Bob Parsons, the founder and president of GoDaddy.com, has a blog. There are at least five reasons why this is guy interesting.
First, I know everybody has a blog these days, but I’m still surprised when I see an executive of any sizeable corporation blogging (without a ghost writer). Today, an executive identity and opinion that is separate from a meticulously-crafted corporate message feels strangely out of place (not that I mind).
Second, Bob has unconventional opinions. When most technology companies are trying to find ways to cut costs through offshoring, he posts a contrarian view:
I can tell you right now, Go Daddy is simply not interested in moving its operations offshore.
Bob seems to (rightly) regard software engineering as a source of competitive advantage, rather than an short-term expense that should be minimized regardless of long-term consequence.
Third, there’s the controversy around Go Daddy’s Super Bowl commercials. Conventional wisdom is that a little-known dot com should not purchase a spot in the Super Bowl. That was conventional wisdom circa 2001. But the commercials were a big success for Go Daddy.
Fourth, there are lots of programmers who spout opinions in blogs. Not all of them have created software companies with $100,000,000 in annual revenue.
Fifth and finally, he has rules to live by — sixteen of them.