is good

We've just come back from a fantastic week in Wales and a great couple of days with all sorts of inspiring people at the Howies Little Big Voice lectures and I think it's time for some change.

Because I'm not really enjoying writing this blog at the moment. And I don't think I'm bored with blogging, I think I'm bored with blogging about brands and planning and advertising. There really doesn't seem to be anything left to say. Not that I can think of anyway. And since I'm supposed to generate 440 words for Campaign every week about it I'd better keep what powder I have dry for them.

It's not like there's going to be a sudden global shortage of online opinion of about advertising and brands. Even the IPA strategy group has a blog now and I'm sure they'll be doing multiple daily updates to keep you all satisfied.

So, if anyone wants to host Post Of The Month please feel free - Jason do you want to carry on? And if anyone would like to take over the School Of The Web please let me know, it's easy to criticize, but I think it had one key advantage over the alternatives in that it actually existed. And I'd love to see what a proper planner would do with it. (I'll get back to all the people who sent me Starbucks stuff with some hopefully useful thoughts as soon as I can.) Similarly if someone else wants to maintain things like 'all the planners' and 'hire these people' that'd be great too.

I suspect my planning-blogging retirement will consist of the gardening and tending of Plannersphere I and some chat with people in Plannersphere II. (I think of them both drifting in space like the geodesic domes in Silent Running, tended by three drones and Faris as Lowell.) If people have questions about planning and stuff I'd suggest you direct your questions that way.

(Prospective future employers please note that I'm only retiring from online chatting about planning, I'm still game for doing it. I/we are very much available for all your freelance planning needs.)

So what am I going to do instead?

My first responsibility is to make interesting interesting. Look for news on that soon. It's shaping up nicely.

I want to stick some energy back into eggbaconchipsandbeans and agoodplaceforacupofteaandathink. Fry-ups were my first love and they will be my last, fry-ups of the future and fry-ups of the past.  Doing that, and not becoming morbidly obese, will demand that I also revive my efforts at non-entity fat club. I'm also determined to convert in defence of the ordinary into an actual book proposal by the end of the summer. So I suspect that will mean lots of introspective posts about the nature of things and writing. And, I want to spend more time with steamboom, because I'm already liking vox as a way of keeping a family diary.

And then, I want to get to the front of the train, and write and learn and do about stuff that I don't know anything about. So that, maybe, in a couple of years I'll have some more strings to my bow and somewhere to run when advertising finally collapses under the weight of its own self-importance.

The things that seem interesting to me at the moment are UnProduct - Matt Jones's excellent term for something that exhibits maximum idea, minimum stuff, CreativeSpaces - an examination of what physical (and maybe digital environments) are conducive to commercial creativity and what I'm pretentiously going to call The Consilience Agency. Though I don't really know what I mean by that yet.

And, obviously, there will be lots of random stuff. If I've learned anything from Interesting2007, Coffee Mornings and my trip to Howies it's that trying new random things often works out. Actually trying things. Not just writing about them. So that'll be part of the plan too, lots of random doing. I think it was the randomness of blogging that I used to enjoy so hopefully it'll liven things up again.

For now I'll put all that stuff here, along, I guess, with the Campaign articles, though if an idea gets enough traction I guess it may get its own blog at some point.

So, if any of that seems interesting please feel free to stick around.

Comments

[Marcus]

Does that mean you'll be doing some iPod Singing too?

[Chris]

what about the Account planning school of the web???

[carol]

Russell, I totally understand the desire for change. I stopped blogging in October, waiting for inspiration to strike in terms of what next steps to take.

I want to turn 'planningblog.com' into a planning blog portal, a bit like pajamasmedia but totally devoted to planners' blogs. We'd also have research and creative blog links/mentions as well as links to relevant news stories.

A few people have expressed interest in joining me in this endeavour. I'd be really happy to hear from anyone else who'd like to be a part of it. We probably need about 5 to 7 writers, so everyone only needs to post one day a week.

