I’ve been blogging for over 10 1/2 years (actually 11 1/2 if you count the pseudonymous Diaryland blog I kept for about a year). But now it’s time to say goodbye. I’m just too beat to do it anymore. My life, priorities, etc. (fill in the blank here). Now I need to focus on my family /health /book/startup/dog/mental sanity, so that is why I am saying my final goodbyes to the blogosphere and my millions thousands dozens of readers. It’s been good knowing you. Goodbye forever.
Just kidding of course. You don’t ever stop blogging – something I always remember when I see some blogger attempting to hang up his boxing gloves for good. Wait 6 months, and he’ll be back. Maybe not as ferociously as before, but it’s hard to walk away for good. The problem comes when a blogger stumbles upon an audience and feels the pressure to keep blogging even at the expense of other activities. I remember reading Cameron Barrett’s now defunct blog and always thinking that Cameron never seemed to go out of his way to blog. Maybe one or two things a week – and sometimes a rant – but it was always low impact blogging – and at the time of my life when I was reading it, it was perfect. He was about 2-3 years ahead of me in technical skills and shared many interests. (We even ran into one another twice at SXSW – and I can report, that both encounters were utterly unremarkable for the both of us).
Cameron has actually stopped blogging in 2008 (and he’d been doing it since 1997 – always a few years ahead of me, that bastard!) He hasn’t tried to do it again – but he has definitely become more family-oriented since that time. (Oddly, the only posts I remember are his audition for the Price is Right and his marriage proposal via scrabble board) But I see he has gone onto Facebook, started a blog for his daughter and stayed in the field of usability – so I suspect he’s on several mailing lists. In other words, not a dead pup – not yet at least.
I have to admit that I enjoy the feeling of letting my blog go dormant for weeks or even months. Then Wham! Shazzam! Gadzoop! 10 quick posts in succession. Hey, that’s what blogging is about, baby – and only those who follow RSS feeds closely enough ever know what is going on. Even during blog hibernation, I am writing things which eventually will end up on my blog. Also — strange as I sounds, even during my busiest days I am regularly updating old posts such as this one.
When a blogger calls it quits (especially if it is a young female blogger), there will be a veritable outpouring of panic/appreciation/sorrow from lurkers who suddenly materialize in the comment section. Of course, middle-aged D-list bloggers not affiliated with universities or exciting startups are easy to overlook, but then again, obscurity is positively delicious, and I continue to savor it – that is really the point.
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