14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, Microsoft Chairman and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, rejoined Facebook, and created his first account on Twitter. However, it appears that Gates’ foray into the universe of social networking is merely the first step toward a strategy which would have the co-founder of the world’s largest software company share details on the philanthropic work that is now his full time focus. After leaving Microsoft, Gates made the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation his full time priority. The Gates Notes, designed as a personal website, is set up to allow Gates to share his thoughts with the world on various topics related to philanthropy, but also to health, science, energy, global warming, and additional issues.
“Since leaving my fulltime job at Microsoft to dedicate more time to our foundation, a lot of people have asked me what I'm working on. It often feels like I'm back in school, as I spend a lot of my time learning about issues I'm passionate about,” reads a message from the Gates Notes that welcomes all visitors.
Gates announced the launch of the website via Twitter. Created on January 19th, the @BillGates account, has amassed over 266,000 followers in just the first couple of days. “My new website is live check out www.thegatesnotes.com. Excited to share more about what I’m learning, hope you like it!” Gates twittered on January 20.
“I'm fortunate because the people I'm working with and learning from are true experts in their fields. I take a lot of notes, and often share them and my own thoughts on the subject with others through email, so I can learn from them and expand the conversation,” Gates stated. “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.”