gavinshearer.com

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July 18, 2005

Blogging: The First Anniversary

As of last Thursday, the 14th, I've been blogging for one year.

Blogging is writing. And a good blog, like a good story or narrative, needs to know what it's about - who the audience is - in order to sustain itself. (Susan Solomon wrote a bit about this in her recent essay, "Don't Bore Me With Your Blog"; worth a read.)

I felt like my internship experience last summer was a terrific opportunity to launch a blog and get my "topic" or "focus" for free. Hence, the site went live as a "Microsoft MBA Intern" repository - my experiences going to Microsoft, working at Microsoft, and trying to decipher Microsoft. I found myself getting in to the habit of writing, and was also surprised to find that it was somewhat addictive.

Once my internship ended, the blog morphed into a second-year UW MBA thing. And now it's "The Summer Adventures Of A Once And Future (Product) Planner" ... which is about as self-indulgent as you can get, right?

To my mind, the blog has been a very, very good thing. Being a blogger has led to some interesting moments at parties. Case in point: I met Guido at a party at Cintra's about six months ago. He's a big nerd (like me) and we quickly hit it off. So when I was at Cintra's on the 4th of July, Guido came up to me and said, "Man, I've been reading your blog. I know we only met the one time at that dinner party, but I feel like I know you." And from there, we launched into an animated, excellent conversation. (Similarly, Chris Howard and Ben Lower, two incoming UW MBAs (Class of 2007) each looked me up on campus after reading my stuff.)

It's a little unnerving to have people you've just met hit you with, "So, congrats on your half marathon!" or whatever. But it's also interesting, because it tends to start your conversations at a level far beyond the "normal" cocktail party chatter.

But where do we go from here?

Topic-wise, I am planning to restart the Microsoft theme once I return to Planning. Microsoft is an interesting company at an interesting point in history, and Office, as one of its most popular and useful products, is facing a slew of unique challenges and opportunities. Product Planning is at the forefront of dealing with that stuff, and I, for one, am fascinated by the task. I hope that I can share some of the adventure with you all ... or at least, those parts that aren't covered by nondisclosure agreements.

I'm also planning to write more about, as it's been put by a few of my friends, "entrepreneurs that sell out." Microsoft, as a 50,000-person business, is going to require a way of working - of getting things done - that is distinctly different than the "14-person startup" thing I've been doing for my entire career. Again, I'm curious to see the advantages (and disadvantages) of that way of working, and will tease out any insights I can.

I'm hard at work on a new look-and-feel for the site, and will be rolling out some new features and things as my time permits. But, I have to say to you, dear readers - what do you want? Right now, I'm getting about a hundred unique visitors a week, and I'd like to know what you all are looking for.

Let me know!

UPDATE, September 4, 2006: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined.

Posted by Gavin Shearer at July 18, 2005 9:57 PM. Posted to Geek.

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Posted by: marnie at July 19, 2005 12:14 PM

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