I’ve been doing this “put words up on the internet” thing for a very long time. Before Beyond the Rhetoric launched in 2006, I ran Now That’s Entertainment, first as an email list in 1999 and then later on as a Geocities site. Remember Geocities? It goes without saying that the internet has changed a lot in the past 20+ years. But, at the same time, old habits die hard. And maybe What’s Up Wednesdays is ready to roam free at a farm upstate. It’ll be happier there, right?
What’s Up With What’s Up Wednesdays?
For context, and for anyone who might be new around here, What’s Up Wednesdays was a weekly series (and more recently a monthly series) here on the blog. With it, I’d usually share links to interesting or worthwhile blog posts from around the web. Or the “blogosphere,” as we oldies used to call it. The idea, at least in part, was to “share the link love” and give back to this online blogging community that has given me so much. It was a great way to connect with other bloggers too.
So last month, for instance, I shared some easy camping recipes. The month before that, I rounded up some great Instagram Reels by some fellow dad bloggers. With What’s Up Wednesdays, I take the opportunity to shine a bit of a spotlight on other awesome content creators and bloggers. But, as I said at the top, the internet has changed a lot. And maybe this kind of “speedlink” or “link love” or “roundup” isn’t as relevant as it once was.
What’s in a Name?
In doing a tiny bit of research for today’s post, I was surprised to learn that What’s Up Wednesdays goes 14 years back. It didn’t always go by that name. Regrettably, I started with Throwing Up Links on Thursday. A terrible choice by any measure, absolutely. Switching up the days, I shifted gears to Stumbling Upon Sundays, inspired by StumbleUpon. Remember StumbleUpon?
I published the first issue of What’s Up Wednesdays on June 6, 2007. Curiously enough, the first issue wasn’t really the “speedlink” that the series would quickly become. It was more of a meandering episode of free association on my part, sharing some musings I had that didn’t really justify dedicated blog posts. These days, the same musings find more life on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, albeit in a slightly different format. The first real speedlink under the What’s Up Wednesdays moniker came later that month. And it’s continued to this day.
But now, it’s day has come.
The End Is the Beginning Is the End
Perhaps, with Halloween this weekend, it’s only appropriate that I include a Smashing Pumpkins reference. Sure, why not? But, I don’t want to define the death of What’s Up Wednesdays through the lens of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Or Batman, for that matter. Yes, this is the end of a series (probably). It’s also clearing the way for new opportunities for more creative exploration. I’ll continue to “give back” to the greater blogger and online content creator community through retweets and post shares. I just won’t do it in a round-up format on this blog.
So, what will this new beginning bring? If nothing else, it gives me room to breathe. And I hope you’ll continue to join me on this journey as we explore food, family and the pursuit of a life fulfilled. Let’s go beyond the rhetoric. Though maybe not on Geocities.
There are a few things I do, and more that I used to do just because I’ve always done them. The second they stop being fun or useful, ditch them. You’ll feel better for it.
There’s very much a “sunk cost fallacy” at play too, in some ways. Maybe not so much with What’s Up Wednesdays, specifically, but when you feel like you’ve “invested” so much of your time and energy into growing your podcast, YouTube, Instagram or whatever else. It’s hard to “give it up” when it’s not bearing the fruit you hoped it would.