We can take over School of the Web and Post of the Month and anything else like that - "Hire these planners" etc. - so much of what you've got here is just so stupendous.

What d'ya think?

[dboy]

me<---stickin' round.

[Neil Perkin]

I shall miss your regular posts, Russell. I've always got a lot from them - for which I thank you.

[Anne]

Great to have you back. This sounds very promising. More power to your elbow.

[Dino]

I suspect the front of the train is anything but crowded.
Look forward to having a peek at what it looks like.

[gareth]

i'll miss the regular stuff but look forward to more interesting, albeit different, stuff. thanks for all your sharing so far.

[Paul McEnany]

I've got no interest in this "retirement" bullshit. You've done too much good stuff to just walk away. I think we'll all be a lot happier if you just try out some new ways of doing it. Maybe more video? I don't know...

[Curtis James]

Great post. Good for you for making changes. What film is the "we fear change" line from? Anyway, it's so true, and so easy to get stuck in a rut, and to put your real creativity or passions on the back burner.

I'm looking forward to Interesting too, it's kinda made me think a bit about some of the things I've put on the back burner over the last 12 months. Thanks.

[Nicholas]

In response to Carol's comment, maybe it's time to start a portal for non-planning blogs, or dare I say post-planning blogs... I've been reading a handful of planning blogs for a year or so now, and whilst I'd never attempt a planning blog of my own (since I don't think I have enough to say yet), I have been inspired enough to begin exploring the broader issues that surround and inspire good thinking, be it strategic, creative, artistic or otherwise.

I think Russell's new direction will be great for this. I for one can't wait.

Long may it continue!

[Will]

More power to you Russell.

Do what makes you happy mate.

Nicholas - I think you've just moved into our building, if you work for GT. I'm due to vacate floor 2 at the end of the week..

[John Grant]

So actually you're now blogging as you plan; doing not just saying, lots of ideas, nothing too predictable, the universal law of interesting, tapping into sister ideas like events. Good for you anyway. The reason your blog is so great in the first place is you're not afraid to innovate.

The one ruse which you missed is getting someone else to blog for you!!!! I've turned brandtarot into mostly a place for a research project which Juliana Xavier is doing into how planners think. Speaking of which, to save me the email/coffee house stalking can Ju interview you pls? http://www.brandtarot.com/blog/?p=725

[Ben]

Right.

I'm not sure about all this. Are you saying - more blogging but with less stuff about planning? I'm all for that.

Or are you saying just less blogging. I don't like the sound of that.

[Rob Mortimer]

I think we'd rather have only the choice bits of Russell thinking than risk you getting fed up with blogging altogether.

[sarah]

I do recall reading this blog oh, way back in 2004, when it was less strictly planning-focused and more of an amalgamation of random things that caught your eye. I saw the planning bit as something it morphed into as time went by. Quite frankly, Russell, I enjoyed your perspective on both, so I do hope you stick around in some respects. Hooray, change is good.

[Rob & Robbie]

Here's something random to try:

Go to any outlet of Harry Tuffins.

You will not be disappointed. It's the only supermarket/menagerie in existence, and someone has even written a song about it called "Harry Tuffins. Shop or zoo?"

I will happily accompany you on any mission. Which - given that we've only met once and chatted for 2 minutes - could do nicely.

[TomLR]

Carry on Russell, and I'll get my knots out.

Well done, and thankyou.

Maybe now you won't be able to leave me stranded in my own greasy spoon.

[NP]

Thanks. For everything.

Hope you'll be staying around in some capacity for a while yet.

[chris forrrest]

Russell, I think you’re wise to step aside for a while. You've become a mega brand in a fit of absent mindedness. A section of your fanbase were co-creating you from John Peel into John Lennon. All the best.

[Rich]

How about turning 'In Defence of the Ordinary' into an actual tv programme?

[tom martin]

russell,

Your thoughts will be missed. As a favor, other than yours, what are the top 10 blogs you'd recommend others read to get the kind of high level, inspiring insight that russelldavies was known for... maybe even make it a post.

thanks and best of luck on your journey.