Some Thoughts on Being on My Own

Sometime around a year ago I found myself without a job. Up until that point everything was comfortable, my boss was great, I didn’t really have anything to complain about. Chalk me up as just another statistic, though. The economy dried up and that was that.

I’ve been building websites full time since the mid-’90s. For over a decade I got used to pretty steady jobs that paid a decent salary. I always did a little freelance work here and there, but it wasn’t really something that I considered doing full time. (When you have a wife and two young kids, you find yourself preferring stability over risk as much as possible.)

Well, around a year ago, that stability ceased to exist and I was faced with some interesting life decisions:

Do I look for another “real” job? Or, do I try to make it on my own?

If I become my own boss, do I start to ramp up the freelance gigs? Or, do I build some kind of web service that people will pay for? Do I have a good enough idea that could be sustainable?

Most of you who read this blog, will know me as “that photoblog guy”. I created a site called Photoblogs.org way back in 2002 that got some notoriety in The New York Times, Washington Post, Time Magazine, etc. That was my first real taste of what the internet and online communities can do. As a programmer, I can just think up an idea, put it on the web, and see if it will fly. Pretty neat.

As time went on, (around 2003) I was getting ready to start a family and I didn’t want to take on any unnecessary risks, like starting my own photoblogging company. I already had a great job and my wife and I were in the process of working on our life: a dog, two kids, a couple of cars, and a mortgage. We eventually got the whole enchilada and it’s actually been quite rewarding. I never knew how much there was to learn from being a husband-dad-person. (It’s not always easy, but I feel like I appreciate and understand life better.)

Anyhow, as I was busy being a stable family guy, several amazing web-things were invented. A few have absolutely changed the way I see the world. Favorites include: Flickr, WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Techmeme, jQuery, HTML5, Cloud Servers, CentOS, and the iPhone/iPad.

So much is possible in today’s world (at least on the web where I feel at home). The technology is pulling and accelerating at an exponential rate and we’re only just at the beginning of it all.

A year ago I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with myself. I wasn’t sure if I could make it on my own without having a “real” job. So far, I’ve been able to do some freelance work and make a few deals with some companies and individuals. I’m busy, working from home, taking care of kids, programming, immersing myself in all those innovations listed above, and (best of all) apparently keeping my head above water.

Recently I was jogging with my 3yo daughter in the big-wheeled-stroller-contraption and I decided to write down some of these thoughts and send them out into the world. I started this blog as a way to talk about “things that I’ve done lately”, so this is just a little overview of what’s been going on since I last posted.

I may elaborate more at a later date. In the meantime, thanks to anyone who’s following along.