Back when I used to go clubbing a lot, I made it a point, when I was particularly impressed by a set, to make my way towards the DJ booth and try to communicate that to the guilty party. Sometimes, it was just a couple of thumbs up and eye contact. Sometimes I shook a hand. Sometimes I was even able to say a few words, to thank them directly. I always felt that, as pointless as it may seem, it makes a difference. It's nice to be told you're doing something good. Most people only ever speak up to complain.
Every once in a while, someone makes a comment that makes me feel really good about running swombat.com. I try to reply to every single one of those, but maybe I've missed some.
Here are a few recent examples from Twitter and Hacker News:
@swombat Another good article. Keep it up. Your blog has become one of my main sources.
@swombat I just mean it as a friendly nag. It certainly doesn't detract from your great content. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
@swombat Things seems so simple once YOU write them. Simple words for this common talk with new entrepreneurs, thanks! #saveforlater
I think it needs to be said: swombat.com is quickly becoming the best source for startup analysis/advice. Daniel does a brilliant job aggregating and curating links to startup-related articles; plus I find his long-form pieces to be generally well-written and thoughtful.
Subscribe to the blog, if you haven't already. And @swombat: thank you for taking the time to do this. Swombat.com's quickly becoming one of the few sites I check on a daily basis.
Some feedback is public, on Twitter, HN, IRC, or other places. Other messages comes via emails, or DMs, or other forms of private communication. All of it is noticed, read, and (I think) responded to, but usually only with a quick "thank you for your good words".
What I want to say is: thank you for your "thank you"s. Really.
Creating this site mostly is a pleasure, building on something I do anyway (read and evaluate lots of startup articles). I'm trying to build something genuinely useful for busy startup founders, something that will keep them up to date on the state-of-the-art in startup founder lore without wasting lots of their time (like Hacker News would, because of its wider topic area).
But, like anything, there are times when I ask myself whether it's worth it, whether I should spend that time doing something else. In those times, your feedback is invaluable. It keeps me determined and going.
Thank you for helping me keep this site up. It runs on positive vibes, from you.
If you read this far, you should follow me on twitter here.
