We’re nearing the end of 2011, which means there are going to be a plethora of resolutions for next year. Aside from the old standby, losing weight, I only have one resolution for 2012. I resolve not to waste my time on the opinions of alleged expert pundits, in any field.

I flew home to Wisconsin on Virgin America. Due to Virgin America’s fine amenities, I had access to cable for the first time in months (I don’t own a TV). As I was watching ESPN’s Monday coverage of the NFL, it dawned on how ridiculous all of the pundits were. They were not persuasive. Their arguments were not backed by the faintest of fact and wasted time arguing over minor semantics. It wasn’t just one “expert” but every single segment (I think I watched four). Tired of this, I flipped the channel to a news station (I think it was MSNBC). Different stories, same stupid shit. Talking heads with great teeth and half a brain. But it doesn’t just happen on TV.

I sat there on the plane, disenchanted with myself for wasting an hour on low level journalism. But as I further contemplated the runaround I just watched, I realized, my beloved Internet proliferates the same type of behavior. With the advent of 24/7 news, everyone is looking to “fill the air” and monetize their “quality content”. The result is a million different people commenting on the same three things on the same story. In the end, it turns into a huge time suck for anyone paying attention.

Recently, I’ve begun to stop reading the major, staple blogs in technology and social media. I’ve found that their posts are filled with unsubstantiated opinion pieces and  fluffy, linked baited articles. The actual content in the articles is like light beer…it’s shit. I used to read these blogs because I felt that I needed to be “in the know” and these were my best sources. Nope. They’re a waste of my time and more often than not, I finish the piece feeling unsatisfied and cheated. That is why I’m minimizing as much as possible, my consumption of expert pundits’ content.

I’ve found that the best information that I read is on personal blogs. Sometimes they’re written by actual experts (i.e. Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures) and other times they’re a random blog that got a spike in traffic from Hacker News (my main source for tech related news). The bottom line is, I need to cut out the superficial news that bogs down my days. The most successful people I know read only a handful of blogs daily (if that many) and are not focused on the PR/gossip of others. They’re more focused on the pursuit of building a great company. Therefore, as I take another giant step forward professionally in 2012, I will not slow down progress with the consumption of bad content.

Well, we’re a few days into the new year and it’s quite apparent, I’m already breaking many of my resolutions. Have no fear, they will be accomplished. I have made headway on a variety of my resolutions, but some (i.e. eat out less, watch less TV) have yet to come to fruition. The good news is that I have designed my new blog and waiting for it to be coded (I’m not coding this blog, but I WILL code another blog). I’m actually pretty excited. I’ve been tinkering with this design for a while, trying to find a simple look with all the features I wanted on my blog. The perfect storm came when I was sitting in Peet’s Coffee Shop the other day. I had to quickly write it down before I forgot and the only paper in site was the back of my receipt.

My first resolution on the list below was to blog three times a week. I plan to do this, but not until the new blog is unveiled. I want an all encompassing new start to this blog. New look and new feel. I can tell you that I will be posting on a Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday schedule, with Sunday being my vlog. I’ll keep everyone in the loop until then. Have a great week everyone. The holidays are officially over, get over it!

- Blog 3x a week
- Launch a new blog or website
- Learn to code
- Design a WordPress theme
- Get 1,000 views on a vlog
- Get 300 Twitter followers
- Finish P90X
- Complete 200 straight push ups
- Run a marathon (I reserve the right to down grade this to a 1:52 half marathon)
- Go surfing
- Climb Half Dome
- Leave the USA at least 1 time
- Read 6 books
- Watch less TV
- Eat out less
- Go on a date with a girl taller than me
- Talk to more strangers
- Be Less Judgmental

The Onion could have written this story. Unfortunately, it’s a real New York Times piece. Tough times from ’08, hoping for a better ’09. Happy New Year everyone.