Hey all,
Thanks for the mentions and to @
cpvr for alerting me to this thread.
The main reason that I stopped running CA is because I no longer needed to. The reason I started CA was because, at the time, there weren't really any community management focused forums that I could recommend to people. I wasn't happy with where the space was and I wanted a place I could send people to that was run with the right motivations in mind, where I could facilitate some good discussion. We did that. I wanted to have it there for those who wanted to partake. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. Certainly nothing quantity based. A lot of people have grown in their experience and understanding, thanks to that community. I was able achieve the goals I had and I'm proud of what we accomplished.
But, what has changed over the years is that other communities have started that I do feel comfortable recommending to people, like those run by @
Brandon, @
dojo and others. I'm thankful for that, because it means that I can send people to these forums and not have to manage them. It means the space is growing. I never wanted to run every type of resource. I only wanted to make sure there was a forum I could recommend, that I could get behind. I no longer have to do that, which is awesome. I can if I want to, but I don't have to - that's an important distinction.
I've spent a great deal of my time offering community and forum managers, and those interested to becoming one, advice, assistance and guidance for free or close to it. People spanning all walks, all levels of the profession, from one man operations to Fortune 500s. Hosting CA, writing MC, answering so many questions via social networks, emails and forums like this one. Even my books don't pay me all that much - certainly below minimum wage, but every little bit helps. I love doing it and I'm happy to draw from my experiences to help others because I care about this space. But, my time is still my time and I don't have to also host forums, in addition to the other things that I do. I don't need to do one of everything and to give my time in that way. I can allocate it into other things. In this case, I'm much happier to have other forums to send people to and I'm glad that we've reached that point.
You have to think about things from multiple angles, outside of yourself. That's a tough thing to do and not many are capable of truly doing that. Experience aides it. The end of something isn't necessarily bad and it doesn't mean that it didn't go right. Our time is finite. In this case, what I really wanted to happen, way back when I started writing my book in 2003, has happened and I'm thrilled that it has. It's all about growth.
Thanks,
Patrick
