(I’m not liking the ninth-anniversary gift options, particularly the idea of leather… Sage can just send me a case of Diet Coke or something… like a case of Diet Coke.)

Every year, I try to take a look back at what we’ve done here on the blog and what it is I’m hoping to do moving forward. Each year, I’m kind of amazed at how little I actually planned to do got done, while simultaneously being amazed at what it is we actually accomplished here.

With the launch of the Exploring Mass Communication textbook, I set up a goal of having Monday be that Mass Com day, Wednesday being that more traditional writing/reporting day and Thursday being a chance to pull a post from years past to give the folks who are new to the blog a chance to see it. That goal went to hell in a speedboat, as a ton of newsworthy stuff tended to find its way into the mix and rarely was I feeling the “mass com” vibe on Mondays as much as I was feeling the “Holy Hell, did you see what happened this weekend?” vibes.

It also came down to the idea of audience-centricity for me. Sure, I want to keep each book fresh and keep the folks nice enough to adopt them happy with new things, but I wasn’t going to rob Peter to pay Paul just because I made up my mind to have a schedule. If I thought, “Hey, a lot of people might be talking about X and might need some help…” well, I went there. If someone asked me, “Could you blog about X, because my students clearly don’t believe me and I’m at a point of taking up a new career in refrigerator sales if I can’t get them to get this concept…” well, that went to the top of the pile as well.

The real reason is that this blog has never been about me. It’s about you and what you need.

That was the deal I set up with the folks at Sage nine years ago or so when they told me I’d be doing this thing. I stuck to the 70-20-10 rule like it was the speed limit in Rosendale, putting out new, audience-centric content 70 percent of the time, reposts that had value 20 percent and book-pimping/personal glory stuff 10 percent of the time (or less.)

I’m still sticking with that, but I can always use your help, so please make sure to let me know what works and what doesn’t. I have never been egotistical enough to think that I know best and people are waiting with bated breath for my latest pontification. Hell, I’m only now able to say “Thank you” when someone says, “Hey, I’m using your book,” as opposed to my traditional responses of, “Oh. I’m sorry…” Tell me what you need and you’ll get it. Tell me how you want it, and I’ll try to make it work.

I’m really going to try to enjoy this year with you all, as I revise Exploring Mass Com, teach a class I’m dubbing “Life 101” and spend some quality time fixing things around the farm.

And Sage? Do I get a set of steak knives or something if I make it to 10 years? Just getting this out there now so you have a year to plan…

Summer weekly schedule starts now. See you all next week.

Vince (a.k.a. The Doctor of Paper)