Ok, 3 topics left. Lots to say, so here we go. I’ll paste some quotes from different readers under each topic because, frankly, your words have been WAY better than mine lately.
Topic 1 – What happens
to MileNerd.com?
“If I compare it to the real life, it’s
like a house demolition. A house that I used to live in. I watch that big metal
thing hitting the house, the walls crumble. I may know that there’s a good
cause for this but it won’t make me less sad.” -Alex
Over the last 2 weeks, I’ve learned that there are a lot of unseen impacts of words. It has been such a jarring thing to experience (in a good way). I really had no idea.
There were a couple of good offers through the years for MileNerd that didn’t feel right. Those no longer exist. More recently, there was one reader who seemed like a good option. That didn’t quite work either. So, here’s what I’m planning with MileNerd.com…
“I respect your writing. Don’t leave us yet.” -Matthew
Unfortunately, my life/health are a bit challenging and blah blah blah. Long story short, I just can’t keep writing every day. At some point, someone connected to this blog will feel right…and I’ll transition to that person here. Until then, what I will do is keep the Top 25 Credit Card list updated once a month. I know a bunch of you use it, so there’s no need for me to “demolish the house” completely. Obviously, January has been a little crazy…but I’ll pick that up for February 1st. As always, I’ll try to keep the offers current…but it won’t be perfect. If you see out-of-date information, I always appreciate when you let me know. It’s a big help with the editing.
“You will be so missed. I’m not sure what I will miss more…your eloquence or your humor. When you are writing from your heart about matters that mean something to you you are incredibly eloquent. I’m not sure if you truly know that but you should.” -Lori
Of course not. More often than not, I’ve completely bumbled my attempts to communicate. But what I did realize over the last 2 weeks was that some of you cared less about what was written here than you did about how it was written. It’s hilarious when you think about it. A blog built on “the fewest words possible” and more readers seem to look forward to the long posts. Again, it’s just not possible to continue. But I’ll try not to “demolish the house” completely. While I still have the website (for however long that is)…I’ll put up one post a month just to continue SOME writing. I’m aware the new group isn’t for everyone and some of you just want to keep reading something. It really won’t be much more than a retired guy who still goes to his office Christmas party. But I’ll keep writing something on the first of the month. Not sure what that will be…it could be a post about my love for nachos…or maybe an essay on Michael Jordan’s weird love for baggy jeans. To be very clear, this is still retirement…the days of 5 posts a week about miles and points are over for good. I’m just talking about popping in once a month so I don’t take a wrecking ball to the walls. Nothing more.
Finally, I assume there are at least some who show up for the actual original purpose of the blog…short deal posts without the fluff. If that’s the case, I think anyone (who has interest in it) could duplicate that aspect of this in a much better way. By using tools that weren’t as common 8 years ago. I think this is all someone would need to do to provide the same service as the short deal post side of MileNerd…
- Start a very specific Twitter account.
- Link to deals (not articles about deals) with a simple, one-sentence description.
- Only significant deals. And only in this travel niche.
- None of the fluff. Limit it to stuff almost everyone is interested in. Status match offers, great rental car promos, 10,000 Amex point promos, a great new card offer, etc.
- No small talk. No chatter. No conversations on that account. Just the significant deals. Nothing else.
- Again, no links to articles or blog pages. Just point to the deal with a short description.
- No concern for increasing followers. And, obviously, no links to pimp bloggers. Very simple. Stick to the formula. Repeat.
- There are typically not more than 10 deals per week that really matter to the people who want this type of service. Every blog has a different purpose, but the audience in the niche I’m referring to is only concerned with the good stuff. And they want it simple. So, if you’re tweeting with that account much more than 10 times a week…it’s getting too complicated. If you want to focus on a different niche like gift card offers, you can also set up a different account for that.
- I’m not sure anyone is interested in doing it like that…but, if so, I think it’s an easy way to replace the simplicity/no fluff deal portion of MileNerd. That said, it does seem (ironically) that the original purpose of this wasn’t really the main thing for many readers who loved this place.
Topic 2 – The response to last week’s post
“I am literally fighting back tears. I commend you for taking that step and putting that story out there. It’s not easy to do and I’m sure you spent awhile even bringing yourself to post it. Thank you. Thank you for having that courage to post it.” – Sophia
I mean, it wasn’t just one post. Your emails throughout the last 2 weeks have been incredible. But so many were about the Partition post in particular. Some from people who’d never written to a blogger/stranger before. It seemed to resonate in a different way. So, I feel like I owe a somewhat articulate response here…
I spent so much time in my life searching (desperately) for validation. Good chance I wasn’t alone in doing that. Maybe it’s just part of our human experience. But, at some point, I felt like I stopped. You grow up…or at least grow old…and don’t crawl around begging for approval in quite the same way. The thing is…when you do receive it…the impact still hits you. It gets into your heart in unexpected ways. The last 2 weeks have really kicked the shit out of me (to put it poetically). The recent feeling of connection to you guys has been unlike anything I’ve felt over the 8 years of doing this. For example, reader Micah actually set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for what would be my dream project.
