5 Years Of MediaSnackers : Thanks, Reflections, Regrets & New Horizons

Time to take a break

This is the 1,000th blog post on here.

Today is also the fifth anniversary / birthday of MediaSnackers.

Add the fact I’m emigrating to New Zealand in a couple of weeks time, leaves me in reflective mood…

THANKS

There are three groups of people who need some deep waist bows from me…

First up are the deliverers / associates / colleagues who basically have been involved in serving up all our social media services over the years plus those ‘backroom staff’ you never see, without which, we’d be back pulling pints in the local (in alphabetical order as to ensure fairness) :

• Adele, my book-keeper : for crunching the didgets and handling my receipts
• Alun, my Dad : for doing my payroll (what a great Father)
• Barney Grenfell : good luck in being a fantastic teacher pal
• Bobbie Gardner : brought some class to the whole outfit
• Chris Unitt : congrats on the new role and for being so fab / tall
• Emily Littler : a positive spirit who has graced our work at times
• Guy Parsons : was brief but definitely fun
• g : mentor, ass-kicker and general shepherd to my thoughts
• Jess Chan : brightened up any gig with wonderful energy and enthusiasm
• Kieran Masterton : for sorting out all the web stuff and headaches we’ve encountered over the years
• Lee, my brother : for providing counsel, gentle nudges and other expertise
• Malcolm, my accountant : for keeping us square with the authorities and for answering endless questions about VAT
• Mark Mapstone nolvadex : an honour and privilege to have had you involved, truly inspirational
• Matt Hinks : you never let me down
• Neil Cocker : humbling to have the opportunity to work with such a fantastic soul

Next up are the clients, who have basically kept us all clothed, watered and off the streets for the past five years, but more importantly, gave us the opportunity to share our stories and insights into why social is so inspiring.

And last but not least, you guys, the media snacking community. You who read our stuff, listen to our podcasts, watch our vodcasts, subscribe to our email digest, retweet our tweets, meet us for mint teas and generally ring / email when you fancy a chat.

Heartfelt and humbled gratitude.

Thank you one and all.

REGRETS

They say you shouldn’t have any but just for fun here are a handful which spring to mind :

• not going public with the ‘TED For Youth’ idea—this was an idea myself and good friend / colleague Magnificent David McQueen pitched to the guys at TED over three years ago, back in February 2008. Two years later, in 2010, the TEDx franchise was launched. Inspired by us or just great minds thinking alike…?
• not keeping the email exchange of trying to get Chris Anderson (not the TED one) to do a podcast—six months later this Wired edition came out with no reference or hat tip our way (the email exchange was lost due to a hard drive crash, now all email goes through gmail so there’s always a backup / archive).
• not closing the deal with Jack Dorsey (Tiwtter Founder) to do a podcast interview back in 2007—this was before Twitter was what it is today. Now he doesn’t answer my emails (and quite rightly so, busier than the queen that man).
• calling Sir Ken Robinson a ‘scally‘ when i first met him—simply rude and a reaction of not knowing what to say to break the ice (luckily he didn’t take offense and we did a podcast with him soon after).

REFLECTIONS

Building a business from nothing but an idea is hard.

Making it a six figure turnover company has been so draining.

Managing every aspect of its development has been immensely overwhelming.

But man, it’s been a rush… my biggest challenge in life. The maker of me. The tester of my spirit. The gauntlet to my soul. The vehicle that enabled me to visit five continents on the planet and speak in front of tens of thousands of people. The thing that is now bringing tears to my eyes as I type (I’m not too proud to share).

Anyone who has given everything to an idea / project knows what I’m feeling. It’s too great to sum up and definitely too vast to pick out just a few relfections from this journey.

Simply put, it’s the best chance I ever took.

NEW HORIZONS

The other side of the planet is my next stop (after spending some time on the West Coast of USA). A new role awaits (as Social Media Manager for CORE Ed) as well as a new partner for MediaSnackers (same people who are given me the new role).

It’s the end of the beginning.

The next chapter.

Really excited about taking all those years of experience, those insights and ideas gained from working with all those different people / organisations / brands, and crafting a new set of services, again, with one goal in mind : to inspire people to learn, work & live differently with social media.

PLUS to work without me.

Even though I tried, MediaSnackers has never been a sustainable business that works without me. Taking guidance from my new partners and other folks, it will have this structural core to ensure a solid foundation for growth and scale.

This is going to be fun!

EPILOGUE

It’s time to take a break.

Due to the emigration plus settling into my new life and working out the finer details of the new partnership arrangement, there won’t be any new content on here for the coming months. Nor will our Twitter profile be updated (you can always follow my personal @justadandak one though).

RSS feeds won’t be read and emails will be sparingly accessed.

Time for a little breathing room.

Thanks again to all of you.

Next stop, Christchurch, New Zealand and my new life…

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