Bill Gates launches his own website

Bill Gates is moving beyond Microsoft at a fast clip and reaching out to the public. Ironically, he's using a website and not a social network. He's launching his own website at www.gatesnotes.com [1] to let people know what he's up to and what he finds interesting.

"I thought it would be interesting to share these conversations more widely with a website, in the hope of getting more people thinking and learning about the issues I think are interesting and important. So, welcome to the Gates Notes," his introductory page says.

In an interview with CNET, Gates said he misses having the same kind of web presence he had at Microsoft. He's planning to post three times a week on a variety of issues from education, to the swine flu pandemic, to the earthquake tragedy in Haiti.

Like other well-known officials and persona, Gates is taking his message to the public. For example, President Obama, has a weekly YouTube address to the public. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra has a regular blog and countless other professional and public figures are making their voices heard through social media.

Gates is no stranger to Internet interactions, that's for sure. His launch of gatesnotes.com comes a day after he joined Twitter and quickly collected hundreds of thousands of followers.

Although Gates has left Microsoft's executive ranks, he's still deeply embedded in the company. His website is a personal project with the help of his personal staff.

What Gates has to say will definitely have an impact no matter what outlet he uses.

For more on gatesnotes.com:
- see this cnet.com article [2]