Fred Wilson is a venture capitalist at Union Square Ventures in New York but he is my main source – besides Pandora – for discovering great new indie music and buried old Dylan video clips. In A VC, Wilson follows his bliss and I, along with thousands of others, am happy to follow along.

This is not a corporate blog like Blogs We Love #1 *Marriott on the move* – it is a personal shared journal full of life experiences, photos of his daughters playing basketball, and wonderful anecdotes about business. I learn a lot from Wilson about the monetization of blogs, social media, new tech gadgetry, and the companies he is excited by and investing in. Wilson’s intellectual curiosity is infectious. I did not understand that flickr is the seminal web 2.0 service until I read Wilson’s post and the 24 comments that expanded on his theme. He’s the kind of guy you would like to hang out with to talk family, sports, music, and the next big thing.

A friend emailed me a link to this performance of North Country Girl and I thought I’d share it with all of you. You’ll have to fast forward to 5:00 mins into the video. But when you do, you’ll see Johnny and Bob singing a duet live during Johnny (Cash)’s first TV show in July 1969. This duet was taped at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium. – A VC blog post

There is no design to speak of in A VC but there are plenty of widgets on display, gadgets being discussed, videos being shared, and useful intelligence bandied about. It’s a fun, nice way to learn – and it feels like a real community.
 

There are so many junk blogs out there full of irrelevant information, pointless jabber and wanton foolishness that you want to scream: stop the insanity! And then you run across a blog that make absolute sense and is truly representative of the power and and reach and beauty of communication through the Internet. When you do you have to bow down and say I Love That Blog. And then you want to say, in the spirit of St. Valentine’s Day, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  Bill Marriott – you are one cool dude. Number one on this occasionally expanding list of blogs we love: Marriott on the move 

If there is a better travel and tourism or corporate executive blog out there now we’d like to see it. In his first post, January 16, 2007, Bill (you don’t mind if I call you Bill, Mr. Marriott?) admits that he knows little of computers, less of blogs, and he was virtually coerced by his PR people to do this thing we call blogging. Well, his PR people deserve an award, or at least recognition and praise. Bill Marriott doing pilates? Bill Marriott that globe trotting glad handing whirlwind of positive reinforcement, brand ambassador for the weary, the downtrodden seeking comfort and familiarity. Bill delivers. 

“You can’t fake a smile,” Bill Marriott writes … and says … on a recent post. Great touch, the audio clip. Bill soothing, you can almost hear him smiling, like relaxing in a clean, modern, and trustworthy hotel. So, what’s so great about this blog, or as the Yiddishim might say, why is this blog different from every other blog? Here, we attempt to deconstruct answers to that Biblical question. 

Purpose- Bill Marriott is on a journey and he is taking you with him. He’s traveling around the world, the Marriott world. It’s like a plot in a novel. Without it you’re all messy in the head.

Voice - Folksy, natural, simple, sincere, Bill Marriott’s voice is authentic. He’s even cool. He tries pilates. He’s in Islamabad and compelled to reflect on terrorism. He starts a sentence with Gosh …

I’m venturing into uncharted territory as I launch this blog. A year ago, I didn’t even know what a blog was — until my Communications team began telling me about all the blog traffic on travel and tourism. Now I know this is where the action is if you want to talk to your customers directly — and hear back from them. Soon we’ll add an audio version of the blog. That’s how I’m most comfortable: telling stories and listening. – Marriott on the Move inaugural post

Substance – You must say something, have a position, take a stand, acknowledge reality. Bill helps his employees with learning programs. He contributes to the Hispanic College Fund and the United Negro College Fund. He supports and promotes diversity. He took some heat for the Marriott policy of banning smoking in all their rooms. So he addressed the issue head on. Bill responds.

Design – Clean, spare, nice, simple color palette, a graphic with each post. The first thing you see is Bill’s smiling face. Makes me want to run to a Marriott and have a nice nap.

Technology – Nothing fancy or particularly forward-thinking but the audio clip really makes it. 

Billy Marriott, wild man So I got with a Pilates instructor at Harbor Beach, and I did five courses of Pilates while I was down there, and I loved it. I never felt better. It stretched me out, and I think I grew a half an inch! All I did was stretch and move back and forth on a little roller seat. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and the instructor was terrific. So, any of you who are losing an inch and want to stand up straight and look virile and healthy, get this Pilates thing going for you. January 24, 2007

(Disclaimer – I have no professional or personal affiliation with Bill Marriott or the Marriott organization. I did have coffee in a Marriott Courtyard once)