Was very lucky to host Rob Curley at Google this past Tuesday where he lunched with a small group of Googlers and then gave a larger talk/Q&A. Rob is currently VP Product for Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive and known within the news community as the “hyper-local hero” for his successful efforts to increase newspaper relevance at the local level.

Rob was great – enthusiastic and candid. Had several good lines including this one about how his industry needs to focus more on the value they create and less on how it’s delivered. Paraphrasing:

Do you think we’re in the business of selling paper? Ask a newspaper reporter about how ‘paper’ is made and no one will be able to tell you. But ask them about how ‘news’ is made and that’s something we know.

I wish there existed a personal stock market so i could invest in those whom i’m sure are going to be superstars. I’d go long on Rob Curley.