Filed under: News, Podcasting, Blogging, E-mail, Office, Productivity, Microsoft

I’ve been in shock all evening, after learning of the passing of a great friend and mentor of mine, Marc Orchant.

Marc’s name will be well-known to those that have frequented any of Weblogs Inc’s technology-focused blogs in the past, or in fact anyone interested in productivity and Getting Things Done. Marc was one of the original Weblogs bloggers, and blogged for a number of different Weblogs properties. He was the lead blogger on The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog, which eventually was rolled into Download Squad (long after he had moved on to other endeavors). He also pitched in when Download Squad was first getting off the ground.

Marc suffered a heart attack last weekend, and was rushed to hospital where he’d emergency open-heart surgery. We know this because his good friend Oliver Starr has been maintaining a page dedicated to Marc, with updates from his family. Many in the blogging world have been following Oliver’s updates on Marc’s condition with bated breath, and it seems I’m not the only one that has had his life immeasurably improved through contact with Marc. Heartfelt worry and well-wishes abounded on Twitter and personal blog entries all through last week as those of us that considered Marc our friend hoped for a miraculous recovery. If ever there was someone that deserved one, it would be him.

It was therefore with profound sorrow that we learned of Marc’s passing this day. Our hearts go out to his wife Sue, his daughter Rebecca, his son Jason, and really everyone that had the pleasure to have Marc be part of their life.

Marc was interviewed back at the end of 2005 as one of Weblogs Inc’s most influential bloggers, and it holds up well for those that are interested in how Marc got involved with blogging.

Though he’s no longer with us, Marc’s prolific writing on the internet has ensured that his words are but a click away. It’s tiny comfort, but right now I’ll take what I have the ability to get.

Here is a list of places you can read Marc’s work in approximate reverse chronological order:

• Platform Agnostic - Marc’s most current personal blog
• Marc’s Vox Blog - a personal blog on the Vox blogging platform
• Blognation US - Marc’s most current commercial blogging venture
• Office Evolution - A ZDNet blog Marc maintained between September, 2006 and August, 2007
• The Unofficial Microsoft Weblog - Marc’s primary Weblogs Inc. venture, where he was lead blogger
• Download Squad - Marc contributed to Download Squad in the early days
• The Office Weblog - Marc’s first and main Weblogs Inc blog
• The Tablet PC Weblog - Marc was an early proponent of the Tablet Personal computer form factor
• Marc’s Outlook on Productivity - Marc’s OfficeZealot productivity blog that predated his involvement with Weblogs Inc

Thanks Marc. We’ll miss you.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 2:07 am and is filed under Productivity. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.