Came home last night and did “my rounds,” which for me is a quick scan of Twitter, Google Analytics, my inbox, the Mahalo homepage, a couple of Google blog searches (calacanis and Mahalo), and of course TechMeme. For the second time I learned about a blogger friend dying online.

Russell Shaw, one of the hundreds of Weblogs, Inc bloggers over the past four years, died in his hotel room. He was on the road covering tech, so it seems he passed doing what he loved: blogging.

It’s a strange, and special, connection we all have through blogging. By opting in to the blogger category you’re joining a group that puts it on the line without an editor. A group that mixes it up, keeps it real, and that anyone can join. Doesn’t matter if they’re 14-15 years old (the youngest Weblogs, Inc blogger we ever had), or over 50 (like a number of Weblogs, Inc. blogges).

My heart goes out to his family and friends. Perhaps some day we’ll all be together again, connected to some great blogosphere in the sky… perhaps you and Marc Orchant can hold down the fort until we join you.

Until then, here’s a link for ya pal….