Eleven Years is Enough

Well it has been awhile, people. Writing a blog post in 2019 is kind of like buying a Segway instead of a Tesla. I have a lot I want to say here, so thank you in advance for taking the time to read it. 11 years is not a long time in some respects, but with technology it's an eternity. 

Very few of our devices last 11 years. (Operating systems certainly do not.) It's also an eternity for the user. I blogged consistently for 11 years. My first blog was hijacked during blogger maintenance (*shakes fist*).

 I started out blogging for a personal creative outlet, but it became so much more than that. During the poker and DFS booms, it was also a source of income. It was also a social outlet, with commentators/fellow bloggers becoming internet friends.

 11 years is a unique milestone for me. I've been on Facebook and Twitter for 11 years. It's been 11 years since I started playing DFS competitively. And 11 years is when is seems to turn into something else than what it was meant to be for me.

 Blogging fell out of favor for social media. I also had life changing health issues in 2014, which changed how I budgeted my time. You can carry your phone anywhere, so Twitter was always with me.

 I started on Twitter to take advantage of the burgeoning DFS industry. By 2012 I realized that industry was now taking advantage of me. The rampant cheating that ensued is still getting swept under the rug. I used the voice I had to try and shed light on how the new, inexperienced players were getting screwed and thus killing any growth momentum. Most of my tweets were drowned out by industry cronies.

 Five or so years later, everyone knows about Ethangate and all of the DFS shenanigans. Other people have taken over as DFS watchdogs. (That industry is really dead without new game innovation IMO.)

 I also learned about Cville and Groovin Mahoovin on Twitter. An autistic-ally snarky group that is both funny and sharp, I learned a shit ton about sports betting from them, mostly just by paying attention to their tweets.

 I moved from DFS to sports betting in 2013, after a 2012 trip to Vegas convinced me it would be the more attractive game going forward. And the overturn of PASPA just reinforces that. I have definitely improved as a bettor since 2013 (at least learning I suck at some disciplines) posting my records for the last 6-7 seasons. 

So what's changed? This year I have realized Twitter is not any longer about an exchange of ideas. Now, I'm not above going for a cheap joke, but at the end of the day my time on social media has to be worthwhile for me - I have to budget my time and energy very tightly.

 Twitter as become an "influencing" platform, not unlike Instagram. That is its #1 purpose. I just don't want to be a part of that.

 I feel like I have nothing left to give or prove on social media. It's easy to sit back and bash touts all day but its not going to stop them from doing their shady shit. And I don't want to have to sift through 100 bad tweets to get to a good one.

 So after the last football game on Thanksgiving (11/28/19) I will delete my social media. I'm giving everybody 30 days to say what they have to say, usurp my content, archive my tweets or mock me relentlessly. Those of you that want to reach out after that will have to figure out a way to get a hold of me.

 I will continue to do my weekly Sportsbook Confidential video podcast. (And I will maintain a twitter account for the show but will not actively monitor it.) I still feel strongly about producing quality content for beginning bettors, whether it gets a lot of views or not.

 I'm a better person for having known almost all of you and I appreciate what the time I've spent online has given me. Thank you.