Irish blogging is a bit of a perilous thing, and I'm not referring to that poor lad who got hit for a 100K libel bill either.
It's basically unpaid writing, and many of the country's best bloggers have at some point walked away from it because whatever they were getting out of it wasn't worth the effort they were putting in.
Twenty Major is the most recent and highest profile casualty of this trend. Like all the others, I wish him all the best with his real life and other endeavours.
Unlike 20, or many of those other blogs, none of the 500 plus posts I made here ever won an award, though one or two did get seen by a lot of people and a few remain perennially popular. But this blog never garnered a massive readership, and to be brutally honest, that was fine by me. It was never meant to be populist, so much as thought provoking.
I took a contrarian and iconoclastic approach to current affairs, pointing out hypocrisy and corruption, casting a close eye on the media and identifying subjects and issues that deserved more attention. I'm happy with the body of work contained herein. I think it achieved the objectives I had for it, and the posts will remain here for the foreseeable, for anyone who comes by them.
What I'm saying in a long-winded fashion is that, like the others, the time has come for me to walk away from this. It began as a ranting board, somewhere to air my thoughts and opinions and vent a bit of spleen on occasion. Unfortunately, the things that predominantly make me upset these days are personal rather than public, and while I greatly admire the bravery of confessional bloggers, I really don't think I'd be comfortable going down that road.
Rather than be tempted into doing so, I'm instead calling it a day. I won't say that I will definitively never return. You never say never, after all. But it won't be for quite a while if ever. I have personal issues that require attention, wounds to lick, and that can only be done with dignity if done in private. Or at least, that's what applies in my case.
It's been fun, and I will pop back from time to time to do the housework and greenlight any comments that come in on the existing posts. The strength of this medium is the interaction between writer and reader, the debate that ensues, and I always really enjoyed that aspect, even the abusive posts. Everything that sparks a debate, or made me think, was a welcome interchange of thought, and that's what sets us apart from the beasts.
I'm off to get drunk and listen to some rock music now. The sun is shining. I hope I can shine too. Be good wherever you are.
It's basically unpaid writing, and many of the country's best bloggers have at some point walked away from it because whatever they were getting out of it wasn't worth the effort they were putting in.
Twenty Major is the most recent and highest profile casualty of this trend. Like all the others, I wish him all the best with his real life and other endeavours.
Unlike 20, or many of those other blogs, none of the 500 plus posts I made here ever won an award, though one or two did get seen by a lot of people and a few remain perennially popular. But this blog never garnered a massive readership, and to be brutally honest, that was fine by me. It was never meant to be populist, so much as thought provoking.
I took a contrarian and iconoclastic approach to current affairs, pointing out hypocrisy and corruption, casting a close eye on the media and identifying subjects and issues that deserved more attention. I'm happy with the body of work contained herein. I think it achieved the objectives I had for it, and the posts will remain here for the foreseeable, for anyone who comes by them.
What I'm saying in a long-winded fashion is that, like the others, the time has come for me to walk away from this. It began as a ranting board, somewhere to air my thoughts and opinions and vent a bit of spleen on occasion. Unfortunately, the things that predominantly make me upset these days are personal rather than public, and while I greatly admire the bravery of confessional bloggers, I really don't think I'd be comfortable going down that road.
Rather than be tempted into doing so, I'm instead calling it a day. I won't say that I will definitively never return. You never say never, after all. But it won't be for quite a while if ever. I have personal issues that require attention, wounds to lick, and that can only be done with dignity if done in private. Or at least, that's what applies in my case.
It's been fun, and I will pop back from time to time to do the housework and greenlight any comments that come in on the existing posts. The strength of this medium is the interaction between writer and reader, the debate that ensues, and I always really enjoyed that aspect, even the abusive posts. Everything that sparks a debate, or made me think, was a welcome interchange of thought, and that's what sets us apart from the beasts.
I'm off to get drunk and listen to some rock music now. The sun is shining. I hope I can shine too. Be good wherever you are.
10 comments:
Good luck, Skinner. Was always amazed you didn't get more readers/more of a following.
Always enjoyed it. Happy trails.
I have enjoyed the ride. I suspect this in not the end though, merely a hiatus. Carpe diem my friend.
Who will pen my vicarious rants now?
Thank you for the good writing, and for not holding back.
Thank you Mr. Skinner, for bringing me so much reading pleasure in your insightful and humerous thoughts and opinions over the years. You will be missed. I'll drop by from time to time in case you change your mind!
Another hole in the internet. All the best JC, this place was always worth the visit, and your articles deserved far wider coverage. This reader will miss them...Mowl
Best of Luck Skinner. Always was a good read and I for one will miss it.
Shame to see another good blog go. Especially at this time in Irish history. So long, JC! Thanks for all the posts!
Please get another blog and come back as someone else.
Good luck x
Thanks to everyone for the kind words. It's nice to know the effort was appreciated in some quarters.
I'm simply not up to continuing blogging at the moment, and don't expect I will be for quite some time, if at all.
I'm sorry if that disappoints. It disappoints me too, I suppose.
All the best to everyone, JC.
Sorry to see you go Skinner, enjoyed your blog...
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