After just over 300 posts (that includes my previous columns) and 2500 comments, its time to move on.
In fact, I am moving on in more ways than one: Ill also be moving house, moving state and changing jobs.
So why have these changes come about?
Firstly, Web Publications, publisher of AutoSpeed, wants to streamline editorial costs. The global financial crisis has dramatically affected advertising revenue and despite our excellent number of page views this has financially bitten hard. Rather than close AutoSpeed a very real possibility Web Pubs asked me to devise an editorial plan that allowed AutoSpeed to continue, but at much reduced cost.
As a result, two areas than consumed a lot of time but contributed little to overall readership will be dropped this blog and also Response, the latter where we have run emails from readers. Furthermore, I will not respond personally to reader emails, nor to comments made by readers about previous blog posts.
In addition, new content will decrease slightly there will be two less new articles per month.
For nearly all readers, those changes will be transparent.
For me, AutoSpeed will no longer be my full-time job.
My wife Georgina and I view this as a major opportunity to move on to new things. While I have been working on AutoSpeed, she graduated with a Diploma in Child Care and a Bachelor of Education, and I have fulfilled the requirements for a Graduate Diploma in Journalism. With our little boy Alexander about to enter school, it makes sense to view this change in circumstances as an opportunity for major family change, to start afresh in a new environment and use those qualifications in new work.
Alexander can start school, Georgina can start a new career as a teacher, and I can embrace writing and editing of a different type.
As I wrote, with unconscious prescience, in
this blog, I see many people frightened of change, and not seeing change as opportunity.
I dont want to be one of them.
Is the glass of water half full or half empty? I am sad that I will be leaving behind my lovely home workshop, but I also know that next time I build a large shed Ill be able to do it twice as fast. The turbocharged Prius has been sold; the knowledge I gained about hybrids was largely as a result of my modification work on that car and thats knowledge thats in my head, not going with the car. Ill be taking with me my recumbent, suspension pedal trikes when we first moved here about eight years ago, I didnt even know that such vehicles existed, let alone thought for one moment that Id become an expert on them, especially with regard to their suspension systems.
I doubt if Ill be testing many new cars in the future and I wont miss for one moment the politics that accompanies that. In fact, I am rather glad that Im departing that scene having recently driven three cars that in their respective fields of luxury, sports and economy are the best I have ever sampled the Lexus 600hL, the Tesla Roadster, and the Honda Jazz.
I have been extraordinarily lucky to have had, for a decade, a full-time job with AutoSpeed.
Working from home, I have seen every stage in the development of Alexander his first crawls, first steps and first words.
Brendan Taylor, Ian Slinger and Nathan Huppatz owners of Web Publications have never in any respect dictated to me what I should write, the direction of AutoSpeed or any other factors pertaining to content. That freedom - simply unheard-of in automotive journalism has made my writing for this publication a continual, exciting joy.
Web Pubs has also embraced the content diversity that in the last few years I have brought to AutoSpeed, and in fact have suggested that they have no problems with the content broadening still further. That, in addition to automotive topics, I can now write about historic technology, inventions, energy efficiency and other topics is hugely attractive to me.
To those readers who have followed my material over a very long time, from
Fast Fours & Rotaries, to
Silicon Chip, to
Zoom, to
AutoSpeed, thanks for your longstanding support.
To all of you: continue to embrace the changing world, welcoming new ideas, trying new techniques, and simply being bloody glad youre alive
