The Future of This Site, sort of

Last Fall I had an idea to create a website/blog that focused on playing WoW as a mostly solo player.  Since this is how I play WoW (and at the time I was spending a lot of time in the game), I thought it would be a nice way to connect to the community and share experiences and information.

I didn’t think about, or really even realize that I should think about, how that would look as a functioning website.  Instead I unconsciously fell back on the websites I visited: WoWhead, Icy Veins, Blizzard Watch, etc.  The site became more information-based and less a sharing of experiences.  In failing to figure out the identity of the site I ended up as a poor copy of sites that already existed.  

Worse, at least for me, the choice to focus on information meant that I felt pressured to stay on top of WoW news in a way I never really had in the past.  A few months in, the only “playing” I was really doing was logging on to verify information for a post.  Writing about the hobby was killing my love of the hobby.

Anyone who is actually paying attention has likely noticed my absence without explanation for the last couple of weeks.  At first, frustrated and annoyed at my self-imposed obligation, I decided I would just let the site die without explanation.  For the first week of June I was largely WoW-free. I still listened to the podcasts I like, but I didn’t really log on at all and I definitely wasn’t writing about WoW.  

Then, the urge to play WoW started back up again.  This past week I’ve been playing for a few hours pretty much everyday.  I’ve been gearing up my main and, for the past couple of days, I’ve been going through old zones and doing pet battles.  I now have 701 unique pets, up from 641.  I’m having fun again, playing current content when I want to and old, random content when I feel like just hanging out in the game.

While this is great, I’m now a bit undecided as to the future of this site.  I’m not sure I want it to die or disappear.  At the same time, on a practical note, it costs money to maintain.  If I were to start writing WoW content again, it would have to look different.  I’d be changing the aesthetic and tweaking the content to be more aligned to my original purpose for the site.  There would still be information, but also a lot more of my personal experience and reflection.  

So don’t be surprised if my next post is a bit different and the website makes you wonder if it’s even the same site.  It’ll be the same site, just more true to my original, half-formed concept.