On Being a CEO Blogger

Many people have written to me because I entitled my blog "CEO Blog". Apparently it's unusual for a CEO to be blogging. Who knew?

My old colleague Jonathan Schwartz over at Sun seems to be one of the other few. I knew Jonathan back in the early 1990's when we were both running software development companies building software for NeXT computers. He sold his (Lighthouse Design) to Sun. I worked with some of the other Lighthouse people (notably Roger Rosner) at Apple more recently; Roger built Apple's Keynote application, a great piece of work. It's amazing how the people of NeXT have quietly been so influential in changing the world. Leo Hourvitz, William Parkhurst, Dan'l Lewin, Mike Slade—there's an ex-NeXTer in the fabric of many of the important innovations in the last decade.

Anyway, being a CEO blogger shouldn't make one a celebrity; having something interesting to say is (hopefully) what blogging is about. Jonathan's blog is always extremely interesting, and he's prolific. I'd think he had a ghost writer if I didn't know better.

I have heard from many customers, and other random people, after starting my blog. It is extremely rewarding, because the dialog is personal, and direct, and thoughtful, because there is an underlying topic (some blog posting or another) that begins the conversation. I like interacting with our customers and those who might some day become customers; it's the best part of my job. I only feel a little guilty that I do it from my keyboard, in my office, instead of actually going out to meet with people.

A public thank you to Jackie Danicki for help and encouragement in my fledgling career as a blogger, and for pointing out some of the positive aspects of being a CEO blogger.