Mashable : Good source for current affairs

When I moved to the West Coast 13 years ago to found my first tech company, I read that one should visit open houses to stay abreast of what people were reading (books & magazines), listening to (CD’s), and viewing (art & pictures).

The idea was that it kept you abreast of today’s culture, something you were apt to lose site of by keeping your nose to the grindstone when starting a company.

I’m not sure I ever visited open houses to stay abreast of current affairs. But today, the news site, Mashable, does a wonderful job of keeping me abreast of current affairs when it comes to the intersection of technology, business development, and media.

Mashable is a New York based company founded by Scotsman, Pete Cashmore (@petecashmore). Launched seven years ago out of Cashmore’s house, the site’s primary focus is social media news, but it also covers news and developments in mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology, and gadgets.

Mashable’s 20 million monthly unique visitors and 6 million social media followers have become one of the most engaged online news communities.

It’s slick, clean, and light interface make Mashable one of the more enjoyable reads on mobile devices – whether through a RSS reader (how I read) or in a browser. Mashable gets user interface being integral to content and that the former is just as important to get and retain readers.

I read Mashable daily to stay abreast of the latest trends and changes in technology, media, and social affairs. The majority of their writers, whether employed by Mashable or contributing writers, are sharp, witty, and to the point.

By the quality of the content, titles to posts, and imagery, there’s no question Mashable has some excellent editors. I have seen some editors leave mainstream media and join Mashable — presumably because they can see the positive slope of Mashable’s future.

Mashable kicks out way too much content each day to read all of it. I suggest subscribing to Mashable in your RSS reader (Mr. Reader for iPad). Set up a separate folder for Mashable posts (include nothing else). That way you can scroll through the titles and see what you’d like to read and share.

Sure, 80% of Mashable posts may not be worth reading, in your mind. That’s okay, no one reads even 20% of the articles in a newspaper. That doesn’t mean the newspaper, ie, WSJ, isn’t worthwhile to read.

Check out Mashable in your reader and let me know what you think.