The cranky old fart makes a list (of sorts) for 2008 – 2009


Just to set the record straight I don’t like to list type posts but in keeping with one of my New Tear Resolutions (see below) to become a great social media slut I figured I’d better get some sort of list in place before the end of the year. I know everyone is doing their Best Of.. Worst Of … 2008 as well as prognosticating for 2009 but honestly I can’t stretch a resolution to that length so I’m gonna roll it all up in one.

Things that were great about 2008

One of the best things that happened for me came late in the year when I got an email from Duncan asking if I would like to come and write here at The Inquisitr. There was no question about accepting the offer at all since it is something that I had wanted to do since he launched the blog. For me in a way it was a major turning point in my blogging career and for that I thank Duncan.

As short lived as it might have been the fact that my home blog WinExtra hit 30,000 uniques was a great point in the year for me as well. I say short lived because it then plunged down to 5,000 the next month. That story is down in the next section of the list; but needless to say it was high followed by a depression.

The one other thing that has made 2008 a great year is that I have met – if only virtually – a great bunch of people. While in some ways they are too many to mention I do just want to say thanks for a great year to Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins, Louis Gray, Art Lindsey, Cyndy Aleo-Carreira, M.G. Siegler and Frederic – you guys made it a fun and interesting year.

Things that sucked about 2008

At my personal blog WinExtra things were generally looking pretty good as the year developed. Uniques were climbing, page views were climbing and RSS subscriptions were climbing. It all reached a nice high of 30,000 in October and then I got a cold slap of reality and it all started crashing down around my head. During this time I had decided to experiment with using a magazine style format for the blog thinking how cool it would be. Well cool isn’t the word I’d be using now but tie that in with a hosting company that was giving me nothing but grief as far as making the blog unavailable and as a result that 30,000 diminished to under 5,000 in the next month.

On the larger and more important scale of the Internet the tech blogosphere continued to hold a high opinion of itself and all the little toys that it like to play with. As a result we were all constantly being punished with the on-going nattering about the importance of things like Twitter, Facebook and FriendFeed and how they were going to change the world. Funnily enough the world still looks the same each morning I wake up – how about you.

The one other thing that really irritated me over the year is the fact that those of us in the tech blogosphere are all still wrapped up in number and authority. Whether it be about who has the most followers or is following the most people on as many services as inhumanly possible right up to figure out who speaks with authority on something as stupid as Twitter. So much for the social in Social Media

Things I’m looking forward to in 2009

The biggest thing I am looking forward to is another year of writing here at The Inquisitr and WinExtra. Along with being able to work with some incredibly smart and good people I can’t think of a better way to spend a year.

Coming in as a close second has to be of course the arrival of Windows 7. I have been a faithful Windows for almost as long as I have been using computers but for me Vista has to have been my lowest point as a user of the operating system. Everything I have read so far has me for the first time in a long time excited about a Windows release.

Even with all the angst it causes I am really looking forward to where blogging is taking us. As much as the social media ‘elite’ would like to think that micro-blogging – Twitter and the such – are going to take over I think that we will see blogging come into even more of its own.

Things I am not looking forward to in 2009

If 2008 is any indication we will see more being written about authority and importance in social media and that makes me just wanna puke. For me the idea of authority and ranking in social media does nothing more than make a joke of it.

Macheads will continue gloating over their delusions of being better than Windows which is getting to be really old but hey they have to do something to make themselves feel better about being an elitist niche market place.

That finally I am going to have to seriously quit smoking. I’m not sure when during the year this momentous event will happen but I am sure that you’ll be able to tell by my posts as they will likely get crankier. the writing is on the wall though – or at least my doctor says it is.

Resolutions for the next year

I know when I started this post I was resolving to become a real social media slut but as I’ve been writing this post I’ve come to the conclusion that I just can’t do it – sorry. Instead the best I can do is promise to keep writing the way I do – with honesty to both myself and you the readers.

And to all of my readers where ever you may be in the world I truly wish you all the very best and hope that 2009 will bring you changes and adventures.

Thank you.

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