Fred Wilson works at Union Square Ventures.
A few days ago he wrote a blog post titled “blogs we read”.
Quoting from him (bold is mine):
“Blog discovery is still too hard. There are so many great blogs out there and it is still too hard to find them.”
I agree!
Therefore, I decided to write my own list of blogs to follow.
But first… Why these blogs should be important to you?
Well, this time I want to list blogs that are important mostly from a work perspective. If you are into Startups, Technology, Innovation, Cloud (STIC) then these blogs will make a lot of sense. I might write another blog post on “other” types of blogs, such as food blogs and the like.
But for now… This is my golden list of STIC blogs. Yeah, I came up with the acronym. Maybe it will “stick”, maybe not.
The order is meant to be a mix of a proper ranking, and a random list, so don’t think that #1 is necessarily better than #2, etc.
Here they come.
#1: Paul Graham
Tags: #vc, #technology, #business (#vc means Venture Capital)
Paul is one of the most respected entrepreneurs and VCs in technology. He blogs quite rarely, but when he does he writes “essays” that are incredibly inspirational.
My favorite recent post: Be good. (well, not really recent)
#2: Werner Vogels
Tags: #aws, #technology (#aws means Amazon Web Services)
I know our CTO Werner Vogels personally, and I can’t praise him enough. He doesn’t blog often, and he often talks about AWS-specific technologies. However, what’s interesting is that he explains the reasons why a certain technology is interesting, and why a product or service has been designed that way. Given his deep roots in technology and distributed systems, you can guess that it’s really an interesting read.
My favorite recent post: Amazon DynamoDB
#3: Fred Wilson
Tags: #vc, #business, #technology
Fred is a VC based in New York City. This gives him a slightly different perspective on technology, deals and such. He blogs very often, and I sometimes discover new things or startups through his blog.
My favorite recent post: Retaining your employees
#4: Brad Feld
Tags: #vc, #technology
Brad does many things, one of which is being involved with TechStars, one of the most respected technology incubators. Because of this, and many diverse experiences as entrepreneur, investor, technologist, his blog posts are profound and stimulating.
My favorite recent post: The vomit moment
#5: James Hamilton
Tags: #aws, #infrastructure
James is a VP and distinguished engineer at Amazon Web Services. I can’t say much, but in short he’s one of the main guys behind the AWS Infrastructure around the world. His blog has been, for many years, the De Facto reference for innovation in infrastructure and data center design. I personally know him, and can guarantee that he’s super smart, humble, and an amazingly good speaker.
My favorite recent post: I/O performance (no longer) sucks in the Cloud
Bonus: read this if you want to know what an MV Dirona (and just a Dirona) is.
#6: Ben Horowitz
Tags: #vc, #technology
Ben writes long, intense, inspiring blog posts. It’s useful for startuppers, entrepreneurs, or people involved in technology. Highly recommended.
My favorite recent post: One on one (freshly baked!)
#7: Steve Blank
Tags: #vc, #startup
Long-time entrepreneur who is now retired and teaches entrepreneurship. Highly respected.
My favorite recent post: Panic at the pivot
#8: CuteGeek
Tags: #technology, #female (it might be my fault, but it seems there aren’t many STIC blogs written by ladies. I’m sure you know some, please add them in the comments. There are also a few that are not active anymore, such as Jess Lee’s blog)
I read it every once in a while, as I find the content a bit too “shallow”, compared to heavily technical blogs that I follow. However, it’s a good source of inspiration.
My favorite recent post: n.d.
#9: High Scalability
Tags: #multiauthors, #technology
I like that they talk about various challenges that companies face today, especially when scaling BIG. It’s very technical.
My favorite recent post: n.d.
#10: Google official blog
Tags: #multiauthors, #google, #technology
It’s all about Google products and services (which might be a limiting factor if you’re interested in more general discussions), but posts are usually technical and detailed, and they cover topics that are interesting and relevant.
My favorite recent post: n.d.
#11: JP Rangaswami
Tags: #salesforce, #innovation
I met JP Rangaswami in 2009 at a conference, and I was blown away by his ability to inspire, clarify, and stimulate our brains. I started reading his blog, and never stopped. His posts are long, and sometimes tough to follow if you’re just reading your feeds between a bite and a drink. You need to put some effort to keep up… But it’s worth it.
My favorite recent post: Doing by learning
#12: TED blog
Tags: #multiauthors, #innovation, #technology
Everybody knows TED, and following the blog is a great way to keep up with the latest talks, videos, etc.
My favorite recent post: Design a life with intent
#13: Tim Brown
Tags: #design
Tim Brown works at IDEO, one of the companies that I admire the most (they also have a wonderful office here in downtown San Francisco).
Despite being more about design than technology, I often found that his posts have a lot in common with technology.
My favorite recent post: we apologize for the interruption in service
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Well, that’s it for now. It took me a while, but I really hope you’ll like the list and make the most out of it.
Of course, it you have suggestions, just comment below.
Ciao.
Update: it seems that there is a very interesting “female” blog on technology. Let me add it below.
#14: Rashmi Sinha
Tags: #technology, #female
Rashmi is the Co-founder of Slideshare.com.
My favorite recent post: n.d.