Why I write about what I write about (including politics)

Here is my philosophy on what I share in this space.

I am a curious, thinking, analytical person. My background as a startup executive and analyst has given me skills I can use to think about things that matter in business. My experience and as author and editor has taught me insights about writing and books. My training in mathematics and statistics has given me tools for deeper quantitative analysis.

Most of what I do now is write, ghostwrite, edit, and help authors with books. That means that nearly every day I have new insights about writing and books that I think will help my readers. So I write about them. If you were to look over my shoulder during the day and watch me dealing regularly with strange absurdities of the publishing industry, you’d probably say, “I bet he’ll write about that” . . . and you’d be correct.

Because I am curious, I observe what is going on in the world. I have four decades of experience with analyzing technology trends, the media industry, and social media companies, so I may be able to see things that are not obvious to people without that experience. When I see those things, I write about them, just as I would have if I were still a technology analyst.

We are all drenched in political news all day long, and that firehose of news has increased lately. I have no special aptitude for political analysis, but I still have all the analytical tools I developed in the rest of my career. So I think about politics a lot. In my writing about politics, my goal is not to write from an “our side is good, their side is bad” perspective — neither cheerleading nor horror are going to add anything new to the dialogue. And I’m not reporting or repeating the news, that’s the media’s job. However, if I see patterns that others might not have noticed, I’m certainly going to write about it. My objective is not to persuade, but to contribute insights.

I occasionally write about my own personal experiences and history, if I think you’ll find it interesting or entertaining. And every once in a while I write to promote my business. I do have to make a living.

About you, the audience

If you are a writer or a thoughtful person (or both), my hope is that what I write will help you.

If you are curious person about the world around you, my hope is that what I write will make you think a little more deeply.

This blog is a big buffet of content. There is no requirement that you consume everything on offer. My writing philosophy demands that the title and and first few sentences will tell you every day what you’re going to read. If that doesn’t interest you, skip it. There will be more tomorrow.

If my writing about politics offends you, you are very easily offended. If reading insights — not screeds or attempts to persuade, but insights — makes you angry, your mind is closed. This blog is for people with open minds. Feel free to unsubscribe if that doesn’t describe you, because otherwise, you’ll get offended on a regular basis.

Feel free to contribute to the dialogue in the comments, whether you agree with me or not. We all learn from intelligent dialogue. However, if you respond to reasoned analysis with insults, I’ll delete your comment and block you, because that’s not what this space is for. And make no mistake: this is my space, and I make the rules.

If, however, getting to think a bit more every day sounds good to you, I welcome you and hope I can continue to help and entertain you.

Talk to you tomorrow.