A Fork in the Road

I’m feeling pulled in two directions regarding what I post here on Butter Side Down. That’s come about because I want BSD to be a family-friendly blog, a place where my friends enjoy a bit of chat over the fence, watch the bunnies and snuff the flowers. And that’s mostly how it’s been, with nearly 200,000 readers finding their way here since December of 2006.

It’s been great!

However, I’ve discovered over the last several months that I have a little fly buzzing about that’s been increasingly demanding attention, and it hasn’t gone away even though I regularly swat at it.

I have two sets of readers. They have totally different expectations. The first set are the friends, met and unmet, that are looking for neighborly chit-chat.

The second set, however, comes to read the posts scattered throughout BSD that express my somewhat jaded opinions regarding politics, environment, energy and other such topics… posts on “issues” instead of about our favorite bunnies and blossoms. They’re equally good people that come to read those posts, but they have different interests and a different focus.

It has made me feel increasingly divided about what I decide to post. I’m constantly asking myself which group of readers I am “talking” with when I write a post.

It’s a rather uncomfortable feeling, a bit like being part of a circus act, precariously perched way atop two galloping horses… but in this case the horses aren’t actually harnessed together.

Not. A. Good. Idea.

Solution:

The Shovel Awards.

Butter Side Down will continue the friendly over-the-fence natter that has comprised the vast majority of its content. You probably won’t even notice much difference if you come here for the bunnies and the blooms.

The Shovel Awards blog, going forward, has opinion and commentary on “issues” — just about any issue that annoys, irritates or otherwise catches the attention of not just myself, but also two other bloggers who plan to contribute in the future on an on-going basis

Go on. Check it out. Even if you aren’t one of BSD’s “issues focused” readers.

And rest assured… we’ll continue chatting here.