Yup. 3kids and the wife.
Even though there’s no pictures included in the post, it’s good to hear you didn’t die and still plan on updating with some pictures in the future. I’m super happy this wasn’t just another thread bump asking when the next update would happen.“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” -Mark Twain
It would appear that not even our beloved CK5.com community is immune from misinformation these days.
While it has been amusing (and at times disappointing) to see the recent commentary about the MightAsWellK5 build nothing about the project or its priorities have fundamentally changed. Forward progress is slow and steady, but is not likely to ever be fast enough to satisfy the internet’s insatiable appetite for fresh, new content.
Creating quality content takes a significant investment of time and effort, and the way that people are choosing to consume their content is changing. Whether we like it or not, message forums and these “long-format” build threads don’t get the same kind of interaction and attention that they once enjoyed. Yet it is one of the most time-consuming formats in which to participate. The approach for the last 14 years has been to create an engaging journey with good photos, descriptive thought process and exploration of the tools and techniques required to turn an idea into a reality. But it comes at a cost.
It typically takes about an hour to create a new MAW update post on CK5…. That’s time spent organizing thoughts and sequence of events, locating the best photos, uploading and inserting them where they clarify the process… proofreading the whole thing to make sure that it actually makes sense, tells an interesting story and invites some discussion with readers. This is how the 400+ pages of this thread were created over the last decade-and-a-half. It has been a truly massive time commitment.
Looking objectively at engagement on CK5 over the past couple of years however, it is clear that people just don’t seem as interested as they once were. Scroll back through major MAW thread updates and there are no comments… no “thumbs”, “laughs” or even “poop” emojis to signal that there is a reaction of any kind to the build itself or the new content being posted. There are really only a few reasons why. Either people have just lost interest in the project completely, don’t have anything to say or honestly are just sick of seeing this thread constantly “bumped” to the top of the Driveway Forum and would prefer to see other builds get more attention. All of that makes perfect sense… and I don’t begrudge anyone who feels that way. In fact, there were comments shared in private suggesting that my updates and participation on CK5 were growing tiresome and annoying. That was tough to hear, but in retrospect I believe it was accurate…. Therefore, it was time to just step back and be quiet for an extended period of time to give everyone here a much-needed break.
Ultimately, I will return to CK5 and post build updates again in the future. I know that some of you have been with me since the very beginning so when milestones occur, it’s important that you share in those victories. Of course, Instagram has become an extremely popular way to reach an audience. Steve @CK5 understands that and has a massive IG following, so it’s really not about choosing one platform over the other at all. They are different ways to share content and they are complimentary. CK5.com membership has increased by Steve’s involvement with IG, and it works the opposite way as well. You can find some insanely talented builders, fabricators and artists on IG and their work is inspiring… I post infrequently over there, but have been using it as a great resource for research, tips and build techniques.
Thanks for checking in…. and if you’d like, stay tuned for updates (eventually)
-G
What you need to do is to start involving your son in the posting process so there is continuity in the process when he takes over the build when you're too old.“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” -Mark Twain
It would appear that not even our beloved CK5.com community is immune from misinformation these days.
While it has been amusing (and at times disappointing) to see the recent commentary about the MightAsWellK5 build nothing about the project or its priorities have fundamentally changed. Forward progress is slow and steady, but is not likely to ever be fast enough to satisfy the internet’s insatiable appetite for fresh, new content.
Creating quality content takes a significant investment of time and effort, and the way that people are choosing to consume their content is changing. Whether we like it or not, message forums and these “long-format” build threads don’t get the same kind of interaction and attention that they once enjoyed. Yet it is one of the most time-consuming formats in which to participate. The approach for the last 14 years has been to create an engaging journey with good photos, descriptive thought process and exploration of the tools and techniques required to turn an idea into a reality. But it comes at a cost.
It typically takes about an hour to create a new MAW update post on CK5…. That’s time spent organizing thoughts and sequence of events, locating the best photos, uploading and inserting them where they clarify the process… proofreading the whole thing to make sure that it actually makes sense, tells an interesting story and invites some discussion with readers. This is how the 400+ pages of this thread were created over the last decade-and-a-half. It has been a truly massive time commitment.
