I think there is a huge untapped Market that we just are not thinking about.

Because they are not like us.

Having Dave McClure on the same video is just golden – anyone that knows us both knows we share a lot of the same fucking quirks.  Like using bad language inappropriately

I’ve even got a post on the new site.  But it isn’t my site.  It belongs to the community that builds it.  You can join that community.  Learn how here.

It’s been a blast working on the site.  This is something completely fresh – from the graphics to the design.  The content and the idea behind the site – all new.

My employer, Rackspace, is backing the site.  It is an interesting challenge.  It has been from the day we decided to hire Robert Scoble and Rocky Barbanica.  Interesting because the idea is so unique that it is hard to describe.  A site that has no revenue model.  No marketing message.  It exists to help people use the new Internet to improve their own websites.  Particularly businesses.  If we help a business increase sales 10-15%, perhaps they will hire another employee.  Perhaps the increase in their sales means on of their vendors needs to hire more help.

Perhaps we can help the struggling economy one helpful post at a time.  Who knows?  Since it’s not been done in this way before – nobody knows.  But we have sure busted ass trying to find out!

I encourage you to go look at building43.  I am very proud of what the team has built.  I am proud to have my name associated with it.  And I am very, very happy that Robert and Rocky are with us on this project.  On paper, they work for me – but in actuality, we all work for the same purpose.  We all have a burning desire to build something truly meaningful – something truly helpful.

Let me know what you think!

Rob

I have just accepted a position as Director of Software Development for Mosso.

Mosso is based in San Antonio, and is part of Rackspace.

So, why did I choose Mosso?  From the web site:

We started Mosso because we knew there were web developers who wanted a reliable platform for their applications and email–without being the ones responsible for all the technology.

Basically, Mosso does, on a much larger scale, what I have been doing as a consultant for the last few years – stripping as much of the technology details as possible out of the lives of people that have an idea and/or dream – they want to build the idea, not manage the server, or the databases.  They want to be able to focus on building what they envision.  I’ve helped people focus on that – Mosso lets thousands of people do the same.

That’s what Mosso does.  And more.  And in very cool ways.

Mosso also passed all of my test points:

• I need to build teams.
• I need to work with smart people.
• I need a voice.
• I need responsibility, accountability, AND authority.
• I need the security of a larger company with the atmosphere of a startup.
• I needed a company that is nimble – it can quickly adjust to change, and new ideas.
• My work must have value to me, and to others.
• The impact has to have a large footprint.  I like building big!

So, how did Mosso do on this list?  Extremely well.  I will not be building one team – but several teams.  I have met some of the smartest people – all in one company in downtown San Antonio.

My position is a senior one – I will eventually have a large team – and many of them I will need to hire.  That is important work that is important to the company, and to my new coworkers.  I’ll be allowed to run my teams and do my job – I’ll be helping grow/invent/implement some very cool technology.

The work environment is amazing – we have real humans at Mosso 24/7.  We have developers on call 24/7.  We work 24/7 (so you don’t have to!).  Developers build their own schedules for covering “on call” – they don’t need a “manager” – they are managing quite well right now   So I will focus on improving our processes and hiring more talented people (call me if you are interested – 210-845-4440).

New employees get their choice of computers.  You want a Windows desktop? – no problem.  One monitor, or two?  You want a 17” MacBook Pro (I Do!) – that’s cool as well.  One monitor, or two?  It’s really up to you.  Since we are building computing for the cloud, the systems we personally choose don’t really matter (except for where you feel most productive!).

Like any startup, you have a lot to do – your job description might as well read, “Succeed”.  I like that.  But we’re also backed by Rackspace – a very strong company (and a very cool company to work at in their own right – they’ve won a lot of awards for being a cool place to work).

I first met the Mosso crew when I invited Robert Scoble to come to San Antonio – I was just introduced to a couple of them – I didn’t get a chance to talk to them.  But a few weeks later I looked into what they were doing.  I became a customer.  I was (and am even more so now) impressed.  Those blog posts started a conversation that eventually led to here.  It was not planned.

