I've decided what I have to do. It's becoming clear that the new site is not going to be ready for prime time by October 1, so...
The Online Photographer is moving to the Patreon site temporarily. The URL is:
patreon.com/theonlinephotographer
But, TOP on Patreon will still be mostly free. It won't be just for paying customers. Naturally, I love it and appreciate it when people want to join for a few bucks a month, but I'm more comfortable when you can do it voluntarily. So, over there on Patreon, you can either join as a paying supporter, join with a free account, or just go to the page and visit—most things will still be viewable that way. Hopefully people will become supporters because they want to, not because I'm coercing them by withholding most of the content. That's the way it's been up till now. Of course, a few things will be reserved just for supporters, because it's only fair. Supporters support me, after all.
How long will this last? Well, certainly until I get my groove back and settle into writing again. Maybe a couple of months. (That might turn into double that—just guessing.) As a way of taking the time pressure off of getting the new site up and running smoothly.
Dad's decision disk
Some people like making decisions early—"there, that's settled"—while others like leaving decisions until the last minute. I actually hate making decisions. Early-deciders think people like me are crazy, but there's an explanation for people who feel this way—it's that we dislike closure, because it shuts down possibilities and makes it harder to react and respond to new insights or new information. It's a version of what they call opportunity cost—when you decide on one possible course, you lose all the others. So people like us make decisions grudgingly and late and might still want to leave them open longer.
Just a personality kind of thing.
Decisiveness is good for certain pursuits—business, probably—but maybe not always; indecisiveness can hamper us in many cases, but in other circumstances it might be what saves the day. I could name examples of decisions reached rashly and too soon. Sometimes, people, or companies, or countries get cornered into having to accept a decision that's clearly wrong. (If I named those examples, it would hijack this discussion straightaway.)
My father's notion was that any decision is better than no decision. He was so frustrated with my indecisiveness that he came home from a trip once with a present, a brass medallion about three inches in diameter. One side was inset with red enamel and said "NO," and the other side was enameled green and said "YES." He told me that whenever I had a decision to make, I should flip it on to the carpet and go with whatever came up.
So the next time I had a decision to make, I flipped it on the carpet. It came up Yes. I stood there for a minute or two, pondering, then reached over and with my toe flipped it to the No side. Then a pondered a while longer, and flipped it back to Yes....
Laughing emoji here....
So that wasn't going to work.
Anyway, this isn't really a decision either. But I'm overwhelmed and stressed out, and if I don't find a way to relieve the pressure, then these next ten days (this site, on TypePad, will be gone forever on the 30th) will not be pleasant. Or productive: I don't deal with pressure well (never have), and I don't work effectively once the pressure gets too high. When you don't do things until you have to, sometimes it's good. It falls under the category of motivation. But when the pressure gets to be too much it turns into a net negative.
Again, the new URL is patreon.com/theonlinephotographer. I'll point my domains there within the next few days. The old links will break on the 30th.
As an aside, I've gotten fascinated in the past week or so with videos showing boats navigating Florida inlets—Haulover Inlet, for one—which I never knew was a thing. (The internet is full of surprising things you new knew existed). Boats being buffeted and tossed by chaotic waves—it's like watching a metaphor.
I will be astonished if I don't lose half my audience in the next two weeks, so, if you stick with me through these choppy seas, you're really helping, and thanks.
If you have any comments, please leave them over there. I'll leave comments turned on here for a few more days, but they'll disappear soon.
Mike
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