Where I've Been and Where We're Going

I got an email yesterday asking what happened to our weekly update of images in our Wallpaper Archives. It was the first message I had received inquiring about this site's status since I began infrequently updating StartedByAMouse.com in the middle of June. I'm not sure whether to take that relative silence as a sign that our readers don't mind waiting for updates, whenever they may come, or whether nobody really cares whether we are still here or not.

For the past couple months, I've been debating whether or not to log on and post a "Now it's time to say goodbye ..." column thanking everyone for an amazing 5 years on the web and wishing everyone a fond farewell as we slid into oblivion. I, myself, hate infrequently updated websites and the longer I went between posting new content, the more I hated leaving readers in the lurch as to when they might expect something new. And while I've come close to posting said farewell, I've never been able to pull the trigger.

I still love having the opportunity to contribute Disney-related articles, photos and commentary via StartedByAMouse.com. But since becoming a father on April 18, I haven't always had the time. What was worse was that as time went on, I haven't always had the inclination. I love being a daddy and spending time with my little girl is of paramount importance to me. Without the ability to add more time to my day, time spent working on this site had to give way to life in general.

After talking to people closest to me about what to do with the site, they all said to leave it up and to update it with new material when I had the chance. So, I'm going to listen to their advice and keep moving forward with adding stuff when possible. Though I never ran this site on a strict updating schedule anyway, there may be less of a consistency of updating going forward. Our Wallpaper of the Week may become Wallpaper of the Month. Sections of the site might be consolidated. Forums restructured. More revisiting of older articles or increased randomization to keep things looking fresh. Perhaps I'll find a block of time that allows me to put a ton of new stuff up at once. I don't know. Things are still in flux and until I can get a regular routine established in my personal life, I can't predict a regular routine with StartedByAMouse.com.

I wish I could be a little more definitive and could tell you exactly what to expect going forward. But I'm not positive myself. I do want to thank everyone who visits this site, reads our articles, downloads our pictures, and contributes to our forums. It is still a neat feeling to know that people are enjoying their visits to StartedByAMouse.com and that we all share a love of all things Disney. And until you see a "See Ya Real Soon" goodbye from me, don't hesitate to write and ask how we're doing. I might not be able to get back to you right away but know that your interest in this site matters and that we're happy to know that we matter to you.

Regards,
Matt