Feckless Leader turns one

I can't remember why I returned to Twitter in the Summer of 2012, but I'm glad I did. In spring of 2011, I joined mainly to reserve a handle, as if there was ever a risk of  "elepheagle" being taken by someone else. I ended up making some use of it during Blizzcon 2011 -- as much as the overburdened networks at the convention center would allow. After the con ended, I went dark for almost a year.

Then, right around the time of Diablo 3's release, the guild I was in essentially ceased raiding, and shortly thereafter experienced a small exodus. For all purposes, our raiding guild was dead. We were friends who played WoW together, not a hardcore raiding guild. But since this was happening on a server with a declining population, all of a sudden it wasn't likely we'd be able to recruit enough people to even fill the 10-player raid team.

But I knew I wasn't done. So if it seemed the community in my immediate area was dwindling, it was time to branch out elsewhere. I started reading more blogs and eventually ended up creating this here space. I went with Feckless Leader because I thought I was going to talk about my experience learning about group dynamics, player-to-player relations and leading raids in the context of a casual 10-player raiding guild. That didn't happen, but I'm pleased where I'm at.

One year ago today, I published the first post to this blog, and the reason I'm noting this is because of how awesome I've found the community to be in the last year -- really the first year I've tried to immerse myself to a level I've not come close to in the past. I've somehow managed to publish over 100 posts, four in-depth and quite popular pet battle guides, connected with hundreds of awesome folks on Twitter -- hell, I was on a podcast. I italicize that word for me, not for you, because I would've laughed at you if you said that'd be the case at the start of this year.

I know it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it means a lot to me. The relationships I've developed. The small exchanges we share on a day-to-day basis, or perhaps only occasionally. Regardless, I love and value the vibrant and diverse community here and am super grateful to feel part of it. And what's cooler is I'm connecting with new, awesome people on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. And as different as we are from one another, we have this passion that binds us.

My one regret is that I didn't do this sooner.

So thank you, friends. Thank you for reading, for commenting and sharing your ideas and your spaces with me. I'm looking forward to the next year and beyond.

-Ross