One Thought

It’s been about a month and a half since I last posted an article here, so I figured some explanation was in order. First, I’ll get the typical deadbeat-blogger apology out of the way:

Sorry about the sporadic updates lately! I’ve been so busy!

But I’m gonna be better now. Soon enough the posts will be coming fast and furious. Just you wait.

(This type of post is usually followed by a new post or two and then another long period of silence. This second period often spells the death of the blog.)

Now don’t worry — I am planning to continue to update this blog. (And thanks to those who have asked.) But my updates will likely be more sporadic in the coming months than they were last year. I’ve decided to refocus my priorities a little.

Let me explain. When I first left my job about one and a half years ago, I set up a daily schedule for myself. In the beginning, this involved working on music, writing, and reading for some number of hours each day.

The schedule morphed over time. I eliminated the reading component. I still read every day, but I’m more casual about it. At one point, I added “networking” to the schedule. It’s not really on there anymore because networking is now a part of my regular lifestyle. I had to force it at the peak of my hermit-dom.

The writing on this blog has changed a lot since its inception. At first, it was mostly essays on personal things I was working through. Then it got more self-helpy. Then it got philosophical. And finally it entered its present phase, where I’ve been doing immersive experiments and mini research projects.

I’m most happy with the most recent content. Something always seemed off before the last few articles. They’ve been my favorites, and they’ve also gotten the best response.

So why slow down now? New developments. As The Big Lebowski’s Dude says: “New shit has come to light.”

Earlier this year, on a lark, I made a small Facebook app. I was interested in virality and inspired by my brother, who had had success with Facebook apps.

Long story short, my app — a one-shot deal — got about 15 million users in about a week. Its usage is near zero now, but for a brief period it was a pretty big deal. It was #3 on Alexa’s “What’s Hot” list. It’s name was a “hot query” on Google Trends. Threads popped up all over the place with people discussing it.

So I had my 15 million users and 15 minutes of fame. And also more than 3,000 complaints in my e-mail inbox. And 70,000 “fans” on the app’s Facebook page.

That was fun. Stressful at first, but fun. When else in human history has some dude — me in this case — been able to make something that is used by millions of people within days? It’s crazy. Fast viral growth has always existed on the internet, but Facebook just makes it crazy.

My takeaway from the Facebook experience wasn’t that I want to devote my life to Facebook apps. That would be kinda dumb. But I did get a taste of the world of web development and the leverage you can have.

I’ve spent a huge amount of time in my life programming computers. I started at the age of 9. It’s been almost 20 years now. I majored in computer science in college, and I got a software job after graduating. But by the time I left the job, I was feeling pretty burnt out on programming. I had spent so much time on it and neglected other areas of my life.

For more than a year, I did zero programming. I think it was a good break. Over that time I realized that what I’m really interested in is creating awesome things that people use, not just programming for programming’s sake. I’m ready to start creating software again, but only if I’m really excited about the project. I’m not going to start doing it just because I’m good at it or “I shouldn’t waste my education” or that’s where the money is, or whatever.

Recently I’ve been devoting more time to a couple new online projects. And I’ve realized that I really can’t have three focuses. Music, writing, and software, all at the same time, is too much for one person. I can do all three to some degree, but one of them has to be on the back burner. I’ve decided that one will be writing.

Partly I’ve been feeling a bit less excited about writing lately. Or perhaps just more excited about other things. I’m going to keep doing it, but my current level of interest isn’t high enough to justify spending a couple hours every day. That time would help a lot if devoted to other stuff.

Music? Despite my lack of output recently, I’m actually really excited about that right now. I’m made a lot more progress in the last few months, and I’m excited about putting together some type of act in the coming year — more to come. I’m actively composing new material right now.

So, in summary: Expect more articles here. They’ll be good. I already have some cool ideas. But expect fewer of them. I’ll be spending less time writing in the coming months.

Of course I could get inspired and post a flurry of content. We’ll see. But I’m not going to force it.

Ciao!