Blog Note (Yet Again)

I must apologize again for the unintentional interruption in services this week—life has been getting in the way of TOP recently (though all is well. In fact, one of the "issues" I'm dealing with is that I've gotten not one but two consecutive uninterrupted full nights of sleep, a great rarity in my life. I've no idea what I'm doing right but I hope I can keep doing it.

Insomnia, on the other hand, is good for getting work done).

At some point—come to think—I should get the cloud-mind's input on ideas for how TOP might usefully grow from here. It seems we've almost reached the limit of my own (limited) ability to do everything...although all that's really begun to suffer is the time I have to a) take pictures and b) write articles, which (you perceive) is not a terribly desirable condition. A day at a sports event filling up a CF card and half a day writing about it are enough to plunk me solidly behind the eight ball. TOP, meanwhile, has reached that awkward stage of development where it's practically too big for everything to be done by one person but not big enough to support any staff. I've been wrestling with this a bit of late.

But I digress. Ctein's column will appear first thing tomorrow morning (early—I can program it [UPDATE: Not so early. I wrote this before I heard Steve Jobs had died, and I'd like to leave Steve at the top of the site during the morning tomorrow]), and then I'll get back to work! Apologies again to regular readers for the slim pickins' so far this week.

Mike, TOP's Director of Diffused Slackery

Comments

[Jeff]

Maybe you could hire someone to help figure this out. Sleep on it.

[Jim Bullard]

Mike, It's not like we're paying you to do this. If you want to come to work a bit late or take some time off who are we to complain? I for one enjoy your blog with whatever frequency you choose to do it. Here's hoping that your sleepless light remain few and far between.

[Harvey Bernstein]

So Mike, have you caught a mild case of KirkTuckitis?

[David Dyer-Bennet]

Glad things are okay, it had crossed my mind that there might be not-good things interfering, instead of just fairly normal to good things.

[Bill Mitchell]

A fairly reliable study a few years ago determined that the most satisfying things for humans were:
1)sleep
2)food
3)sex

[Rusty]

Mike
Balance is a good thing.

[D.C. Wells]

Perhaps it is time for you to take on another regular (weekly?) contributor, so long as that person is willing to work for the honor alone? You might also reserve one day per week for guest contributors, whether on or off topic. That latter approach, unless the guests' reputations for good quality precede them, might add work to your plate, though, in the form of vetting and editing. Let me add that I am sure you have already considered these ideas. I offer them largely to assure you that this reader would accept either or both, especially if they will help to ward off burn-out and crankiness. If all else fails, I suppose you could show "rephotographs" or "revideos" of Packers' games every week.

[David Zivic]

I read once that James Michener had 225 research assistents....and realy how else could he have done it. You got Ctein and now sounds like Tuck. I think we all enjoy the links you post as reference, maybe a day of interesting links that we might not find on our own. One day a week a guest post, one of us ?....Sometimes I can't find the time to READ the days TOP post, let alone write it every day. Your limited travel itinery is well documented here and there is a saying "Once they see Paris, they'll never come back to the farm"....In this case one trip to the metropolis of Green Bay and Lambeau and you can't come back to TOP (tee hee).

[Michael]

Sounds like you need to raise more money via the site before you can hire? To assist with "monetizing" your site, why not have an upgraded version built that allows for multi-level user accounts. Paid-in users get access to additional articles and materials, and perhaps offers from sponsors etc. Also, I imagine that having an actual account on TOP would encourage greater and more regular user contributions/subscriptions and encourage more regular back-and-forth between members (as in a forum).

I also suspect that you'd be able to find a private advertising network that would be interested in selling to your reader demographic. Hmm, mostly middle aged, mostly men, all with at least one semi-expensive electronics-related hobby....

Just some thoughts.

[MarkB]

From this "wisp o' the cloud mind" I humbly suggest (in jest) these ways for TOP to grow from here:

- Review lots of gear, since it "brings in the eyeballs"
- Add a nearly unmoderated forum, but kick people off regularly
- Merge w/ Luminous Landscape to create the übersite "TOPLuLa"
- Run your own workshops and relentlessly advertise them
- Start a dedicated "TOP Print Offers" site and be done with it

If all that fails...
- Get bought by Amazon.com and retire to your darkroom and collection of vintage roadsters (we'll be alright... eventually)

[charlie]

You should get an intern. They're just like an employee only free!

[Peter]

You don't have to apologize for your ability to run your blog. It's your own and it's good.

[Jim Couch]

So when does your craigslist add run?

Blogger looking for assistant to work for free. :)

[David]

Hey Mike, I always wondered how you keep this up day after day. As a quick fix while you contemplate changes, why don't you make it a Monday, Wednesday, Friday thing. This immediately gives you Tuesday and Thursday off, and we still get to read your posts pretty regularly through the week. Just saying .... .

[Bob Towery]

re:

A fairly reliable study a few years ago determined that the most satisfying things for humans were:
1)sleep
2)food
3)sex

If you add in Photography as #4, and order them 4,2,3,1, you have the makings of a very pleasant evening.

[sporobolus]

some very successful blogs have a pattern of posting several excerpts from other sources, with a brief commentary added, and a few times a week posting a self-written essay; maybe that pattern would work for you

[Roger Bradbury]

Mike, I don't have any specific ideas on how you can proceed with TOP, but there's this old trick: When faced with a difficult problem, solve the part of it you can understand, then see what's left.