My first grown up exposure to blogs was in connection with my role as a Director of Reuters.
There, the context was the potential threat posed by bloggers to our global network of journalists whose ability to break the news has the power to inform and often move markets.
So I took a look at a few blogs whose URLs had passed my way and I was entirely under whelmed. Perhaps unfairly I would classify the ones I studied as the barely coherent ramblings of Maisie from Minnesota. There, with precious little else to occupy her vapid mind, she supported occasionally by her deranged partner would treat the world to a poorly written and self-indulgent chronicle of the minutiae of her daily existence. And that of her cat.
Back then I couldn’t see how an army of unaccredited “citizen” journalists posed any meaningful threat to the world’s most trusted news source and therefore, true to my training, I was at ease dismissing the entire phenomenon.
The problem with my analysis wasn’t its accuracy – I still see quite separate roles for amateur and independent news and commentary versus professional and ‘institutional’ content.
No, even though I pride myself on my strategic vision I adopted what many will recognize as a typical British (some would say IBM) stance – confident and universal dismissal!
To my (now) embarrassment the error that I made was one familiar to many corporate leaders - I failed to extrapolate a fledgling phenomenon and therefore I failed to appreciate its massive potential. A bit like seeing the flaws in the original Compaq luggable PC and so miss out on the revolution sparked by its grandchild - the lightweight laptop.
I am indebted for being brought to my senses by a fellow Director, Silicon Valley veteran and tech supremo - Ed Kozel - who generously bombarded me with evidence of my myopia.
The onslaught continued until my epiphany - the realisation that there was no better way than a blog to share my commentary on how US tech CEOs can take advantage of London's AIM market at a time when the domestic early-stage public markets are closed for business.
It is early days for US companies to set their feet on AIM's soil, partly because so many VCs and Boards are sceptical about AIM's future.
All I can say is, there's nothing wrong with a little healthy scepticism - I'm old enough to remember how negatively Nasdaq was viewed in 1980s, but the antidote is a little education and a healthy dose of vision.
I intend to show that with 11 years of history, 1500+ companies with a combined market cap of $150bn speak louder than any sceptic ever can.
So welcome to AIM4Tech - less Maisie more Ed!
Recent Comments