You guys know that I love writing Cranky, but there’s one problem. I’m spending too much time writing it and not making enough money in return. So, I’m going to do a little experiment between now and the end of the year. Instead of daily Cranky, I’m going to cut back a little and see how things go.
Beginning next week, I’ll write posts Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday (with Saturday having “Cranky on the Web”). Wednesday will now be dark, and I’m going to try something a little different on Friday. Instead of writing a post, I’m just going to put up an open thread. Quite the community has developed around this site, so I figure that every Friday, it’ll be a good place to get together and talk about anything you’d like in this industry in the comments section. For example, want to talk about Star inviting Avianca-Taca and Copa to join? Start the thread down below. Besides, sometimes the comments sections is far more interesting than the post. (Look at the body scanner radiation thread this week for proof.) I’ll certainly jump in, but I won’t be leading the discussion on Fridays as I usually do with my posts.
Let’s see how things go until the end of the year and then I’ll re-evaluate to see if it’s something to continue.
As I mentioned, though I love writing Cranky, it’s not easy to make much money directly from the site. (I really hate ad sales.) Though I have no doubt that nearly all of my success in writing, consulting, and Cranky Concierging (let’s pretend that’s a real word) has stemmed from writing the blog, I just can’t commit to writing as much as I do without being able to, frankly, make more money. I need to spend more time focusing on things like Cranky Concierge (and I have some exciting stuff in the pipeline over there).
That being said, I can’t imagine simply abandoning the blog. I love it too much. I could try charging readers, but let’s be honest, 99% of you wouldn’t pay. I don’t blame you. That’s how things go in the age of the internet. And if 99% of you leave, then this stops being much fun.
So let’s see how things go between now and the end of the year. I’m going to try to put together a reader survey in the next couple of weeks to get some feedback from you, so I hope you’ll participate. But for now, consider this the first open thread. Start your comments below.
