My role at AOL is to shake things up. Sometimes people think I go to far, sometimes people think I’m holding back–the truth is I’m doing neither.

I’m doing what I’ve always done: being honest and upfront with my opinions. The one thing I’ve learned from blogging–and running Weblogs, Inc. from nothing the sale to AOL in 18 months–is that blogging/life/business is all about AUTHENTICITY.

All of my posts are 100% authentic. Am I biased… yes, authentically so! Am I wrong sometimes–of course! Do I own up to my mistakes in an authentic fashion–you bet! I don’t blog to give people a hard time and I don’t blog to kiss up to people. I blog what I feel, and if you’ve ever spent time with me you know I’m blunt. I don’t know where I picked this trait up, but it’s all I know how to do and it’s served me well in this life.

My new blog buddy at AOL, Shawn Christopher, laid into me last week for my style.

Today, after hearing Jeff Bewkes call bull—- in the WSJ, he’s reconsidering. Shawn and I now have a relationship and we’re engaged in a very honest dialog about how to make our company better. He’s putting out ideas for me (and other AOLers) to respond to–the conversation is getting bigger and deeper. Only good things can come from that.

So, mission accomplished.

We all know the best way to solve problems is to shine a light on them.

I’m going to go underground for the next two weeks, so the posting will be light. No, AOL didn’t get to me. I’m on a little analyst/press tour over the next two weeks that will take me to from Los Angeles to Mountain View, San Francisco, Dulles/DC, and my home sweet home New York. I’ll keep you posted to my location, and if you’re not on the press tour yet feel free to ping me.