On Sunday, tech journalist Scott Kirsner's Innovation Economy column (and video) in The Boston Globe looked at blogging by VCs: In venture capitalism, a growing rift over blogs. (In case that doesn't evoke enough tension, the HTML page title is even more pointed: A digital divide: VC's embrace, decry use of blogging.) His thesis:

Some firms blog, and some don't .... an important shift in the way VC firms interact with entrepreneurs.

In favor: Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures.

[Blogging is] a huge benefit to our business. Of course it brings incremental deal flow, but it also filters the deal flow and makes it more targeted and more relevant

Its also a great way to bring needed attention to the companies we invest in

And its a way to do research on new sectors and learn about other companies that compete with our companies

Also in favor: Jeffrey Bussgang of IDG Ventures.

- Definitely less about deal flow and more about transparency and providing accessibility, humanizing the VC process

- Open dialog helps me keep in touch with entrepreneur’s latest issues and hot buttons

- Provides sense of accountability to the entrepreneur community

- Helps me understand social networking, community, blogging, and many other Web 2.0 phenomenon from a practical standpoint as a practioner, not theoretical

(As is common with "old media", the article chops and paraphrases the quotes. The above come from the companion post on Kirsner's Innovation Economy blog. Kudos for providing the full original, and shame on any journalist who doesn't. Also worth noting, a more straightforward title: Why VCs Do (or Don't) Blog.)

Against: Jeff Fagnan of Atlas Venture

It takes a lot of time. We choose to dedicate that time to other outreach and marketing efforts.

Also against: Woody Benson of Prism VentureWorks

Our goal is to share [our experience and intellectual property] in the confines of the meetings that we have with our portfolio companies and potential portfolio companies.

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A quick roundup of reactions:

Fred Wilson replies on his blog ("A VC: Musings of a VC in NYC):

That, to me, is the defining argument for and against blogging. There are those who think the best way to manage your "intellectual property" is to hoard it for yourself. There are others who think that intellectual property should be shared, developed out in the open, and that it will grow exponentially. I am in the latter camp.

Mike Feinstein (who appears at the end of the video) takes the middle ground ("The Fein Line: Thoughts about VC, start-ups, sports, politics, and the world in general")

Blogging doesn't necessarily give you an advantage over those who don't.  But, if you don't blog, you need to figure out what other means you will use to stay connected to the Web community.

Bijan Sabet (see the video for a 2 minute interview) of Spark Capital tells the world Why I blog?

First and foremost, I don't consider myself a "VC blogger". I don't talk about venture capital/business exclusively. Or even most of the time. Those that read/interact with this blog know that. This blog is about me. All of me - work, personal, family, everything.

My blog is about getting my thoughts, observations & interests down on digital ink. But this blog is also about the feedback from you all. The conversation is a big reason why I keep blogging.

Jeff Bussgang ("Seeing Both Sides: VC Perspectives From A Former Entrepreneur") noted that Scott Kirsner Stirs The Pot:

Scott Kirsner is always good for a little controversy.

No word yet from David Beisel of Venrock ("Genuine VC: David Beisel's Perspective on Digital Change"), though he made an indirect appearance as the organizer of the Web Innovators Group (WebInno) event where several of the video interviews took place.

Or from Jim Savage, who is one of several bloggers at the Longworth Venture Partners Blog.

Also on the list of Boston area VC bloggers (in the article or on Kirsner's blog):

• David Aronoff of IDG Ventures: Diary of a GeekVC
• Mike Hirshland of Polaris Venture Partners: VCMike
• Vinit Nijhawan of Key Venture Partners: Serial Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist "A discussion of venture capital, entrepreneurship and innovation with particular focus on US, India and China."
• Simeon Simeonov of Polaris Venture Partners: HighContrast "Innovation & venture capital in the post-broadband era"

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An aside: mainstream media Web sites could learn a thing or two about Web navigation from blogs. For example, neither the column title nor Scott Kirsner's name is a link. Granted the Columnists link isn't too far away -- but when I follow the link from that page to his column, I get a registration wall. Er, no thanks.

While I'm at it, here's one more reason I read blogs over MSM articles: splitting an article across two pages just to double the number of ad impressions is very annoying. Enough already. The short-term boost may seem like easy money, but I'll bet it's a losing strategy in the long run.

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