Thinking About Thinking

Some tidbits to end the week:

• Sometimes I think if you want to know what to invest in now – think about what was the rage 7–10 years ago.  We tend to get things way too early in this business (mobile?, nano?, storage?, etc.).
• On the flipside, a friend once told me that the best investment strategy is to build whatever IBM is advertising because they’re usually spot on about what the market wants – but it will take them 7–10 years to get the product right.
• This blog is now available on Kindle.  I decided to try it on a lark and it took <30 seconds to get up.  I wish I could charge $0, but Amazon controls pricing.  The world of digital information still amazes me.  Three weeks ago, I had written zero blog posts.  Now, there are thousands of folks coming to the blog, aided by my twitter followers (thanks!), a distribution channel through Kindle, and healthy organic traffic through Google.  Total cost?  $0.  Old line publishers beware.
• Long live enterprise IT.  With Solarwinds’ IPO (it’s a network management co that has nothing to do with solar or wind), the bidding war for Data Domain (de-duper in the storage space), it’s just a great reminder that while the press likes Web 2.0, there’s tons of money in enterprise IT.  Always has been and always will be.
• I worry that I spend way too much of my waking hours looking at a screen.  From morning until night, I am either looking at a computer screen, Kindle, TV, Blackberry, or iTouch.   Even my meetings with people are often looking at a projection screen.  Some days I think 80%+ of my waking hours are looking at a screen.  And the screens are getting smaller and more luminous.  It can’t be good for me.
• Which makes me wonder whether some time way in the future, property values will soar in regions where there is no broadband, no wireless, no fiber, no cable, etc.  Will the disconnected real estate suddenly become “pristine” because of scarcity?
• What made me happy this week from this blog?  I noticed that folks in the Global VC Blog Directory with only 1 subscriber at the time of the publishing now have 40+ and growing.  If only 40x in the VC business was always that easy.

Have a great weekend!