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On Failures, Falters and Flagging
On Shannon Ashley’s struggles on Medium (she’s not alone)
With great respect to Shannon, who in many ways really does speak for a great many of us. I don’t pretend to speak for her. This article speaks to the honesty of what she has to say about a rapidly shifting world here on Medium.
This morning I read Shannon’s piece about going through a rough patch. It struck me so much that I want to respond, because much of what she addresses touches so many of the rest of us. Including this writer. One thing that I have that Shannon doesn’t is many more years being in this skin suit. Oh, yah, and the road rash that comes with them. All that does is offer me perspective, which may or may not be relevant.
We’ll see.
What really resonated with me about her piece this morning is the sudden, awful vulnerability that comes from watching ratings, eyeballs and income drop faster than that stupid New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square.
When I got home from Ethiopia a few weeks ago, my views had doubled. I nearly fell over. However, three weeks later, they too had plummeted. This time I just kinda noticed and went back to writing, working, and focusing. Which is of course precisely what she’s doing, but stay with me here.