Understanding new areas

I find that while I subscribe to a large number of newsfeeds, there are only six or seven that I make sure I check every day. These feeds enjoy a special “A list” category in my feed organizer, and I’ve actually added two of them to my Google homepage.

What strikes me about these blogs, however, is that they focus on niches I don’t know much about.

Probably my favorite and most avidly read blog is TheFerrett. I know this because when I or my friends say “TheFerrett said…,” we don’t look at each other like Dr. Doolittle wandered unexpectedly into the room. An excellent writer and web designer, he writes about politics, writing, and coding. When I started reading him (about two years ago), I didn’t know much about politics or coding, and “writing” for me consisted mostly of puking up Jane Schaeffer.

Another one of my favorite blogs, one that I just started reading at the beginning of the summer, is the Venture Capitalist Fred Wilson, who writes about a mix of his family, the internet, and venture capitalism. On the big list of “things I don’t understand,” Venture Capitalism is pretty damn near the top. Until a month ago, I didn’t even know what, precicely, a VC did.

I suppose that if I had to label the theme of my own blog it would be largely “technology.” So I wonder how many people are going to end up listing me in their readers as their little window into the world of technology and gadgets---because the amazing thing about reading a blog is that you get both a window into a world that interests you and a friend. It’s like having that go-to guy for each of those areas you’d like to know more about but just don’t have the time or energy to find out yourself.