Warren Buffett, the second-richest man in America after Bill Gates, has once again made headlines with his financial folk wisdom, as dispensed in his annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. (I think the man is a Democrat but you never know. He is in favor of the Keystone XL Pipeline, whereas I am on the fence, and President Obama seems to be playing cat-and-mouse with states’ rights of all things.) Buffett donates a lot of face-time to CNBC, a network not exactly known for sharp-eyed criticism of American business, and he uses that forum to promote his company and his worldview. I watched him on CNBC this morning and read his shareholder letter over lunch. I admire Buffett’s philanthropy and appreciate his plain-spokenness, but I just can’t relate to capitalism in the abstract, the game he appears to enjoy the most.
All this is prelude to my own shareholder letter — written to you — but unlike Buffett I will make it brief. Ever since I solicited subscribers to this blog, I have been painfully aware of the need to give you, my readers, something to make it worth your while to click the link and see what I’m up to. This, however, has made me more cautious and less spontaneous. It has made my posts longer, more substantial (though I have tried to retain some of the experimental flavor) and decidedly less frequent. I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Attention spans, after all, are a terrible thing to waste.
I write these posts not knowing who will read them, while imagining a personal connection with those of you who do. I know, sort of weird. Not as weird as the ending to Gone Girl, and certainly not as weird as Mr. Spindle — Neil Patrick Harris — in his underwear on stage at the Oscars. But I do want to give you a reason to return and read the next post, and maybe the one after that, hopefully with a comment or interaction along the way.
This raises the distasteful notion of consumerism. I have to compete for your eyeballs, your time and attention, against all of your other worthy pursuits. Should I try to win the competition, or should I just write what I fancy and let the chips fall as they may?
My answer: I need to let the chips fall where they may. After all, it’s not as if my writing longer posts has produced a spate of comments and scores of new readers. If this is to be an enjoyable endeavor for all, I need the freedom to — on occasion — waste your time with my capriciousness. This is a freedom Warren Buffett does not have and cannot afford.
Buffett advises his shareholders to stop worrying about day-to-day changes in the market and invest for the long term — 1o, 20, 30 years. I have similar advice. I ask that you read this blog for the long term. Some days you will feel rewarded, and other days you will scratch your head. But over the long haul, for patient readers, I think this will be worth your investment. You can always change your mind and buy a share of Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, for about $220,000. The choice is yours. Thanks for reading.
