Why Security Boulevard? Why Now?

If you are reading this you have discovered our newest community, Security Boulevard. Security Boulevard, the new home of the Security Bloggers Network is the realization of a dream I had over 14 years ago. It is going to be the place for the security community to discover, discuss and disseminate security related content of all types.

On Security Boulevard you will find original content from some of the leading security journalists in the field managed by one of the best himself, George Hulme. Also, contributions from some of the thought leaders both established and up and coming in the industry.

You will find the output of over 300+ member blogs  of the Security Bloggers Network curated into neighborhoods. You can still get the “fire hose” SBN feed as well. On top of that we have Security Boulevard Chats, webinars, videos and lots and lots of special reports and content that we will be producing.

For those not familiar with the Security Bloggers Network, let me give you a quick history. About 15 years ago, my friend Brad Feld, came to me along with Dick Costolo, CEO of one of Brad’s portfolio companies, Feedburner. They wanted to create networks of blogs that had a common theme, so that Feedburner could bundle these blogs to advertisers. They asked me to create one for the security industry. Brad was creating one for the VC industry. I told them I would be happy to “talk to my friends.” So began the Security Bloggers Network.

Feedburner was of course shortly thereafter sold to Google, Dick went on to become CEO of some other company, I think they call it Twitter ;-). Google came to me about 8 months later and said the bloggers network was nice but they didn’t know what to do with it. They asked me to take it.

This was a golden time for security blogging. People like Rich Mogul, Mike Rothman, Martin Mckeay, Chris Hoff, Michael Santarcangelo, Amrit (Williams) DePaolo, Mike Murray and others were blogging up a storm. This led to us getting together in person one year at RSA and so was born the Security Bloggers Meetup and awards which still go on today (ask me how you can be involved in it this year).

Over the years the Security Bloggers Network swelled to over 400 blogs. We only added blogs that wrote to us asking to join the network. I would be remiss to not mention Kevin Riggins, who helped me maintain the bloggers network feed and site for so long. Also a big shout out to the folks at RSA Conference who have sponsored the network all of these years. When we moved the feed over to the new Security Boulevard servers, we had over 12 years and 100,000 blog articles in the archives! We kept only about the last two years, about 3500 articles as searchable on Security Boulevard today. We add on average 40 to 50 new stories a day, so that plus our original Security Boulevard content, should provide plenty of security information for even the most thirsty of you out there.

From then until now, it has always been my dream that the bloggers network would serve as the backbone for a great community within the security industry. Over the years both the security industry and I have changed. I have certainly been busy to say the least. My journey into DevOps and DevOps.com taught me a lot about publishing, community building and what the entire IT lifecycle is about. But the more I learned, the more I realized that it was security that drove me to DevOps to begin with. It is security that keeps calling me back.

There is so much we in the security industry can improve by leveraging DevOps. The whole DevSecOps thing (it is a thing, more than a marketing scheme) is really a blueprint to make security everyone’s job. This is certainly one of the areas we will explore here on Security Boulevard. But it is far from the only thing. We will explore all of the facets of security that are of interest to our community. At the end of the day, you our readers and community will determine what we publish and promote.

But the promise of DevSecOps, the fact that security remains more vital than ever to not only IT but business in general made me realize that the time for Security Boulevard is now. I want to continue bringing together the DevOps and Security tribes. Josh Corman and Gene Kim started this about 4 or 5 years ago. We have made a lot of progress, but there is a lot more to make. I want to create the neighborhood where the security community can give, get and trade information and opinions. Not only with fellow security community members, but with developers, ops, DevOps, QA, C-level leadership and the entire business organization. The time for Security Boulevard is now.

So please have a look around. Tell your friends, comment, get involved. If you would like to have your blog join the SBN, write me at [email protected]. If you would like to contribute to Security Boulevard, write to [email protected]. If you would like to find about sponsoring, editorial calendar or events (RSA DevSecOps for instance), write to [email protected]

The site is just launching and there is still much for us to do. We are open to suggestions, but give us time to fully roll this out. If you see something that is not right or could be better, please let me know. I look forward to having the entire security community and beyond join us in this new adventure!

Alan Shimel

Avatar photo

Alan Shimel

Throughout his career spanning over 25 years in the IT industry, Alan Shimel has been at the forefront of leading technology change. From hosting and infrastructure, to security and now DevOps, Shimel is an industry leader whose opinions and views are widely sought after.

Alan’s entrepreneurial ventures have seen him found or co-found several technology related companies including TriStar Web, StillSecure, The CISO Group, MediaOps, Inc., DevOps.com and the DevOps Institute. He has also helped several companies grow from startup to public entities and beyond. He has held a variety of executive roles around Business and Corporate Development, Sales, Marketing, Product and Strategy.

Alan is also the founder of the Security Bloggers Network, the Security Bloggers Meetups and awards which run at various Security conferences and Security Boulevard.

Most recently Shimel saw the impact that DevOps and related technologies were going to have on the Software Development Lifecycle and the entire IT stack. He founded DevOps.com and then the DevOps Institute. DevOps.com is the leading destination for all things DevOps, as well as the producers of multiple DevOps events called DevOps Connect. DevOps Connect produces DevSecOps and Rugged DevOps tracks and events at leading security conferences such as RSA Conference, InfoSec Europe and InfoSec World. The DevOps Institute is the leading provider of DevOps education, training and certification.

Alan has a BA in Government and Politics from St Johns University, a JD from New York Law School and a lifetime of business experience. His legal education, long experience in the field, and New York street smarts combine to form a unique personality that is always in demand to appear at conferences and events.

alan has 81 posts and counting.See all posts by alan