But I am very pleased to be in an exciting position at Mosso – and am very happy to be part of the Rackspace family.  I am a Racker, and already proud of it

I won’t be able to talk much about what I am doing for a while.  But once I can, I’ll be sure to share my experience with you.

But as I learn more about Mosso, and what my teams look like – I’ll share that with you. 

Because I wouldn’t go to work for a company that didn’t excite me   And challenge me.

This one does.

It has been an amazing four years for me – I have been able to spend time with my kids as required – but mostly I have been able to spend an inordinate amount of time learning.  Ten years ago I learned by reading books – today I learn more by surfing the Internet – it is still reading, but it is so much faster, and so much more available (and “find-able!”.

One of the things my time in consulting has taught me is that I miss people.  I miss the challenge of building teams – not just hiring people, but building functional groups that work well together to build more than any single persons could have done.

So, taking stock of my life, as I am often wanton to do, I asked myself, “What is next”?  In a year I will have two kids in college, and perhaps neither of them left at home.

It was time for me to answer the question, “What does Rob want?”.

So I looked back in my life experiences and tried to zero in on what made me the most happy – what did I love to do so much that I could do it for the rest of my life?  Raising children certainly tops my list – but I can’t raise them forever – in fact, I am already being outsourced in that position – by my children themselves.

Raising children is like building good teams – the end goal is that eventually they won’t need depend on you anymore.

I decided I needed to go back to work with people – preferably young, energetic people, and certainly people smarter than I am.  I have always been lucky in surrounding myself with people smarter than I am (and please – PAUL! – no comments that this should be easy – it isn’t).

This realization came over a several month period – I didn’t wake up one day having come to this “epiphany”.

I missed building teams.  I need to work with smart people.  I MUST work for a company that understands that I am a unique person – I am opinionated, passionate, determined, outspoken, opinionated, and outspoken.  And I am sorry if I repeated myself.  And I am sorry if I repeated myself.

I need a company that doesn’t exist outside of startups – I needed security, because I will have two kids in college.  It must be nimble.  It must be willing to listen, and learn – even as it teaches.  But I also needed the excitement that keeps me engaged.  I need to constantly invent.  I need to work with smart people that will make me smarter.  I needed to be someplace that allows me to make a difference every day.  I needed to build something that affects a lot of people, because after helping build WiFi – it takes a big project to be a “big deal”.

And most of all – I need to be able to help.  My work must have value – to me, and to the people I work with.  And to the customers – who I never shy away from or refuse a conversation with.

In the next day or two I hope to share with you the company that is all of that, and more.  How much more is something I expect to find out soon – and something I hope to grow over time.

But don’t worry – I won’t change my blogging style/habits.  I wouldn’t work for a company that thought they could control my freedom of expression outside the office.

The list of companies I wouldn’t work for is rather large.  So I’ll save you that and instead share with you in the next couple days who I would work for – and I will tell you exactly why I made that choice.

The first time I fell through the ice I was a young teenager – and I drove a snowmobile onto a not-quite-frozen lake.

The second time was courtesy of the US Navy.  I was in Boot Camp in Chicago, IL when I turned 19.  Illinois drinking age was 21.  So the Navy put us on buses and drove us to Wisconsin, where it was legal for us to drink.

And drink we did.

I woke up on Lake Michigan – being pulled off of a piece of floating ice.  I was soaked, and probably wouldn’t have lived had I not been found before nightfall.  I was also very, very drunk.  Again, thank you Uncle Sam.

During the rescue I once again found myself in icy water.  Clinging to yet another rope.

Those were the times I literally fell through the ice.

Figuratively I have fallen through the ice more often – betting on a boss, or a coworker, and having them fail to support you when it counts – that is falling through the ice.

Depending on a team of ex-employees (and now ex-friends) to help build a business is falling through the ice.

An interesting thing happens though – each time I get submerged in the ice I find it more tolerable.  Invigorating, even.

I like walking on thin ice.

And sometimes, when you walk on thin ice, it breaks.  I suggest you get accustomed to the sensation – or you find someplace more solid to walk.

