For those of us in the United States, Valentine's Day (Feb 14th) is one of those holidays that you ignore at your own peril, especially if you're in some sort of committed relationship.
It's funny -- the storage blogosphere has grown into a sort of strange committed relationshp.
We all read each other, we all know where everyone is coming from, and we can predict pretty much how each of us will react to different circumstances.
So, without further delay, allow me to offer my best Valentine's Day Wishes to the following storage bloggers!
Chris really isn't a blogger; I see him as half-blogger, half-journalist. Regardless of what category you put him in, he's devastatingly smart, insightful and has very sharp teeth. My kind of guy. Sure, he bites in EMC's direction occasionally, but you can't fault his even-handedness, technical depth and passionate knowledge of the industry.
Chris, you make our little storage world a far better place -- please don't change!
Beth writes for the TechTarget properties (e.g. SearchStorage), but blogs frequently as well. I think Beth does a good job of reading beyond the headlines, and offering up her own intuition on what's really going on. If you're a vendor, I'd suggest not trying to hype Beth -- she'll see right through it and the results won't be pleasant.
Beth, I wish you could find a way to blog full-time -- we need to hear more from you!
I don't know how he produces those videos, or where he finds the time, or how he keeps coming up with new ideas. I'm not really sure how his management feels about all of this. All I know is that he brings a sharp wit and a self-deprecating sense of humor to our little blogging world.
Marc -- don't stop! I love my avatar! Darth Hollis, indeed ...
We need to hear less from vendors, and more from users. I'm hoping Martin is just the beginning in a long list of passionate storage types who are clearly on the customer side. His reactions, perceptions and thoughts are probably reflective of thousands of his compadres who are out there who haven't yet found the time (or the courage!) to blog effectively.
Martin -- thanks for being a trendsetter in our industry. Now, if we had a dozen people like you doing the same, our industry would be a far better place!
I promised myself I wouldn't hand out too many blogging valentines to EMC employees who blog (insert long list here), but Chad is an exception. I thought I did long, detailed posts until Chad got into the game. The best part? They're informative, detailed, very technical, relatively even-handed -- and widely read. And his "can't we all just get along?" philosophy can be downright infectious.
Chad -- more bloggers like you, and we'd move the industry forward fast. Anytime you want to post, I'm reading!
Mike is the leading example that your CEO can be your most effective spokesperson in the blogosphere. He's smart, honest, funny and straightforward. He sets the tone for his company, and provides a bit of inspiration to the rest of us.
Mike -- you're a good guy, best of luck at Pillar!
Steve is one of the few industry consulting types that I really like. Now, I don't agree with everything he says, but he's always has good strong reasons, and he has mastered the skill of disagreeing without being disagreeable.
Steve -- I wish more of us could learn your approach to complex topics and disagreements in the industry!
I don't find too much of what Robin writes about useful in a day-to-day sense, but he deeply appeals to the inner geek that's inside all of us. He's got an extreme technology perspective, researches it well, and serves it up with his unique humor and insight.
Robin -- you're a storage geek's storage geek! Be proud, and keep those insightful technology analyses coming!
Val B. And The NetApp Competitive Blogging Team
Yes, Val (aka "The Human Torch") certainly deserves a blogging valentine -- if nothing else, as a gesture of good sportsmanship. You've taught all of us an entirely new sport: Deathmatch Competitive Blogging. I don't know how effective it is, but people have told me it's certainly entertaining!
Val -- we love you, but we'd really wish you'd switch to decaf!
Finally ...
Certainly we've got some great characters who make all of our lives a little richer in the storage blogging world.
Who do you want to send a blogging valentine to?
Chuck, this is not just a good post; it's excellent. Perhaps because it's technology lite...
I send you my blogging Valentine.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Who would I shout at
If it wasn't for you?
Posted by: Alex McDonald | February 12, 2009 at 01:07 PM
Hi Chuck,
Great post. I'm proud to be in this company, and thanks for finally including a link to my blog when you reference me :)
Ironic little trivia fact here. My full (Russian-inspired) name is Valentin, so in typical egomaniacal fashion (really ... is there any other point to blogging? :-) I often like to coopt this holiday as mine!
See you around on the back hand!
-Valentin.
Posted by: Val Bercovici | February 12, 2009 at 02:46 PM
Thanks Chuck - in the spirit of valentine's day and the post, I love EMC, love my global team, love VMware, and I love my job. It's a match made in heaven, and make me jump out of bed every morning.
Thanks for pushing me to blog!
Chad (Cedomir) Sakac
see Val, we're all 99.5% the same - can't we all just get along? :-) Sakac
Posted by: Chad Sakac | February 12, 2009 at 05:58 PM
/puke
err,
/valentines puke
Posted by: yuck | February 12, 2009 at 10:02 PM
Ah shucks Chuck, I mean .... I love you too :-)
Chris.
Posted by: Chris Mellor | February 13, 2009 at 04:11 AM
Fine be like that, I never liked you either anyway!
Actually in the UK its bad form to send multiple valentines. well at least its bad form if its public that you sent multiple.
BTW Im pretty sure that Valentines Day originated in Europe, so your not the only country where its one of the those days you ignore to your own peril.
Posted by: Nigel | February 14, 2009 at 05:36 AM
The American schools have a strange ritual in grade school -- your teacher tells you to bring a valentine for each member of the class. If you have multiple school-age kids, that's a big project for the parents.
I wasn't quite sure how global the holiday was -- people are telling me it's popular in Japan and the rest of Asia, for example. Don't know about India, though.
-- Chuck
Posted by: Chuck Hollis | February 14, 2009 at 08:45 AM
Hi Chuck,
Great post... Its popular in India also and that too only with youngsters and non committed people.
Thanks for your wishes and wish you the same.
Cheers,
-- V
Posted by: Vijayprasad | February 16, 2009 at 04:40 AM
Chuck -
Although not very timely - I wanted to thank you for your nice Valentine. What strikes me is the civility of your conversation, and the fact that it is rare. Kinda sad. The class you display is refreshing. Some of the comments and responses I see make me laugh out loud - some are predictable, both good and bad. What I don't get is how much energy some people seem to have for their anger and vitriol; it takes a lot out of a person to maintain that kind of negative energy over time. Perhaps this is a sign of my age - I need to focus my energy in a positive direction as there is only so much to go around!
Mike
Posted by: Mike Workman | February 21, 2009 at 01:05 PM