Interview with Top Blogger Biz Stone

Weblogs or "blogs" are the internets answer to keeping a diary. They have progressed from a simple journal format to ways for businesses and organizations to keep in touch. They have become advertisements and press releases. They can serve as a friendly hello or a professional newsletter.

Biz Stone is one of the top bloggers on the internet today with his weblog www.bizstone.com. He is the author of Who Let the Blogs Out? and Blogging. He helped start Xanga -one of the top blogging sites, then spent two years on the Blogger team at Google, and is currently part of Odeo, Inc who also make Twitter.

Biz shares his views on blogging, blog tools and the future of the phenomenon.

>Do you remember the first weblog you ever read?

The first weblog I remember reading was Evan Williams' blog, Evhead.com. Evan was the founder of a company called Pyra which produced group management software that my company, Xanga was using. Pyra switched it's focus to blogging when it launched Blogger.com in 1999.

>Why did you start blogging?

The company I helped start in Manhattan in 1999 began as an online tool for compiling and annotating web sites, cds, books, and events. I actually started blogging by misusing Xanga just to publish my thoughts. When I saw Blogger.com I jokingly set up a blog called "Biz Stone, Genius" just to try it out.

When Evan linked to my blog from his, I had a feeling there was something special in blogging. I knew we had to provide some option in Xanga to allow folks to publish anything and everything. Once we provided "weblogging" tools, Xanga really flourished and became the huge community it is today.

The funny thing is that I kept blogging at the blog I set up with Blogger.com and have been blogging just about every day for the past six years.

>What do you hope people take away from your blog?

My blog is my online persona so I hope people get a sense of my personality, ideas and thoughts and then add their own to the web as well.

>How has your blog changed since it's inception?

In the beginning, I blogged with a few friends in mind thinking they might get a kick out of being able to check the web to find out what I've been up to lately. Then I started blogging a lot about work type stuff that my friends didn't really care so much about. Today, my blog is a mix of both and I use Twitter for short and easy updates about what I'm doing.

>How do you feel about tools like Technorati and Blogsplosion? Are there tools that you wish were available that are not? Which tools do you use?

Back when Evan first linked to my blog I was able to notice it because there were so few blogs you could actually read them all. It was a big deal to get a link from another blogger because it really made you feel like you were part of something. These days, there are so many millions of blogs that services like Technorati are crucial for delivering that sense of community. Even though there are millions of blogs out there, you can still find the two or three linking to yours and read what they are saying.

>Has your blog led to other opportunities?

My blog has lead to amazing opportunities. Because I became such an avid blogger early on I was noticed by an editor named Molly Holzschlag who asked me to write an article about blogging for a magazine called Web Review. After that I began writing monthly articles.

Later, an acquisition editor contacted me about writing a book about blogging. My first book was called "Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content." Having left Xanga and moved out of Manhattan my blog and now my print-writing career helped lend me credibility. When Blogger.com was acquired by Google in 2003 I was invited Evan to join Google as their senior blogger specialist.

>How long does it take to write an entry?

Sometimes I just copy a quote from an article and click "BlogThis!" - a one click browser button provided by Google to make blogging really easy. In that case writing a post takes less than a minute. Other times I have an idea for a post while walking to work or chatting with someone and I'll sit down and write for ten or twenty minutes before posting.

>What was your most memorable entry?

For me, my most memorable entry is a tie between my announcement that I was joining Google (a fake press release style post that got picked up as a real press release!) and my announcement that I was leaving Google so I could continue working with Evan Williams who had left previously.

http://bizstone.com/2003/10/google-acquires-genius-labs.html
http://bizstone.com/2005/09/thank-you-and-good-night.html

>Do you ever get hate mail?

Surprisingly, I don't recall getting hate mail. I do get a lot of questions from people who want blogging advice or help with their blog. Sometimes, people get snippy with me if Blogger is not working right for them but I like to take the time to help them out because I remember how frustrated I was in the beginning when my blog settings were fouled up in some way.

>How often do you update?

These days it's easy to keep your blog updated every day because besides a direct blog post there are ways to hook photo sharing and other services to your blog so that when you post somewhere else it shows up on your blog. Blogging is the base around which people can build an online persona.

>What blogs do you read?

I read a mix of blogs to industry news and to stay in touch with friends. Some of those blogs are TechCrunch, Evhead, Valleywag, Goldtoe, Being Jennifer Garrett, and Scripting News.

http://techcrunch.com
http://evhead.com
http://valleywag.com
http://goldtoe.net
http://www.angelfire.com/grrl/jen_garrett

>Where do you think blogging will be in 10 years?

In ten years blogging will become the future equivalent of email. In ten years everyone will have a persona on the web and the way they keep that persona alive will simply be by having open conversations.

Imagine if all your email were public - every attached photo displayed, every letter of text syndicated and available to everyone around the world. Yes, it sounds crazy and scary now but back channels will emerge for private communication. However, public communication will be preferable for a number of reasons and blogging is the beginning of that.