Formerly a blogger for Weblogs, Inc.
So, I don’t think I blogged this anywhere, but figured it might be a wise idea to do nonetheless. A couple of weeks ago, I pretty much formally left Weblogs, Inc., where I’d been the founding editor for AdJab, an idea that Jason Calacanis brought to my attention back in August/September of 2004. While AJ had its ups and downs, and ultimately pal Chris Thilk took the reins as my day gig and other projects were chewing up my online interests and time, it was a blast to get started. Additionally, being able to work from time to time on other Weblogs, Inc. sites and get to review some huge shows at TV Squad and be recognized for doing so was obviously beneficial for me from a professional perspective and helped me grow my ability to write and cover a lot of different areas online.
All that said, the coolest thing that came out of working at WIN was the team. All the bloggers that I wrote alongside, picked the brains of, or got to meet in person have had some impact on where I stand today, whether it’s at my day gig in public relations and new media or the various places I’m writing online. Some people offered great tips on how to do things like manage certain people’s expectations, others brought different ways of actually drafting content or handling the world of “getting things done,” and others were - are - rockstars in their own right that continue to teach me things about the online world, and I really appreciate all of it.
While I can’t say I was pleased with the unceremonious way in which AdJab was shown the door, these things happen. I can see how AOL didn’t see the natural fit into the consumer-driven sites they were building elsewhere, but I think they were unfortunately governed by what hurts a lot of people’s understanding of the world of new media, which is sheer volume and numbers. If AdJab had been simply pulling in the attention of consumers and consumers alone, things would have been different. However, it made it into the groupthink and regular reads for many marketing and advertising readers, journalists, and bloggers, and was a great cross-pollination spot for other WIN sites, as all the companies and brands written about elsewhere did advertising or marketing in some way, shape, or form. So, while Chris and I might have completely different thoughts on how things should have worked out in the long run for AJ, we’ve moved on, and we both live and learn.
I wanted to toss this up on my blog because it’s been sitting in my MarsEdit for entirely too long, and I wanted to give a great big round of applause (or as loud as I could on my own) to those folks from WIN and beyond that were of a huge help for me online, many of which have become friends online and off. Good luck to those of you at Weblogs, Inc. and wherever you’re cropping up these days, as we all seem to have eight or fifteen projects going, and I’m sure I’ll see you all around.
Cheers!
Comments
2 Comments on Formerly a blogger for Weblogs, Inc.
-
Movie Marketing Madness » The Biro signs off of WIN on
Tue, 28th Aug 2007 4:14 pm
-
Ian Schafer on
Tue, 28th Aug 2007 10:01 pm
[...] turned over the reins of that site to me and then even later on brought me on board MWW Group, has announced he’s official left the Weblogs, Inc. payroll. WIN runs sites like TVSquad, Cinematical and, [...]
Best of luck, Tom. Been reading you the whole time, and your thoughts (and critiques) have been a great influence on me and my agency. Keep fighting the good fight, man.
We’re all counting on you.
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!