Mossberg doesn’t invent new technology; he just writes about it.

Question: How do you contribute?

Walt Mossberg: Well my contribution is just to look at new technology products that come along, pick out what I think are the most interesting ones, and try to tell a fairly large group of readers whether I think they’re worth buying. I don’t want to over-inflate it. That’s what I do.

The other thing I do is I explain some of these technologies. Some of my columns are not product reviews, but they are explainers about technology.

A few times a year, I do columns where I take on broader issues. Like what I consider to be the excessive control of the wireless phone companies. And I’ll take them on, and that gets me to kind of be controversial for a few weeks.

But that’s my role. I wouldn’t inflate it. I’m a journalist. I’m a reviewer.

Thankfully, and I’m grateful for it, I have a large following. And so I just help people sort through the thicket of these technology options that they have. But I don’t invent technology. I don’t create technology. And I don’t monetize technology. I write about it.

Recorded: Sep 13, 2007.