Breaking all the rules
Despite its youth, the blogging industry has already spawned a set of rules of thumb, two of which are widely considered inviolable:
1) Keep it short—this is a web audience.
2) Combine ("mash up") information from other people. With so much info on the web, you're better off filtering and aggregating than creating.
Fortunately, a new entrant to the blog scene has decided to completely ignore this conventional wisdom (if something so young can be called "conventional"). Marc Andreessen has a bit to brag about: he was the co-founder of Netscape (sold to America Online in 1998 for $4.2 billion; the co-founder of Opsware (formerly Loudcloud), a public software company with an approximately $1 billion market cap; and the co-founder of Ning, a new, private consumer Internet company.
His blog, though, has nothing to do with bragging. His posts are miles long, and they consist almost entirely of original content: topics like a Guide to Startups (parts 1 and 2), the Truth About Venture Capitalists (parts 1, 2 and 3), and How to Hire the Best People You've Ever Worked With. His secret is simple:
He writes about stuff that people want to read.
Not only that, but he writes about it well, and informatively, and from a position of great experience.
Further, he shows in his writing that he is entirely as human as the 99.99% of us who haven't founded multiple billion dollar companies.
Really, though, what does all this have to do with Synapsys? I mean, we're not a web startup, we're not venture capitalists, and we're not based in Silicon Valley.
Still, I think the lessons from Andreessen's blog are highly applicable, not only the ones we can learn from actually reading his posts, but also the ones we can learn from studying how he does it.
So here's what I've learned from him:
1) It's far more fun to read educational material that is well written. If you want people to stay tuned in, write as if you're trying to produce a best-seller. Yes, if you're on the cutting edge of astrophysics and communicating only with other cutting-edge astrophysicists, the text might be a bit more technical—but it should still be fascinating to your target audience.
2) If you have something of value to say, don't worry about how long it takes you to say it—but do try to unfold it so that the reader is making continual progress. In every one of Andreessen's posts, you start learning right at the beginning; it's like getting a doggy treat for doing something right. Sooner than later, it becomes addictive, and the next thing you know you haven't slept for days and your hair has grown past your waist.
3) Don't be afraid to give away knowledge. The stuff in Andreessen's blog is like an MBA on the fly. He's sharing his years of experience as one of the heaviest hitters in the tech world, and my guess is that his fan base has grown exponentially as people like me feel we've gotten to know him.
And the single most important thing I've taken away from him:
4) Substance trumps rules, every time.
I'm sure I'll see lots of other stuff as I continue to read his posts; it's already been well worth the effort.
