Like many others, I regularly read a number of blogs. Reading, for me, is a way to relax after a tough mental effort like coding or a stressful consulting day. I even can't sleep if I do not read something. The written word is the only way to take my mind on a safe path before sleeping. No use to say I want to learn something from reading. Blogs are the main information source on the Internet. In my opinion the blog format is perfectly suited to the Internet use; it must not be as coherent as a book, it is shorter and it may have a touch of personal diary which closes the gap between the author and the reader.

I want to start with Startup and Software Entrepreneurship

Too easy to tell, but this is the place where I learnt that founding a successful MicroISV was possible is Joel On Software http://www.joelonsoftware.com/

Joel Spolsky has been the forerunner of software entrepreneurship blogging. He told the story of his company on-line, giving out some top quality content along the road. Some posts on software development are now classics and should be part of every developer's background. On the site some interesting forums are accessible; their vitality has decreased since when they require registration but a lot of high quality feedback can be accessed by posting there.

The other blog where every post is worth reading twice is A Smart Bear, from Jason Cohen http://blog.asmartbear.com/

Jason, a former software entrepreneur, has the incredible ability to always find something not trivial to say. I've never read something coming from him that wasn't absolutely insightful or eye-opener. A must read for each and every small software entrepreneur.

Penelope Trunk is a compulsive blogger who writes about herself on The Brazen Careerist http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/

She has the awesome ability to draw general conclusions and useful lessons from her personal history. Someway, she manages to be in the middle of something that has a meaning for you. She changes job, and you learn what you should do to get a new job. She's interviewed on TV, and you learn how to manage press releases etc. My wife reads her blog, just to learn about her life; I read her blog to learn about business life. Amazing! Sometimes we even talk about her at dinner!

My friend Peldi Guillizzoni runs his company blog, Balsamiq, telling the story of the business as it progresses http://www.balsamiq.com/blog/

Peldi is amazing, he was able to create a small multinational company (with just 2 employees!) out from his application Mockups. He often blogs about releases and bug fixes but, when he talks about entrepreneurship, he really deserves attention. I learnt from him how the Internet works today.

The last outstanding blogger I want to mention in this post is Eric Sink http://www.ericsink.com/

He's a software company founder with a very clear vision of what the business of software should be. Lately he blogged a lot about source control systems, but older posts on software product marketing are true classics. If you are a bit geeky or you come from a technical area, Eric's blog will effortlessly introduce you to those unknown realms.

In the next post, I'll talk about the Business Intelligence blogs that I regularly follow.