Changes

The time has come for a major New Year’s resolution.

Cablog is now four years old and was first launched in December 2003. So at this time it's appropriate to take stock and reappraise the blogging caper. Cablog has always been a hobby and labour of love which has attained a niche in the blogsphere, albeit for moderate success.

However I’ve decided to quit the daily postings, for a variety of reasons, not the least being my neglected fitness, earnings and sleep. It has come to a point where I need an extended break from the routine before deciding how to develop Cablog in 2008.

Needless to say the lack of financial incentive in blogging is a large determining factor. This was borne out whilst Cabpolling for ninemsn during the recent Federal elections, when I happily accepted reduced taxi wages for paid media content.

The good news is that Cablog will continue in some capacity, though I won’t be posting on a regular basis. But next month I expect to receive final trademark registration for ‘Cablog’ and ‘Cabpoll’, unique brands worth retaining and protecting, so I'll be around.

Also I feel now that my writing/blogging should be taken to the next level, though I'm uncertain what that is exactly. One consideration is formal studies. Many readers have suggested a book of cab stories but I’m far from convinced that such books really work, other than as a collection of interesting vignettes.

The fact that my stories have already been published online and in magazines is reward enough and I'm reluctant to re-work them just to have them appear in book form. Or maybe I'm just too tired to think about such a monumental task.

If there is a book in me then it’s more likely to be a fiction novel, drawing upon life experiences beyond taxi driving.

You may be interested in some statistics from four years of blogging – 450 passenger stories; 40 Cabpoll reports; 90 moblogs; hundreds of images and a handful of mini 'movies' (phew). Plus other cab related material.

However if I remember any Cablog highlights, aside from the consistent appreciation and encouragement from readers, one post stands out. This was during the Federal election when I produced my first multimedia report. As a blogger it’s this fledgling medium which really appeals and is something I wish to perfect. Call me a digital media geek.

Finally, any appraisal of the last four years would be deficient without recognising my readers, many of whom have been with me from the start. Without your support and interest Cablog would not have survived, nor continue to survive into the future.

Thus I sincerely wish you all a wonderful New Year and best wishes for 2008.

Comments

[Ian]

Onya mate... HNY :-)

and stay safe tonight!!

[scottks]

I bet you'd be great at fiction. I'll miss the daily reports, but I wish you all the luck and good fortune you so rightly deserve. Happy New Year!

[jayjay]

I'll miss your interesting tales. Best of luck in 2008.

[steph]

All the best for 2008 and whatever you decide to do in the future. xx

[Goldstein]

Maybe I'll take over your spot -I'll call it "CABWHINGE", I can get Paul Pluta to ghost-write it, ah, put ads for porn sites all over, pop-ups galore, slander all the cab company managers, start rumours, yee-ha...

Or maybe not.. bugger it, I'm going back to bed..

[Caroline]

I think there are lots of bloggers who are at present reappraising what they put into their blogs and what their blogs take out of them. Its not so much the non-existant financial recompense but the space it takes up in one's life that prevents other things from occurring. I think in most activities taking a break from them and growing in other ways by making room for other influences can add depth to the activity when and if it is taken up again.

[PQ]

Sorry to hear that you are packing it in, Adrian.

All the best for future endeavours in the writing game.

I'll keep an eye out for your work so I can skite that "I used to read Adrian's blog before he was famous!"

Au Revoir, old mate.

[Jo]

Hey Adrian

Good Luck in 2008 - my mornings won't be the same wihout you, but I might get to start on my work a little earlier!

[Angharad]

Happy New Year Adrian. Thanks for some insightful pieces, great writing and stuff to think about. I like reading your blog and I'll keep hoping I get into your cab some day.

All the best.

[Bec]

I'm sorry to hear that you won't be posting on a regular basis anymore. I have only recently 'stumbled' across your blog and have enjoyed it so much that I have almost finished reading all of your archives! I found it very interesting.

However, I understand that everyone needs to do what is right for them, so I wish you all the best in the future and a very Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year to you.

