First it was Twitter, now it’s the Gates Notes. Bill Gates (and staff) recently launched a website dedicated to his passions, interests, and travels. Titled the Gates Notes, the website features letters from Gates, photos from worldwide visits, and even books he's reading (hint: this isn’t Oprah's book club). Recent postings in the "What I'm Learning" section include links to Global Catastrophes and Trends and Thoughts on Super Freakonomics.
Although the website is a gateway for the Microsoft co-founder to interact with visitors on a more personal level, the issues Gates is passionate about take front and center. Articles and podcasts on the world’s issues are informative and worthwhile, ranging from healthcare to U.S. education. Gates also responds to questions from individuals around the world.
One student asks, "When you quit school, were you sure about your success in the future?" to which Mr. Gates responds:
"I wasn’t sure at all. There were no guarantees that Microsoft would be a success. For example, we had a lot of customers go bankrupt and not pay us what they owed us. And we had one situation with our earliest customer where they got bought by a company that interpreted the contract in a different way than we did and stopped paying us, so we didn’t have any income for a year. Fortunately, we were able to settle that. From the beginning, though, we were very careful to take things one step at a time. Being conservative worked out very well for us because as the industry grew, we were in a position to hire lots more great people."
Fans of Gates are sure to be pleased with the increased exposure since he left Microsoft in 2008 to dedicate more time to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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