Oh, and I’ve never met Micah.
That’s off-the-charts ridiculous. Not something I’ve ever experienced.
I thought about it for a few days and finally asked her to take the page down.
Am I nuts? Well, of course, but I’m certainly not anti-money. Case in point…I had one reader (Joe) who actually sent me a Venmo payment to say thank you. He said put it aside for whenever the documentary becomes possible. And I’m sure as hell keeping it.
Again, this last 2 weeks was incredible.
Really abnormal.
As far as the GoFundMe…I just can’t post a money request for a documentary that might never happen. I’m in no position to start working on it right now, have nothing (other than one dude’s Venmo payment) to put towards it, and am not close to being able to start on it. The 5 or 6 of you who made GoFundMe offers (crazy generous as you are) were probably not going to make a big dent. Unless one of you is secretly Bill Gates. But, if that’s the case, what the hell are you doing collecting points? Anyway…I don’t know what else to say…promoting a GoFundMe page for a documentary that might never happen didn’t feel right. That’s why I asked her to take it down.
I deeply appreciate all of your words about that post…Joe and Micah, you guys are incredible…and the others who wanted to contribute are too. Maybe one day it’ll happen. If not, I did get plenty out of telling the story here and hearing your responses.
Topic 3 – Nerdville
“I am sad to see the MileNerd blog come to an end, but I absolutely would like to move forward with the new evolution of the next chapter in this saga.” -Valerie
The foundation for this group will be to construct a team of friends. We’ll start with our common interests – like miles, points, deals, and travel – and then we’ll grow from there. Here’s a quick way of knowing if it’s a good fit or not:
Probably not a good fit if you:
- Are wishy-washy about the idea or only moderately interested,
- Think this will be like any other group,
- Will always feel that deals matter more than relationships,
- Could typically be described as difficult to be around, a pill, or a douche.
Probably will be a good fit if you:
- Are excited about the idea and have room in your life for this,
- Think of yourself as a deal and/or travel person,
- Are interested in connecting and sharing,
- Believe you are a good team player.
What will it grow into? We’ll need to wait and see. From a deal perspective, it’s certainly easier to talk in a private group than it is on a public blog. But it’s going to be about us, not me. We’d be screwed if I’m the smartest person there. Luckily, there’s basically no chance of that. It needs to be a real team in every sense. And, obviously, size is a factor. This is still coming from MileNerd, so “the biggest possible group” absolutely is not the goal. I’m looking for quality. But I also don’t want to make it seem like a chopping block process either. Here’s what I know…
Add a step of DOING and it typically eliminates quite a few people. Even if the DOING is just sending an email. So, if you’re interested, don’t feel like this is some kind of pointless lottery or something. If you really want to be part of it, let me know and I’ll do my part – which is trying to figure out how to make it work.
Let’s do it like this, guys. If you’re interested, please do the following:
- Send me a quick note with the subject Nerdville. Most of you already have my email address, but if not, the contact button is on the top of the page.
- Write anything you’d like to get out of the group. It could be a long description or a single word. Anything you feel like saying.
- Obviously, I’m going to get quite a few emails. I’ll need to organize this. The main thing at this point will be having individual conversations to figure out the right fit. It’s a ton of work, so I’ll probably just type a pre-written set of questions I can use to get to try and get to know you, where you’re coming from, etc. Give me a couple of weeks to reply to these emails please. Eventually, I’ll also need someone to help me with some tech stuff. But not yet.
- It’s going to be a lot of initial work but I believe it will be well worth the effort. I know there’s a unique group here. I see this as the beginning of some great relationships and a VERY special place. Please just give me a little time to get it all set up.
- If you’re a “heavy hitter” who is uninterested in friendships and a group like the one I described above…but would like to get into a different small group with similar types, you can send a note too. Just let me know what you’re looking for and I’ll see if I can figure something different out for you as well.
If you have any expertise – credit cards, travel, spending, reselling, booking awards, technical glitches, finding loopholes, or anything else – it’s obviously a big plus. We’ll talk about that soon. For now, just a quick email to let me know you’re interested is great. Even if your main skill is that you’re a great team player and eager to grow, that’s helpful. It has to start with friendship. Even on a basic level, friends don’t treat each other with any of the all-too-familiar online BS – dickishness, speaking in code, talking down to other, trying to make them feel small, putting deals over relationships, etc. Those aren’t the types of people who can make this special. It’s irrelevant how sharp someone is if they don’t really want to be on a team.
Finally…
If the group isn’t for you, no problem at all. You can still always reach out to me with any questions. Or if you ever want to share any comments, rumors, deals, rants, etc. I write back to everyone so, if you don’t get a reply, please check your spam folder. I guess, for some of you, this is probably goodbye. If that’s the case, please feel free to keep in touch. I’m not on any social media other than a personal Facebook page listed on the sidebar. Pretty inactive there. If this is, in fact, goodbye…thank you for your support. I tried my best to provide you something of value. It has been a real pleasure. The days of this being a daily miles and points blog are now officially over. For the last time…
Have a great weekend, nerds!
