This year, as with all years, has had plenty of both good and bad (and I will incidentally pledge to you that I will never, ever, as long as I live, give a post the title “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”, since it has to be the most overused, hackneyed, tiresome article titles in human history). But I digress: what I was saying was that 2013 utterly sucked for the bears (which makes it remarkably similar to, oh, 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009) but was pretty good for The Slope of Hope.
My little corner of the Internet remains vibrant, popular, and beneficial to its readers in large part to each and every one of the Slopers that frequent (and in some cases practically inhabit full-time) this establishment. I tried to think of some of the things I’d like to anticipate in the year ahead:
- Adding new features to Slope: I don’t have a list of these. The new goodies that appear on the blog usually just occur to me out of the blue, and they pop into life a few days later. I want to really encourage you to pester me about new things you’d like to see on the site. The best way to communicate these to me is email.
- Giving Slope+ subscribers more than they expect: The brightest spot of this year professionally has been the success of Slope+. I am absolutely delighted at the number of people that have joined and the positive feedback I’ve received, and I encourage those of you not on it to give it a try! I want to ramp up my efforts on Slope+ and provide subscribers with value far beyond the price of their subscription. My hope is that positive word of mouth will boost the growth of the service.
- Seeing one of my kids become a teen and proving it doesn’t have to suck: Yes, on a personal note, one of my children is crossing into teenage-land in 2014. He’s such a fundamentally sweet kid that I’m not worried, but of course there are plenty of horror stories out there. I’ll hope that his gentle diposition continues to guide his character.
- Wiping the smirk off the bulls’ faces with a serious downdraft: This will take some cooperation on something far out of my control (specifically, the market), but no one on the planet would enjoy turning those smiles upside-down. The hubris of the bulls passed the “nauseating” point a long time ago.
- Actually showing up to a SlopeFest: I haven’t attended a SlopeFest since May of 2012. That’s no good! I really want to take part, since meeting some of you lunatics in person is always a wonderful experience.
What happens between December 31 and January 1 isn’t one bit different than what happens between May 22 and May 23, or October 2 and October 3. The delineation of time is a human invention, but, let’s face it, our species makes a big deal out of the new year. Here’s hoping that 2014 is terrific for Slopers, for Slope itself, and for our relationship with the market. Be well.
