Most of my readers are completely unaware that Jason Calacanis and I are life long buds.
We met in Brooklyn, Jason’s native land, in 1987 at a World Poker Tour tournament. Most people know Jason as the former GM of Netscape, but he’s also known by the “in crowd” as a former Editor of Silicon Alley Reporter.
(By the way, Netscape is pure genius.)
These days Jason is busy writing ground-breaking pieces on his blog like this one on linkbaiting, probably the most important piece ever to be written on the topic and sure to go down in history as the missing link in the quest for blog supremacy.
He does it all with his trusty bulldog Toro by his side.
It was last week that cemented Jason as the most forward looking, deep thinker on the web of our time. We were sparring in the ring and as he threw a blistering fast roundhouse that nearly took off my head, he mentioned his latest post on Fatblogging.
The depth of consideration of the major issues facing humanity in that post alone speaks volumes about my friend’s uncanny ability to take normally mundane issues and put them on a world stage to blow people’s minds around the globe.
Laying on my back in the ring I looked up at Jason and thought “He would make an incredible Ambassador to Ecuador if it weren’t for his penchant for double-dipping at parties!”
After fully regaining my wits after the third knockout of the day (I’m sure Jason didn’t see me struggling with my mouthpiece and looking in the other direction when he landed what could only be called the most perfect uppercut ever thrown) I realized that I was possibly the luckiest guy on Earth to have Jason Calacanis as a friend, mentor, and AA sponsor.
I know this weekend I will raise a glass to the man, the legend, the only person to ever win back-to-back World Bear Wrestling championships.