This Website

by

Six Months: Checking In, Taking Stock

In the sixth month of keeping this blog, I am taking stock. For anyone thinking of doing something similar, I am enjoying it thoroughly, finding it valuable in exploring thoughts, hopefully sharpening them in the process.  This recent post by Fred Wilson on blogging, and particularly the excerpt below, captures some of the personal joy and value of the effort.

Have a long form blog on a domain that you own and that is permanent. Like Anil Dash says in the comments to Tom’s post, this is about compiling a set of work that is substantial. Anil says:

Based on the past dozen years that I’ve been writing it, I expect that my blog will in some ways be one of the most significant things I create in my life.

I’m 100% with Anil on this. People ask me when I am going to write a book and I laugh at that suggestion. AVC is more than a book will ever be. It is live, it is deep (in terms of total posts), it keeps going, evolving, and ends when I end.

I agree completely.

by

Twitter and takingpitches

Twitter helps create social and professional relationships, according to this interesting post from Chris Dixon, who says he has developed dozens of such relationships since becoming more active on Twitter. I have been in the audience consuming others’ tweets, but while it makes total sense, I didn’t realize the benefit of being more active on Twitter.  I am going to link this blog to Twitter and try this out for myself.

by

The Power of Sifting Through Ideas

I call investing the greatest business in the world because you never have to swing.  You stand at the plate, the pitcher throws you General Motors at 47! U.S. Steel at 39! And nobody calls a strike on you. There’s no penalty except opportunity lost. All day you wait for the pitch you like; then when the fielders are asleep, you step up and hit it. – Warren Buffett

They only need to have one good idea a year to more than pay for themselves. – Peter Thiel