Morning Folks!!
I started my morning posts that way since 1996. But it was not until 4 years ago that I entered the 'Blogosphere'.
4 Years
1460 days
208 weeks
Posts: 525
Just a little over 2.5 posts a week
Comments 8125
Average 15 comments per post
Over 850,000 Page Views
Average over 1500 readers per post
The last thing I wanted to do 4 years ago was start a blog. So let me take this time to blame those responsible. First we have Jarred Cohen. He told me about RicksBlog.com dropping. I could care less. Somewhere along the line he convinced me I should care.
Then we have Sahar. He kept prodding me to start a blog. After years of essentially posting a blog before there were blogs I was less than enthusiastic about the thought of starting again to get as much as I could even remember on record.
Then there was Owen. Don Quixote himself. I was just another windmill for him. He explained blogs and social media and all the rest and now my head was ready to explode. But I got that bouquet and here we are. Thankfully Owen was also able to dredge up some of my old posts from 2000 and 2001.
Someday I would really like to uncover those Ynot archives of 1996-1998. I think folks would be stunned by the conversation. Both as dinosaurs and as folks 20 years ahead of what was unfolding. A very diverse group all pulled together by some common threads. Still some of the sharpest folks I have EVER met.
Point is, trying to reconstruct some of that was a monumental task that I was not looking forward to. The readers changed but the conversation was and is largely the same in spite of all that has unfolded and the very proof as it lays for all to see.
But today I feel good. I am on record for eternity. My thoughts are my thoughts. I just share what goes in between these ears in real time and that always keeps the wind blowing. The conversation going. The passion on both sides. Some do it in a constructive manner and some do what they do. But they illustrate the vivid difference in view and thought and vision and values.
I never understood why folks can’t step up and just “Disagree without being disagreeable”. When you do that you find answers and solve problems and make progress one stride at a time. The rest is all a side show to distract from what I described above. You can clearly see it in the comments at times. And this is one time in which the written word and this screen is more powerful than meeting in person as you get to really look into their minds by their word.
I wake up each day evangelizing my thoughts on domain names. Each day we adjust for the progress the day before. The picture constantly changes and now it is changing so fast NOBODY can actually keep up with it.
I write for like minded people who share their positive energy and know that quality will always trump quantity. I write for those with opposite views to share them in a responsible way. Pure thinking. Pure digging. Pure searching and exploring for things unknown looking for answers what ever the true answer proves to be.
And the other clowns, well, I see them as only getting in the way. Trying to distract at a precious moment in history. A 20 year moment.
But the core of so much of how I work is pretty simple and old school. “Make hay when the sun shines”. Which means work your ass off when there is plenty of business and you will be able to enjoy life when things go south and others are forced to split a much smaller pie with many more mouths. (Like now)
I love the blog for one great reason. It is on record, time stamped, my name, my thoughts and over time I hope it gets discovered because there may be a lot of crap, but that fertilizer has some of the most fertile and long lasting thought soil that is available. Discount at your own peril. But the words here will long outlive me and prove valuable to those that WANT to understand what I see and how I see it.
I am used to folks telling me how wrong I am every step of the way. It is a way of life for me. Always has been, always will be. I remember how my friends and even my family thought I was crazy for taking jobs that were commission only back in 1972. But those were the only jobs with no ceiling. That would pay me upon what I produced and the only limit was the one I placed on myself. The goal I set. I learned one thing early. The gift of setting goals and knowing which ones are obtainable and useful. Which goals would waste too much time while other goals were more important.
I learned a lot on this journey. Mostly about human nature. That is the one common thread. So some of my readers I try and take on a great and interesting journey and some I fuck with in the head. But the journey they take is not up to me. The power is with them regardless of how loud they yell it isn’t.
Glass half full or half empty. My words can piss you off when you look at it as half empty. Those folks are easy to spot. Human nature. You can spot them with the words they use. Their reactions to things. Their judgment. Winners view the universe one way and losers view it in a much different way. If something like that pisses you off, don’t play poker. You just gave your hand away. That is why you lose. The winners are all laughing. The losers are angry. I aim for the winners. They get what I just said. The others think I am talking in code.
That is how I see the universe. If you don’t, tough. What do you want me to do about it? I can only tell you how I see things. Share what I deem important. You can tell me how you see things and do it in a manner to persuade by facts and numbers and history. That takes a certain amount of credibility.
Some of what I see ahead is not very good. Some are things that dreams are made of. You have to see it all. The road is not smooth. It is littered with pitfalls and storms and unexpected events. Navigating those challenges is what life is all about.
