Commentary

And we're back

Ron Miller

Ron Miller

— 3 min read
Hanging wooden sign with rope that reads “Come In We Are Open” in bold white and red lettering, set against a blurred storefront background.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

When you saw me out your window
Singing from the garden
Only the beginning
I'm only getting started
I don't mind the digging
Baby, I'll work harder
~Jack Johnson, Washing Dishes

Six weeks ago, I announced I was leaving boldstart and taking this blog independent. True to my word, here I am again, ready to dig in and get back to work.

The idea is to keep building on what I started at boldstart over the first 50 issues of this newsletter. I’ll still be doing weekly commentary, executive profiles and news and analysis, but this time I’m also going to be covering enterprise-focused startups, something I've missed since leaving TechCrunch.

Banner reading “Re-Grand Opening” hanging on a wooden railing
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

While the content should look familiar to regular readers, there have been some changes behind the scenes. Whereas before I was using WordPress to publish this blog, I've moved it to Ghost, a platform that lets me run the website and newsletter, manage subscribers, view analytics and customize it to my liking.

When I returned from my five-week break, I had a long to-do list to get FastForward set up on a new platform, one I thought would take weeks to work through. While I had some pieces like my content backup and subscriber list, I didn’t know how to get any of it onto the new site, set up tags and navigation, or use the custom URL I’d configured for it (https://www.fastforward.blog).

AI to the rescue

In the days before applications like ChatGPT and Gemini, I would have used the site’s documentation along with a good smattering of Google searches, but I suspect it would have taken much longer to get up and running. Instead of the weeks I expected, I was ready to go in just a few days.

As with everything related to these AI tools, it wasn’t always perfect. I went in circles at times, then figured out how to ask the question differently or try a different model, which often helped me clear the obstacles I ran into. I might have been able to do it on my own, but with AI it was just so much easier.

To be clear, the AI didn’t do the work, it helped me do the work. While today's tools can create content, of course, that's not what I needed. I needed an able assistant to help guide me through the more technical and sometimes convoluted aspects of the Ghost platform, and my AI assistants came through for me.

Open laptop on a desk displaying the FastForward logo and the words “We’re back.” on a white screen, with a softly blurred office background behind it.
Image created in ChatGPT by Ron Miller

With the blog up and running again, my broader goal is to try new things, see what works and experiment with different approaches. That includes how to monetize FastForward, which could involve paid sponsors, clearly marked sponsored posts, paid subscribers or some combination of the above. What it won’t include is traditional online ads, which I don't think would fit this publication as I envision it.

Among the ideas I'm considering are collaborations with old friends, premium subscriber-only content and possibly a podcast. If you want to weigh in on monetization and content ideas, please feel free to email me at feedback@fastforward.blog. 

I would be remiss if I didn't thank my regular subscribers, the new subscribers I've gained in the last week, and Ed, Eliot and Ellen at boldstart. They encouraged, supported and helped me build this blog, essentially incubating it inside their firm before generously letting me take what I built with me. I am forever grateful. 

Until next week…

~Ron

Read more