Why?
Well, there’s no exciting, dramatic, or melodramatic story to tell. I adjust my behavior from time to time when I believe something is out of balance in my life. I’ve been thinking about calling it quits since September. A comment Cobb left over at P6’s spot yesterday probably helped me make my final decision. There’s a lot I’d like to do, and being a part-time blogger, blogging the way I like to blog, eats up more time than I thought it would. I considered cutting back instead of quitting altogether. But I doubt I would enjoy blogging if I only posted once per month. I don’t really understand the psychology behind that, but I know myself well enough.
In September, I noticed that I began to feel the urge to write things for this blog just because I hadn’t written things for a while. That was the first bad sign for me. I smelled Vanity. I’ve had my bouts with Vanity, and she is always lurking. I never wanted this blogging thing to be a vanity boost or an obligation. I just wanted good conversations every now and then. And I got them here. But I can participate in good conversations as an occasional commentator, while investing far fewer of my leisure hours each month.
I estimate I spent 300 to 400 hours blogging, reading blogs, and leaving comments on other blogs in 2007. At least twice as much time as I spent as a blog reader and occasional commentator in 2006. I’ve been overblogging—an uneconomical vice. And, to make matters worse, the extra leisure hours I spent blogging in 2007 were spent at the expense of hours I probably would have used in order to read more and write higher quality works. I could have read or reread at least two-dozen of the books I’ve had my eye on for a while. I could have finished one of the series of philosophical essays I’ve been working on for a few years. I could have begun my bildungsroman or practiced for it by writing a few short stories. Instead, I overblogged in 2007. That’s imbalance. Time for a correction.
So, today, I retire from blogging, certainly for a year and probably for good. But I’ll see you around the blogosphere, in the threads.
Thank you all for the worthwhile conversations.
Your friend,
E.C. Hopkins
If you need to contact me but you don’t have one of my email addresses, send me a note through the contact form.
3 Comments
You could always consider ratcheting down the extremely high level of literacy and expository effort and maintaining a more “stream of consciousness” web log…., just a thought.
I hear and understand, Ed. I am really, really glad I got the chance to know you through this blog. I’ve battled the addiction myself, blogging’s a strange siren. The tumblelog’s my best compromise, merely an online scrapbook, really.
Glad you’ll still be around in the comment pits, tho I’ll miss this one in particular for the level of discourse. I would hope that even if you no longer blog that you keep this site up as a reference point for those who might meet you in the pits. There’s great wisdom, advice and ideas to ponder here, much I intended to revisit (the Mike vs Mike debate alone is worth keeping up for posterity). It’d be a shame if it were to dissolve into the ether.
Keep us up to date on your various realspace missions, Ed. You will be sorely missed.
I’ll keep a static version of the blog up at least through 2008.
So that I would not have to monitor for spam, I turned off comments.
If you need to contact me but you don’t have one of my email addresses, send me a note through the contact form.