I think corruption and conflicts of interest are the main challenge facing our industry today.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
A look into the time capsule:
Blog Announcement:
http://www.ricksblog.com/2007/04/coming_soon.html
Then a couple of foundational Posts:
http://www.ricksblog.com/2007/04/hi_folks_a_few_.html
The Famous 'Line in the Sand' post
http://www.ricksblog.com/2007/04/the_line_in_the.html
'Why the Internet Crashed'
http://www.ricksblog.com/2007/04/why_the_interne.html
And finally, my actual Grand Opening Post
http://www.ricksblog.com/2007/04/happy_grand_ope.html
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Scotty
WELL, LETS HOPE UR HAVING A MULTIPLE OF THAT 4 MORE..!! I love this blog! …and http://www.valuate.com aswell for that matter…you see what i did,”that dope didnt write his own spam-link, he linked HIS!” LOL
Keep it up!
Domain Development
Keep up the good work. I like your outspoken style in a world that keeps becoming more and more politically correct (aka boring)
Anthony
ScottM
Congratulations Rick on this anniversary! While your domain portfolio and legendary sales like Candy.com, iReport.com, etc. will all live on in domain history, it’s the people that you shared your blog with and imparted your extremely valuable knowledge to, us, that will never forget your wonderful contribution to improving their own personal livelihood as well as to the domain namespace and the industry in general. Thank you my friend and there are unfortunately others we both know that are no longer here with us that I can proudly speak for them too, we are all grateful to you!
Robbie
Congrats Rick….
Your blog is a great read – I just picked up RobbiesBlog.com and now wondering if I should do the same?
Start my own blog?
Donna Mahony
Congrats Rick!
domain web hosting
Thanks for your smart decision of archiving the domain name blogs so as others refer to it, even me. Thank you my friend and there are unfortunately others we both know that are no longer here with us that I can proudly speak for them too, we are all grateful to you!
Tommy Butler
Congrats Rick
You walk the walk and talk the talk.
Sometimes your loud and sometimes your proud,
sometimes you bark like a mad dog but most of the time your spot on
Respect is due to the King.
jianxiu blog
am every step of the way. It is a way of life for me. Always has been, always will be. I remember how my friends and even my family thought I was crazy for taking jobs that were commission only back in 1972. But those were the only jobs with no ceiling. That would pay me upon what I produced and the only limit was the one I placed on myself. The goal I set. I learned one thing early. The gift of setting goals and knowing which ones are obtainable and useful. Which goals would waste too much time while other goals were more important.
David Williams
Happy 4th anniversary. I’m sure there will be many more years to come now that you’ve been started.
Mikeblarowski
Congrats on your 4th anniversary Rick. I stumbled across your blog accidentally about six months ago and it’s what got me interested in learning more about domaining and pursuing it on daily basis. Six months in – I’m definitely still a rookie but love learning and this is one interesting industry to be a part off. Thanks for sharing your candid thoughts and experience.
Jarred Cohen
I guess I owe some people an apology, lol.
Seriously though, Happy 4th Anniversary on the blog. I’m glad it made it this far, and I’m also glad that you feel I was instrumental in making it a reality. It’s really an honor to be one of the guys to blame for this. I remember clearly when I caught the domain name for you. It was a piece of cake and I would do it again in a heartbeat. As you put it, the fact that I convinced you of something you cared less about, to me, is even cooler than how studded the 4 years have been.
A lot of great information has been exchanged here and here’s to looking forward to lot more in the future. Keep it up.
Altaf
Congrats Rick on the 4th Anniversary. I have been reading your writings regularly long before your blogs. I discovered the power of writing.I learned a lot from your or others posts through you. Grateful!
However, readers are as important as the writers. If there were no readers what is the point of writing. Again readers’ comments made you perfect as you are today. It made you so strong with critical views what so ever.But you never ignored the negative views either. That is great with you. But I din’t like when you limited your audiences with specific class. A writer never thinks for whom he writes. it will remain open as long as it is published.And the writer will be remembered in the history.
Thanks for every contribution. Keep it up! Rick.
Kind regards,
Brett Napoli
Your stock and the stock of your readers goes up every day. Each post is a relic for a growing industry to base their decisions on. The thing is, what you’ve been saying is not only about the industry, but how the lessons you’ve learned in business can help all of us with life in general.
Really enjoyed this:”Some of my readers I try and take on a great and interesting journey and some I fuck with in the head. But the journey they take is not up to me. The power is with them regardless of how loud they yell it isn’t.”
Congratulations on the 4th Anniversary Rick, clearly this is only the beginning.