Alltop aggregates RSS feed – "the best of the blogs" but they also sort them by category – and they have a lot of categories.

Today I got a dozen hits from http://life.alltop.com before I wondered what was up.  So I went and looked.  If you scroll down a bit, there is my blog, on the left.

I think the "life" section is probably where my blog belongs – because I talk way more about personal stuff than tech – and when I do talk tech, it’s normally personal!

About an hour later I got an email from Guy Kawasaki telling me they added me to Alltop – a canned email, but that’s cool.

So how did my blog make it?  My Technorati rank is ok – I’ve been in the top 100k often.  My subscribers via FeedBurner isn’t huge – averages 115 people/month.  So how did I get any attention?

I can only guess it was via Twitter.  Depending on who is online and active I may or may not Twit about a new blog post.  If I think it fits the (current) audience, I will.

Twitter gives you a huge voice.  But I’ve found I moderate (usually) what I Twit about depending on who is online, and active.  My Twitter friends online in the daytime are mostly different from those online at 1am.

And I appreciate that Alltop included my blog – it is just another way to make a new connection.

I’ve had these calls before, and even before I picked up the phone, I think I knew I would regret it.

“Yo, you the Internet dude, man?” is the first thing I heard.

Yep – I called this one half right.  Drunk yes.  Genius, no.

It’s another “two drunk guys in a dorm” call.

And they haven’t always been bad.  I have actually talked to a couple of very interesting people who called while drunk with their friends. 

But that is rare.  Normally it is just some drunk guys that think they have found a great way to get women to take their clothes off online – or a “sure thing” Texas Hold’em idea.

Normally I just find these calls funny.  Tonight though these guys were just mean as hell.  To me, to each other.  Unreal.  All that anger could be re-channeled and focused on serious business ideas.  But I doubt these guys ever do that.

They didn’t sound like over-achievers to me.

But they can dial a phone.  And I am sure they weren’t done dialing after talking to me.

A few weeks ago I realized that Robert Scoble will be in Austin, TX for SXSWi. Wow – “Austin is close to San Antonio”, I thought.

Then I went to sleep.

The next day I woke up and thought, “Why not invite Robert to San Antonio”?

The worst thing that could happen is that he would say no.

He didn’t.

Robert is coming to San Antonio at my simple request to “come see what we are building”.

OK.  So Scoble is visiting – I found that I had some work to do – like lining up companies for Robert to meet with!

I’ve spent two weeks explaining to some local tech companies what I am planning, what Robert does (in some cases) and mostly, “Why I am doing this”.

Simply put, I am doing this because San Antonio does a horrible job (my opinion) of highlighting the tech that we invent here. From Wireless Networking, PC Networking, the Personal Computer, Personal Home Networks, and more – it was either invented here, or has deeps roots here.  But nobody seems to realize that.

So I want to fix that misperception.  More importantly, I want people to know what we are building today.

That’s all I want.  I am not making any money off of this whatsoever.  None of the companies I represent will be presenting to Robert.  My interests are pure.

But I still spent most of my day today working out details.  I’ve completed the company list (and if you are a local tech company that I have not talked to please feel free to contact me anyway.  We probably can’t get you into this session, but I plan on doing this again, and again.  With Scoble, if I can get him back again next year.  So call me.  Let’s talk).

So here’s my respect for conference organizers – what you do is like herding wet and feral cats. Everyone has their own agenda.  And that is fine. As long as they respect MY agenda – which is the end-goal -  highlighting San Antonio Tech to Robert Scoble – and through him, to the world

And I’m not even doing this alone – a local company has generously agreed to step up and handle most of the details. I’ll talk more about them, and the other companies Scoble will meet with in a future post – probably after the event.

I can’t imagine how much a conference organizer has to deal with – the different needs/concerns of each company, the demands for details before details are available, the “we will ifs” – an amazingly complex juggling act.

So Kudos to conference organizers everywhere.  You’ve earned my respect over the last couple of weeks!

And more on this as it develops.  But rest assured – Robert and Rocky WILL see some cool stuff, and they will enjoy great Texas hospitality!