Friday, January 2, 2015

State of Tribecards: Realistic Outlook


Welcome to the new year, fellow card collectors and Tribecards readers. Tonight, as I sit listening to my daughter's iPhone streaming Pandora through some mini speakers she got for Christmas, I decided to give an update on all things Tribecards.

First and foremost: Giveaway mailings are SEVERELY delayed. I have not put in the hours needed to get everything sorted and processed. That is ridiculous, I know. There are no excuses, no reasons. The simple truth is that I haven't done it. I can only promise that it WILL get done. I can no longer promise when. At this point, I have cards from TWO full seasons still to sort and mail plus last season's cards and winnings and prizes to get rolling. All I can promise is that when I get mailings sorted and ready, I will post here to let you know. I apologize for not having these done by now, which I know is small consolation.

Second: Pack-A-Daily. Given how far behind I am on two full seasons of Tribecards Pack-A-Day, there is a very good chance that this season's daily pack busting will either be delayed or may not come about at all. I just don't know right now. Frankly, things seem insurmountable, though I know they aren't. It is a matter of setting aside the time and rolling up my sleeves. The pack breaks and addition of OOTP have been a great source of fun, so I have set Opening Day as a goal for making sure everything is taken care of before launching the new giveaway. I sorely miss the "12 Days of Christmas" giveaways I used to do. I hope to start those up again next year!

Third: Possible name change. When I set out and created Tribecards.net, my goal was to share my love of collecting Indians cards with anyone that happened by. And though I still collect Indians cards whenever I can, the true focus of this card blog is no longer Cleveland Indians cards. In fact, aside from the giveaways, there really isn't a focus at all. So, as I regroup and get things sorted, I will also be looking into changing the name of the site to better reflect what I do with the hobby.

Fourth: Postings. I suppose this goes along with the focus, but I am putting together a "posting plan" in which I plan to have certain topics covered on certain days. For example, I might have a Throwback Thursday or a Wacky Card Wednesday (Oddballs, etc). I dunno. All I know is that this endeavor has hit something of a stagnation point and I need to something to kick start me before I start thinking of simply turning off the lights.

Fifth: Turning out the lights. I have seriously considered shutting down Tribecards altogether. When I first started, I had a fire and a desire to share my crazy obsession with Indians baseball cards. While there is a fire for the crazy OOTP-inspired giveaways, I have to admit the desire has been waning for some time, as I'm sure many of you have discerned on your own by now. I had actually started this post on New Year's Eve, planning to announce the closure of the site altogether (though the giveaway mailings would certainly be fulfilled). We've all seen card blogs come and go. I've been doing this since around 2007. More than seven years ago, I began this journey and I feel as though I have been wandering aimlessly in the woods at times. As I mentioned above, I hope my plan (once I had it lined out) will help find that fire and desire I want back. So, for now, anyway, we'll leave the lights on.

Thanks to everyone that comes by to see what weird shenanigans I'm up to next!
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7 comments:

  1. Yes keep the lights on!! Don't feel you HAVE to post, just post when you feel like it. As someone who has tried to post once (or twice) daily, it was sort of liberating in a way when I moved and couldn't post because of lack of internet for awhile. Happy New Year too!

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  2. I hear you David--some days I feel like that, something happens and I'm rejuvenated---whatever you decide, I;ve enjoyed the last couple of years

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  3. Take your time, man. Take your time. If anything, I think the pressure of what you are doing is giving you the feeling of "why am I doing this". Don't let the stress of the fun you have on the blog be the reason you don't want to blog, or collect. Too bad I'm not closer to you - I would totally drive over and spend some time sorting cards. Am I the only person that finds sorting cards to be enjoyable? There's something about getting everything in order that's exciting.

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  4. First and foremost, you have to figure out a way to have fun with it, it is a hobby. My posting has gone down quite a bit as of late but I still churn a few out when I have the time and energy. I have never been able to understand how you have kept up the Pack-A-Daily, it is a huge undertaking.

    My advice, take your time on the mailings (they are free cards we can wait) and find a theme/approach/posting plan that makes you happy and your readers will be here and support/enjoy you.

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  5. Everyone's advice has been great. I agree with them, you don't need to be a daily contributor to be a part of the card collecting/blogging community, even a sporadic post on something you feel like writing about once in a while is a good thing. My two cents. Happy 2015!

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  6. Would hate to see your blog go. If you do a pack-a-day thing next year, I was planning to donate some custom-made packs. Maybe there are ways we could pitch in to make it easier for you?

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  7. Thanks for all the kind words and responses. The fun side of the Pack-A-Day is what keeps me doing it. I think I've found a nice place to be in those - the packs with the OOTP tie-in. This past season was arduous, for sure, but so much fun watching things play out in our simulated season as things played out in pack breaks. The hard part is certainly the sorting. Haha, I do not share a love for sorting. I should get my wife to help - she is an organizing machine! I truly appreciate the advice about posting when I want, how I want. Somewhere in my mind, I have an idea as to how and/or what I should be doing as a blogger. It's most likely something I implanted in my brain and it has festered since. I do want a plan, though. I am slowly coming to see that for many aspects of life, I need a plan. This is one. :-)

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