[Paul Pluta]

Hello Adrian....
This is very sad news....

Can I please suggest the following:-

1) another good blog I follow is www.tomyang.net - this guy restored a 60s ferrari... anyhow - he has a yearly pledge to keep the site going.

2) another good site and friend is www.stickmanbangkok.com - he uses site advertising.....

3) how about you keep the site going with GHOST - step-in writers.... I HAVE A FEW STORIES TO TELL..... I am more than happy to email them to you and you can vet... AND THEN POST!!!

Kind regards... and PLEASE RECONSIDER,..

[adrian]

Thanks one and all for the kind sentiments.

For the first time in ten years I dogged working NYE and instead went to Woolies for groceries! Hard core. Thence went to bed early to start work last night early...doubled my take! Now that I'm focused on earnings it's time to address the fitness routine.

A reader has emailed requesting I post periodically, at least weekly. Fair enough, so will endeavour to do so on Mondays. But first a decent break to take stock. Cheers, A.

[shrimpy]

A blogger who hasn't yet 'monetized' his blog, v. refreshing :) Should you look to change that, there are a number of profitable bloggers out there who're worth researching: http://paulamooney.blogspot.com/2007/06/paulas-new-list-of-blogger-salaries-and.html

[SurferCam]

Great work Adrian.
I will miss the daily read, but that will just make your sporadic posts even better.
All the best.
Cam
ps - I think you should definitely write a book or two - maybe one on passengers and one outside of the cab world. Put me down for a copy of each!

[Alex]

That work you did for ninemsn you got paid for? Why don't you allow advertising on your blog with those traffic numbers (people coming to the site) you could easily get paid advertising to run across the site you would get a revenue share of 50% or more. It wouldn't compromise the editorial direction you take becuase the site is clean and humorous. There a are plenty of companies that would sell advertising acorss the site and wouldn't involve you undertaking any additional work.

[involved]

Hey mate, great reading your blog, throw a tip (read donate) button up so we can click to "tip the driver". All the best.

[turner mitteron]

Thanks for the ride, I've enjoyed it even if you do drive for Taxis Combined :-)

I've had to close my blog down because of rumoured legal threats by a disconteted reader. aka "The Boss". In my case we probably flew a little close to the wind with some of our comments, but what the hell, we are "only cab drivers" after all and we had a lot of fun doing it.

All the best for 2008 and I'll enjoy reading your concise edition.

[Dataceptionist]

All the best Adrian, I've enjoyed it and weekly posts would be great.

I still hope I land in your cab one day!

[Taxiku]

Dear Adrian:
Well, it's probably time I chimed in after reading nearly every post and comment on your site for three and a half years. I'm possibly the longest lurker in Cablog history.
I'm a cab driver myself, in Iowa City, Iowa. I've enjoyed all you've written, and I've shared your stuff with coworkers and friends. I've produced a digest form of what I considered to be your best taxi stories and I dare say it would print up nicely as two, perhaps three, books of modest length.
I appreciate all the time and energy you've put into this site, and the cost to you physically, financially and mentally. A book or books would offer a feeling of finality to the production, even if you continued to blog. You could look at the work on the shelf and say, "Well, there's Cablog 2003-2007, for good and all." A thing done - and well done. Perhaps this is a naive and vain view of the matter. I mean, you've done the blog. It's here for all to see. Maybe it's enough.
I see nothing wrong with a collection of vignettes, as long as they're well written. It's just nice to feel the heft of a book in one's hand - say what you will about this ethereal internet stuff. And you could sell the book as you drive.
Like many cabbies I've toyed with the idea of producing a book of my own. Twelve years in the business - I've seen a few things. The material is all written or outlined. Maybe someday I'll get my imagined tome produced.
I've always approached the idea of my taxi book as a collection of vignettes with an overarching theme. I thought of Homer's Odyssey, the idea of a toilsome, seemingly unending journey bracketing individual tales.
I think your book should be a reflection of your love for Sydney, a city I have come to know through your stories. I even bought a map to refer to when you write in geographic detail - a real paper map, with folds - not a cyber map. Call me old-fashioned.
The happiest of New Years to you. Drive safe. And thank you for the stories.

