterday.

One final thing. Dave Winer says I deserve a medal for blogging. No, I don't. Here's why:

I'm totally in control on my blog. If I get fired, it'll be my fault. No one else to blame.

So, who should get the medal? The execs who allow this grand experiment to continue. Why? Cause that really is scary. They allowed other people who they don't really control to put their opinions up for everyone to see. Vic Gundotra in my case, but I keep hearing that the blogging experiment was discussed with a bunch of execs. I know of a couple who were (and remain) skeptical. They are still worried we'll do something to hurt their careers. But, even the naysayers are brave. They let it go on.

So, to those who let the blog experiment continue at Microsoft, my "medal" is for you.

Oh, and you might have noticed that I have a new banner. That's a photo my wife took on our honeymoon. It's of a tree in the high Sierras. Here's a better look at the tree. But it's not just any tree. That tree is a metaphor for standing up against all odds. That tree looks down at Donner Lake. Ever hear of the Donner party? Yeah, that tree has seen snows that completely cover it up. And, just a few feet to the right of that tree is the transcontinental railroad.

[The Scobleizer -- Celebrating the Geek lifestyle]
11:04:23 AM  #  

Casey says he sucks at being an MVP.

Casey Chesnut is a new MVP and says he sucks at it.

Microsoft MVPs are people who've gotten rewarded for being noticed supporting Microsoft's customers online. Used to be only newsgroups, but I've seen a ton of webloggers get added recently (reflects the fact that hundreds of Microsoft employees are reading and writing weblogs). The program has greatly expanded recently (when I was awarded MVP status there were only a couple of hundred MVPs, today there's 2500).

By the way, MVPs are going to be in Redmond the first week of April. That's going to be a lot of fun. 1900 of our most passionate customers all in one room. Steve Ballmer, among other execs, will speak to them.

Someone else asked "how do you get to be an MVP?" Easy. Get noticed by a Microsoft employee. I'm looking for new people to promote to MVP status. If you're a weblogger, it's easy for me to subscribe to you and watch what you do.

Somehow I think Casey will be an MVP for a while.

[The Scobleizer -- Celebrating the Geek lifestyle]
11:04:04 AM  #  

Blogging in business this year's hot topic....

Oh, forgot to say thanks to DL Bryon. I talked with him a few days ago about blogging in business. He's giving a talk at SXSW on that topic and we compared notes since I'm speaking on that topic at Demo. Here's a relevant quote from his latest blog: "We’re on another media convergence of the old and new and I’m not sure where it’s going, but it’s definitely more than just people loving their pets, shilling product, politics, instant pundits, or wardrobe malfunctions." Absolutely!

Lots of interesting in business blogs lately (Fast Company and Business 2.0 have both written about the trend and the K-Log mailing list is covering the topic well). I'm sure that'll be the next thing to get overhyped. But, where there's hype there's sometimes something useful. We'll discover it together.

[The Scobleizer -- Celebrating the Geek lifestyle]
11:03:49 AM  #