So Long and Thanks for All the Fish
It's been a busy six months and MyBlogLog is integrating nicely into Yahoo. We're on better servers, we've grown the team and there are some exciting new features in the works. Dare I say that the future is so bright that we gotta wear shades? So it seems like the right time to pull up stakes.
Maybe a little back story is in order:
About a month before my first son was due, the company I worked for laid off 90% of its staff. My wife and I were in Western Massachusetts, far from our families, and our entire social network was based around the fantastic friends we had developed among my co-workers. By the time Royse was born, nearly all of our friends had moved away. Since my job was to salvage the company, I took off about five days to spend with Jen and the baby and then I went back to work. It was a hard time. When Royse was seven months old, I had no income and I took out a second mortgage on the house so that I could keep working on MyBlogLog. My wife was willing to bet everything on me.
So now my second son is due on Tuesday and I plan on taking some time to enjoy it. I'm going to take care of Royse so that my wife can recuperate. Spend a lot of time with baby Parker. Maybe lose a little of the weight I've gained over the last two years from two startups and two pregnancies. Check MyBlogLog religiously to see how the new features are shaping up and how this wonderful community continues to grow (I'm member bpm140 and I'll be blogging at www.marcoullier.com).
It has been an honor working for you for the last two years. I've done some things that I'm really proud of and some things that make me want to hide under the bed. But these have been two of the best years of my life and I'm glad that I got to spend it with you.
As for the team, you all are simply the greatest group of people I've ever had the privilege of working with.
Emanuel -- We got to work with each other for what, eight hours? But they were a damn solid eight hours. You're going to kick ass with the team, I'm sure of it.
Ian -- You joined MyBlogLog because you wanted to get back to a place where things happened nonstop. Is it a coincidence that the week you started is the week we started developing full steam again? I think not. You've brought the fire back to the team.
Chris -- Damn, boy, you had one hell of a bar to meet. John and Steve are the finest programmers I've ever worked with and I didn't know how anyone else was going to meet my unrealistic expectations. Thank you for rocking from day one and blowing my mind.
Robyn -- You made what I thought was so hard look so damn easy. We were flooded with customer service and community management requests and I was in way over my head. Less than a week after you started, everything was running smoothly AND you had the gall to do it in four hours a day, leaving you plenty of time to make the community a better place day after day after day.
Micah -- Every time we met the site got better. It was like being in a jazz club and watching a master do his thing. Bonus: Friendliest. Guy. Ever. You know the janitors, man!
Rafer -- You may not be a part of the team anymore, but it would be criminal not to mention you here. MyBlogLog would still be a cool little stats feature if it hadn't been for you. You are my Yoda, amigo.
Steve -- It's not just that you do the impossible. It's that your so frickin' nice! I have no doubt that a little piece of you died every time I pinged you on IM at midnight and asked if you could make a tweak to the site for me. But you always did it, and you were always cool to this dumbass product guy who kept changing priorities on you. You are a good man.
John -- I go around stealing all the credit and saying "I'm the voice of the members" but it has always been a two-person job. Thanks for keeping us honest and having the guts to ask the difficult questions whenever the rest of us were rarin' to go. You're the heart of MyBlogLog.
Todd -- You are my best friend, bro. Thank you for everything.
I look forward to all the great things MyBlogLog's members will do in the coming years. I'm not going far -- it took me six years to get back to San Francisco; I ain't leaving any time soon. Feel free to give me a shout at eric@marcoullier.com if you ever want to play a little ultimate, go see a show at the Fillmore or just talk about the web.
Rock on!
Eric
Damn dude... It has been an amazing ride so far -- not only the last 2.5 years at MBL, but life in general since we first met in fifth grade. It is going to be so strange around here without you. But I am sure it won't be long til we are tilting at the next crazy idea together.
In the mean time, enjoy the new baby; can't wait to meet him.
Love ya bro,
Todd
Posted by: ToddSampson | July 20, 2007 at 05:14 PM
Eric,
Your energy, your vision, and your passion for the MyBlogLog community will be missed by MyBlogLoggers and by Yahoo!. Unplug, unwind, enjoy your family time, and we'll all see you commenting away on MyBlogLog in the future. Keep us real and honest...I know you will!
;)
Peace,
-c
Posted by: Cody Simms | July 20, 2007 at 05:45 PM
ROCK ON!
Posted by: Ted Rheingold | July 20, 2007 at 05:49 PM
Eric,
I have learned a lot from working with you and I'm sure I will learn even more from what you do in the next stage.
Best wishes, and enjoy the time with the family (and its soon-to-be newest member)!
Chad
p.s. if you figure out how to break the Diet Coke addiction in your time off, please clue me in :)
Posted by: Chad Dickerson | July 20, 2007 at 06:38 PM
"I got a crazy teacher..." whose understanding of community and conversation opened my eyes to a new way of thinking (hell, an industry’s way of thinking). You’ve innovated and pushed issues (especially privacy) to the public to decide what is right and wrong. Brilliant Work!
We’re gonna miss you – best of luck w/ 2 little boys. You’re gonna need it!
