How do you end a blog?
It’s easy to find stuff online on how to start one, and there’s loads on how to do one, once it exists, but there’s scant advice on finishing one. I’m not just talking how to end one, but when, and also of course whether.
This is a subject of interest at the moment cos I’ve realised that I’m blogging increasingly infrequently and with less gusto than I used to, and the question arose, how would I know when I’ve written my last post? If I got hit by a bus tomorrow then that would decide things, but let’s suppose my continued existence continues, but no longer than a human lifespan, then logically at some point there must be a last post. Either one that is purely the last one by circumstances cos it’s the latest AND the last one cos no more come after it, or its the last by design because I intended it to be the last.
You’ll have stumbled across blogs that tail off without a dignified end, no sign off or summation. No conclusion to the enterprise. They just are there with a series of posts, and then no more.
I’m always left pondering what happened, why are there no more? The whole thing then looks unfinished, tarnished somehow.
Did the “author” (blogger? typist?) just run out of ideas? When a blog is quite small, that’s probably what happened. This one’s quite big, so a sudden stop wouldn’t be that, would it?
Anyway I’ve got a load of half finished blog posts in draft, some just single sentences, there sitting there but they’re sitting there unfinished, and for a reason. I can’t be bothered to finish them. I just don’t care enough.
I enjoy the act of typing, sticking sarcastic glib gifs together to hammer home some point quite violently, but I’m increasingly just not bothered about the subject matter…work.
This blog started cos I wanted to record things I’d learned when I had the great good fortune to do some systemsy stuff at work. And it continued because I enjoyed talking about the lunacy of normal ordinary command and control management of organisations, from a systemsy perspective. There were lessons to be learnt from exploring it.
But now the subject matter isn’t worth spending any thinking time on. I feel a fool for caring about work, as a subject matter. The design and management of work in command and control organisations is not something I actually do anything about, so why keep on banging on? It’s there and there it will stay in its current form. The use of numbers, data, knowledge even, not down to me . I’m properly appreciating why all the Vangrad stuff refers to pull all the time, not just in the context of pulling work through a system. Pulling for help or advice or assistance on a work problem would be a way in, but in the complete absence of anybody pulling, there’s nothing can be done, by me at least.
So here’s an ending in case this is the ending. It might just be the ending for now, it might start again if there’s some kind of change that I can’t imagine right now. Either way, this is me considering this as an ending.
The sad thing about typing an ending is losing the identity of Thinkpurpose, being a tiny part of a much larger world of people in other places thinking similar things. Connecting to others, whether self described systems thinkers, Agilistas, or even Leansters, that was an unexpected treat. I gained enormous validation from seeing lots of other people click on the blog, leave comments or tweet it because they too thought similarly.
It also allowed me to find other stuff that these people created that taught me loads, whether from books, blogs, or tweets I’ve learned an enormous amount I otherwise wouldn’t, absolutely priceless.
Validation that you’re not wrong and that there are others is incredibly important, when you go systemsy cos otherwise you’d think you’d gone mad, as other people around you think you have too. This isn’t true.
Being the only person, that I’m aware of, in my organisation of thousands, that validation I gained from people sharing and reading the blog was enough for me to know that I wasn’t wrong, that things are wrong for a specific reason, that there is a better way. That validation was hugely rewarding so thank you for that.
As I slip back into the shadows, whether temporarily or for good, I’m reminded of the ending of Goodfellas when Henry Hill leaves the Mafia and goes into witness protection. No longer with the trappings of being a gangster he laments just being an average schnook….
Without the excitement of new ideas and the potential of change, there’s just turning up, putting in the hours, leaving at the end of the day. This is of course the life of millions, I’m not special so why should I be any different. I’m not, I just had the great good fortune to have a few years of thinking and typing about a better way that exists potentially everywhere, the only thing stopping it is the reluctance or inability of managers to think and act differently. Ha! Yes, the only thing.
I’ll finish, for however long I’ll be finished for, with the thing that I started with, the thing that prompted the name of this blog and the thing that blew my mind, the vital irreplaceable thing without which you’re just wasting your time. Thanks for allowing me to waste your time, so long and thanks for all the fish.
What’s this? It’s very unclear…
“aaah, now I see. Now I have clarity of porpoise.”