Don’t panic, guys. I’m not leaving — yet. This “final post” is a work in progress that I promised you here. What would you say in your final post? Here’s what I came up with:
This is where the cowboy rides away
I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but the triggering event for my blogging suicide came courtesy of George Strait, one of my favorite country singers from the modern era. His lyrics are straightforward and from the gut. No one listens to a George Strait song and asks: “I wonder what he meant by that?”
I was thinking about my love-hate relationship with ToughSledding (not my readers, but the “job” of blogging), when I made a rare trip to one country music station on my car stereo. George did the rest with this verse — like me singing to my blog:
We’ve been in and out of love and in-between
And now we play the final showdown scene
And as the credits roll a sad song starts to play
And this is where the cowboy rides away
Yep. This is where the cowboy rides away.
When I launched this blog in 2006, I knew the day would come. ToughSledding can’t go on forever, nor should it. No one has that much to say, and I’ve already said far more than I’d ever planned to. I don’t want to start repeating myself, or worse, resorting to crazy rants and bathroom humor.
I could just stop posting and fade away. But I’m a blogger, dammit, an ego-driven, lunatic blogger. If this were a real suicide, I’d jump from a bridge at rush hour; I wouldn’t slash my wrists and bleed out behind closed doors.
Bloggers, like most who hang out in the social media, crave drama and attention. That’s the paradox my cynical little mind finds in the 2.0 world. The conversations are cool, but they seem secondary to the self aggrandizement bloggers and Facebookers get from being “out there.” While few will admit it, social media are ultimately all about us. The conversation seem secondary in this self-absorbed world.
Have I enjoyed the conversations? Of course — just as I’ve enjoyed connecting to hundreds of interesting people I’ll never meet face to face. I’ve learned from all of you, and I hope you have taken something away from this site as well. And as I exit the blogosphere, please remember: We’ll always have Facebook!
If I were truly a self-promoter, I’d use this post to share my traffic stats and my “Top 10 Posts” of all time — you know, the usual crap bloggers do. But who really cares? Hell, I don’t.
But if you’ve been a faithful visitor, you might be interested in the posts I most enjoyed. So here are the links — something for you to snack on as the cowboy rides off into the sunset. We’re fresh out of popcorn!
After 400+ posts, I can’t narrow it to just 10. So here’s my “Top 13.” I’m feeling lucky today!
Celebrating the genius of Pat Jackson
Does blogging call you at 4 a.m.?
When the going gets tough, the tough go surfing — at least in Cleveland.
Today’s PR Controversy? Would you believe gay sheep?
Is good advertising doomed? Looks that way
Is good writing doomed in the new-media age?
A letter to my students: Do as I say, not as I did!
PR crises can arise from the most obscure details — so sweat the little stuff…even the bathrooms
One PR man’s sordid love affair with Amanda Chapel
