I love blogs.

Reading a lively and intelligent blog is like hitting an A-list party full of brilliant, stimulating people, and finding yourself able to eavesdrop on all the conversations at once. It's like sitting around a campfire, sharing tall tales and true. And it's a marketplace of ideas, where sometimes the collective wisdom of the crowd can shine light into the darkest of corners, or weave a fuller or more coherent narrative than any one individual could hope to achieve alone.

I respect and admire CIOs.

(It'd be a bit strong to say I love y'all, but hey, we're not even dating yet!) And after routinely interviewing CIOs from around the world since about when the very first CIO got his first job in the role, I reckon I might know a couple of things about you that are absolutely true — unless you've all been fibbing to me all this time.

1. You're incredibly hard working, as the business places more and more demands upon your role every single year.
2. No matter how talented and visionary you are, you can't do the job alone.

No CIO is an island, entire unto himself. The CIOs I know all freely admit they do best when they can converse with, and learn from, each other.

So here we are.

Welcome to my blog.

I'd love to make this a place where CIOs — the many I know and the even greater number I don't — feel free to come and trade their thoughts, share their secrets, and learn from each other.

Come as you are, or come in disguise, it makes no difference to me, just keep it courteous. And since to a man or woman the CIOs I know are far too professional to need moderating, let's assume no moderation is required at this time.

And guest posts are almost certain to be welcome, so feel free to email me at Sue_Bushell@idg.com.au you have an idea, a bugbear or an issue you want to discuss. Of course a well written but poorly attended blog is like a brilliantly conceived strategic plan left gathering dust on a shelf because no-one knows how to execute it — rather sad, and ultimately useless. Do pitch in, and tell your friends.

So in the words of Pink Floyd, Hello, (hello, hello) is there anybody out there? What shall we talk about?