At the end of this year Thedomains.com will be taking a different course, Michael will not be publishing as often and no longer tied to a blog that he worked like he was an 18 year old just starting out online. Michael absolutely worked like he had $10 in the bank and put up with a lot of nonsense that he certainly didn’t have to put up with. I would always ask him, “Why are you putting up with this crap ?”
There will not be a need for other writers and ads will be coming down, so my writing with TheDomains.com will be winding down. I will still help out if Michael ever needs anything in a jam.
It was two years ago when a phone call about something else turned into an offer to come write for TheDomains. In addition to writing there was the offer to handle ad sales. It has been an informative and interesting two years, a record 2015 for advertising that blew away previous years, and record traffic over the last two years.
The thing I most respect about Michael is that we sometimes had strong differences of opinion on story ideas or angles where Michael could have always said piss off, or discontinue our agreement, he always allowed the debate to flow from beginning to end and things were worked out each time with no hard feelings on either side.
I learned a lot and would like to think I brought another point of view to what I consider to be the best blog in the space.
All the best to Michael and Judi as they move on to the next chapter, thanks for everything.
Frank says
You are a class act Raymond… Good things to Mike and Judi they sure deserve it.
frank meester says
Agree!!
Q says
Michael will be missed on a daily basis, are you available Raymond to write for a new domain blog ? Send an email to the one left in the comment.
Cheers
JSL says
Always loved your contribution to thedomains, Ray. I will continue to read you over here.
Cheers !
michael berkens says
Thanks Raymond very nice of you.
Judi and I appreciate it and all the hard work
sukhjin says
All the best
Joseph Peterson says
Yep. Mike will argue an idea through, through differences of opinion, without emotional flareups, ideological fist pounding, or animosity. Domainers as a group usually don’t follow his example, but it didn’t hurt to have the example set.
Raymond, I expect you’ll be in demand more broadly than ever now – for ad sales, content curation, and (of course) as a writer. Keep us all posted!
todd says
Why can’t you work out a deal to keep the fire lit at TheDomains? You continue the site and give Michael X dollars a month for doing nothing at all. He can sit back and collect a check and you can keep TheDomains rolling. I’m sure there is a way to work something out.
Raymond Hackney says
Michael and I discussed many things and potential options, at the end of the day Michael really did not want to be tied to an active blog and advertising commitments and legal responsibility.