Instead of taking days to write the perfect post about the Six Apart news (in case you don't know, Six Apart is now SAY Media), I wanted to simply jot down some of my thoughts while the news is still, well, news. I know a lot of folks have questions and I don't have all the answers right now. However, I think that just a couple points are worth mentioning.
Ben and I will still be actively involved day-to-day operations. Ben will remain CTO and I will join SAY Media's board of directors. Additionally, in my role on the board, I'm going to be actively involved in working with the creators (bloggers, writers, developers, talent) who work with SAY Media. For the past three years, I've been actively involved in the day-to-day operations of my daughter, Penelope. She is now in preschool and I find myself slowly entering the professional world again -- therefore I'm excited to start this new chapter at a really good point in my personal life. As much as I'd love to go buy an island (hey, I just want a car to replace our ten year-old Civic) and sew all day, there's a lot of work still to do and that involves us.
SAY Media will continue to encourage bloggers and content creators to have fun and be passionate about their interests. If you haven't seen it, I blog actively on TypePad over at The Sew Weekly (and haven't had this much fun blogging in a really long time.) I'm a customer of Six Apart, now SAY Media, and I want a platform that enables me to be creative. Additionally, I want to have the potential grow The Sew Weekly into something much bigger. I *am* an everyday blogger/creator with aspirations -- probably a lot like you. Much of what we want to do with SAY Media has already been started at Six Apart. Already, our bloggers/creators are making a living from their blog on their own terms. Our goal at SAY Media is do this all in a very smart way and we'll be working with our publishers to figure all of this out.
It *is* bittersweet not to be Six Apart anymore. Believe me, there were a lot of tears shed as I said good-bye to the Six Apart era. However, the potential to be grow into something bigger -- something that actually will able to evolve more quickly -- was our greatest incentive.
I thank all of you who were a part of our company over the years. I've worked with some of the funniest, smartest, generous and sweetest people I've ever met. I can say -- without any insincerity -- that my best friends became a part of my life because of Six Apart. I learned a lot of lessons -- good and bad. We made mistakes, but we also did completely awesome things. My life is better because Six Apart forced me to come out of a shell of insecurity. I learned how to have a tougher skin and also when to just let things go. I learned who I was and what truly mattered to me.
Most importantly, I met the people -- our customers -- who allowed us to help them express themselves. Be it for fun, for profit, for laughs or just for themselves. I don't remember the names of everyone I met, but I certainly remember our experiences. Be it in Tokyo, Chicago, New York, Texas, San Francisco, wherever.
Thank you -- to all our customers, past and present --from the bottom of my heart!