Posted by: John Sampson | July 20, 2007 at 07:40 PM
Eric, it'd been great working with ya! You always knew what you wanted and really went for it. Congrats on your second child and a big big thanks for making MyBlogLog happen! Yeah, it feels strange without you around.
Posted by: Steve Ho | July 20, 2007 at 08:41 PM
Sorry to see you go Eric, you were hilarious and fun to be around (for the few hours I was able to). Hope all goes well for you in the future.
Good luck with the kids!
Posted by: Emanuel | July 20, 2007 at 08:52 PM
I'm sure going to miss the Monday morning bursts of inspiration - it was an amazing ride! We'll do our best to keep the flame alive and vision true. Looking forward to seeing Eric with *two* little ones in tow. Rock on!
Posted by: Ian Kennedy | July 20, 2007 at 08:54 PM
Being a part of this team has meant so much to me. I really appreciate the opportunity to be surrounded by such smart, cool and great people, and I'm sad a major part of our glue is not going to be here anymore. Thanks for your leadership. Please don't be a stranger (I can't imagine my life without cheesy 80s music and LOLcats).
Posted by: Robyn Tippins | July 20, 2007 at 09:03 PM
Dude, its gonna be strange without you here, I will forever miss the 'I also love cats' and your excellent bad habits that rubbed off on me :) Congrats on the new member of the family! Now I must go back to work for this weekend and not sleep.
Posted by: Chris Goffinet | July 20, 2007 at 09:19 PM
Last!
Darn, that right not is.
Anyway, go get that kid born and paid attention to -- and be quick about it. We all want to see what amazing thing is next.
Posted by: Scott Rafer | July 21, 2007 at 01:40 AM
Eric , here are a bunch of bananas for your happy trails ahead! Bon Appétit! And enjoy! The best to you and your Family! Thanks for all the MyBlogLog, Eric style!
Posted by: ndpthepoetress | July 21, 2007 at 11:56 AM
Congrats Eric. MyBlogLog is a real hit.
Posted by: Kashif | July 21, 2007 at 12:27 PM
Eric,
It was great getting to know you as MyBlogLog came aboard the big purple Yahoo.
You guys rock, plain and simple.
Enjoy the time with your growing family. Now that you're in SF (and hopefully back on the startup track sooner rather than later) I look forward to more cool creations and hope we keep inadvertantly meeting at the Starbucks in SoMA.
Posted by: Mike Grishaver | July 21, 2007 at 12:41 PM
Dude, we're going to miss you around here. But huge respect for SAHD's. The world needs more of them. Enjoy those squirts!
In crassness I write...
Posted by: Nicki Dugan | July 21, 2007 at 01:48 PM
First you steal my entire name as your last name, and NOW THIS?
Damn Eric, you're going to be missed. I barely worked with you, but then again it took about 5 seconds to see you were exactly what yahoo needed an infusion of (dare I say thinking like a god damn user and embracing the disintegration of the portal that binds, not fearing it).
It was great to work with you, if only briefly.
Put your passion to work changing diapers! You're going to need it.
Ping me next time you're in austin dude. Brews on me.
Mark
Posted by: Mark Collier | July 21, 2007 at 02:24 PM
I stumbled across this while reading news on techmeme. What a really cool post. You sound like I do right now - tired, ready to put my life into something other than my start ups. :)
Posted by: Patricia | July 21, 2007 at 02:54 PM
they are only kids once. enjoy.
Posted by: howard Lindzon | July 21, 2007 at 03:44 PM
Enjoy the time off, Eric!
Posted by: Jeremy Zawodny | July 21, 2007 at 07:35 PM
Eric -
hope all goes well with kid #2 and look forward to hearing what you'll be up to next... after changing those diapers.
hope you finally get to play some ultimate with the folks over in glen park!
take care & best wishes,
- dave mcclure
Posted by: Dave | July 21, 2007 at 08:07 PM
Eric,
Congrats on everything you accomplished. I totally agree with you staying in the San Francisco area. I know that you will show up again, but until then - enjoy your time off - kids grow up too quick.
Rex
Posted by: Rex | July 22, 2007 at 06:26 AM
Eric,
When it's time to go, everyone knows. Family is the most important thing. Time to direct energy to that.
I've been there. Congrats on your accomplishments and good luck with the future.
Posted by: Jim Kukral | July 22, 2007 at 08:38 AM
Eric- you're a major reason why I feel that MBL is the best community site on the web. You were personally and professionally invested in making this a better place, which is an awesome legacy to leave behind. Thanks again.
Posted by: Urbanist | July 22, 2007 at 04:34 PM
Bye, you seemed like a
friendly sort...
Gee how things change so
quick...I am relatively new
at mybloglog.com
I hope that things work out wherever you are.
Posted by: joanne | July 22, 2007 at 05:56 PM
Dear Eric,
All the Best in your endeavors. Although we never knew each other personally, you were the first friend I had :) And even if that is automated, it still felt warm to have a friend immediately the moment I joined :) Cheers and may everything work out well for you!
Posted by: Sandman | July 22, 2007 at 10:09 PM