[Caroline]

Wow. Well that was worth it eh?

[adrian]

Well, Taxiku I'm most impressed you've gone to such trouble. Been wondering who was the heavy Iowa visitor lately.

That you've copied and compiled a digest is indeed impressive, though I trust only for your personal enjoyment, subject to copywrite provisions, of course.

And yes, my stories would make a number of books but for a publisher to accept they must be edited and rewritten thematically, or with a unifying theme. Therein lies a mountain of work which I will get to one day, most probably whilst off work or incapacitated with no other choice!

However your suggestion of location as a theme has merit and food for thought on how to tackle such an ardous task. Many thanks for your input and appreciation.

Oh, and thanks to those others with suggestions and links offered regarding monetizing the blog. I'm currently investigating such options.

Otherwise stand by folks for my return to blogging in the near future. Despite the break I haven't lost the love of story telling.

[Taxiku]

Adrian:
You have self-published your blog, editing it as you went along. Your book is right here! You need merely to prune it down and sort things thematically.
If the blog doesn't impress a publisher, perhaps a self-published small press book would. It would have the advantage of being done your way. It would cost money, of course.
1000 copies of a book might be sufficient to fulfill your ambition, and satisfy the needs of your audience. I'd like to think more people would want to read it, but it's hard to know. There seems to be a boom among such books in the US, books by waitresses, limo drivers, cabbies (Melissa Plaut's New York Hack, Bud Carson's My Fare City), bartenders and cooks. Still, these are likely to remain niche books for niche markets.
I have a collection of about 100 cab driver books dating back to the 1920s. I doubt any of them made their authors wealthy. A New York cabbie named James Maresca sold thousands of copies of his two taxi books in the early 1960s, but I don't imagine he retired to the French Riviera afterwards.
As for my infringement of your copyright, it amounts to about 10 photocopy issues (every four months or so), 10 to 20 pages, press runs of 7 copies each, with attribution. You've been read by perhaps 30 people, virtually all cab drivers, here at our company. (If you produce a book, I promise to make them all buy it.)

[TheDailyMagnet]

X. Good luck. Keep us posted.

[adrian]

Thanks Taxiku, I appreciate now that you're a serious fan of the genre, and my regards to your Cablog-reading colleagues. The advice is timely, encouraging and well noted for that rainy day. Cheers,

For those hankering for some Sydney night life tales head over to Graveyard Barista. A recent post details a deplorable breach of trust by a cabbie.

[Simon]

Have been a long time reader of your blog adrian. Good luck in the future and thanks for the stories.

[LaLa]

Happy New Year Adrian.

Here's to the future, may it be bright and shiny like things I want to nick.

[neph]

shame - you've got plenty left

[Rainer.the.cabbie]

At first you quit your daily post and I have to read the predictably boring newspapers at 3am., and then business turns to shit [25 to 30% down from previous January's].
What a start to 2008, and I thought it was going to be great.

[shadow]

Adrian, I've driven cabs when i've needed to over the tears before the taxation department made it all too hard. I'm sorry to hear you don't want to write your blog any more, I hope you'll change your mind and give us addicts something to read once a week at least.
Good luck with your writing.
Regards Shadow.

[adrian]

Shadow, rather than 'don't want to write the blog anymore', I'm just taking a break whilst considering a few options. I'm still writing (there's a story every shift) and plan on returning next week in a reduced capacity.

[Paul Pluta]

Sorry to hassle you.... but today is Australia Day long weekend..... and I have not seen any new postings.....

Please get posting.......

I hope you decide to keep us in your life.....

[adrian]

'Roger Base, stand by...there in two minutes.'

[Rainer.the.cabbie]

Whatever you do, don't decide to call it an M3.