Looking objectively at engagement on CK5 over the past couple of years however, it is clear that people just don’t seem as interested as they once were. Scroll back through major MAW thread updates and there are no comments… no “thumbs”, “laughs” or even “poop” emojis to signal that there is a reaction of any kind to the build itself or the new content being posted. There are really only a few reasons why. Either people have just lost interest in the project completely, don’t have anything to say or honestly are just sick of seeing this thread constantly “bumped” to the top of the Driveway Forum and would prefer to see other builds get more attention. All of that makes perfect sense… and I don’t begrudge anyone who feels that way. In fact, there were comments shared in private suggesting that my updates and participation on CK5 were growing tiresome and annoying. That was tough to hear, but in retrospect I believe it was accurate…. Therefore, it was time to just step back and be quiet for an extended period of time to give everyone here a much-needed break.
Ultimately, I will return to CK5 and post build updates again in the future. I know that some of you have been with me since the very beginning so when milestones occur, it’s important that you share in those victories. Of course, Instagram has become an extremely popular way to reach an audience. Steve @CK5 understands that and has a massive IG following, so it’s really not about choosing one platform over the other at all. They are different ways to share content and they are complimentary. CK5.com membership has increased by Steve’s involvement with IG, and it works the opposite way as well. You can find some insanely talented builders, fabricators and artists on IG and their work is inspiring… I post infrequently over there, but have been using it as a great resource for research, tips and build techniques.
Thanks for checking in…. and if you’d like, stay tuned for updates (eventually)
-G
Even I am still here!“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” -Mark Twain
It would appear that not even our beloved CK5.com community is immune from misinformation these days.
While it has been amusing (and at times disappointing) to see the recent commentary about the MightAsWellK5 build nothing about the project or its priorities have fundamentally changed. Forward progress is slow and steady, but is not likely to ever be fast enough to satisfy the internet’s insatiable appetite for fresh, new content.
Creating quality content takes a significant investment of time and effort, and the way that people are choosing to consume their content is changing. Whether we like it or not, message forums and these “long-format” build threads don’t get the same kind of interaction and attention that they once enjoyed. Yet it is one of the most time-consuming formats in which to participate. The approach for the last 14 years has been to create an engaging journey with good photos, descriptive thought process and exploration of the tools and techniques required to turn an idea into a reality. But it comes at a cost.
It typically takes about an hour to create a new MAW update post on CK5…. That’s time spent organizing thoughts and sequence of events, locating the best photos, uploading and inserting them where they clarify the process… proofreading the whole thing to make sure that it actually makes sense, tells an interesting story and invites some discussion with readers. This is how the 400+ pages of this thread were created over the last decade-and-a-half. It has been a truly massive time commitment.
Looking objectively at engagement on CK5 over the past couple of years however, it is clear that people just don’t seem as interested as they once were. Scroll back through major MAW thread updates and there are no comments… no “thumbs”, “laughs” or even “poop” emojis to signal that there is a reaction of any kind to the build itself or the new content being posted. There are really only a few reasons why. Either people have just lost interest in the project completely, don’t have anything to say or honestly are just sick of seeing this thread constantly “bumped” to the top of the Driveway Forum and would prefer to see other builds get more attention. All of that makes perfect sense… and I don’t begrudge anyone who feels that way. In fact, there were comments shared in private suggesting that my updates and participation on CK5 were growing tiresome and annoying. That was tough to hear, but in retrospect I believe it was accurate…. Therefore, it was time to just step back and be quiet for an extended period of time to give everyone here a much-needed break.
Ultimately, I will return to CK5 and post build updates again in the future. I know that some of you have been with me since the very beginning so when milestones occur, it’s important that you share in those victories. Of course, Instagram has become an extremely popular way to reach an audience. Steve @CK5 understands that and has a massive IG following, so it’s really not about choosing one platform over the other at all. They are different ways to share content and they are complimentary. CK5.com membership has increased by Steve’s involvement with IG, and it works the opposite way as well. You can find some insanely talented builders, fabricators and artists on IG and their work is inspiring… I post infrequently over there, but have been using it as a great resource for research, tips and build techniques.
Thanks for checking in…. and if you’d like, stay tuned for updates (eventually)
-G
