@BrownsMemes letter to Cleveland Sports Fans

Before I get too far into this I want to be sure to say that this isn't going to be some sappy retirement post, I'm not going anywhere.  However it is a a retirement from calling myself a blogger, because I don't really do it anymore.  I'm not going to shut this site down or anything like that, but I probably am not going to use it very often.  I started here thinking this was the way to get my jokes, thoughts, and opinions out there.  It's not that I lost my passion for doing this, but Twitter has become a much better outlet for that.

The @BrownsMemes Twitter has far surpassed any expectation that I had for it.  I set an initial goal of 500 followers, thinking that was was borderline unattainable.  4600+ followers later, I proudly feel that that account has become one of the top Cleveland Sports accounts out there.  Your feedback has been incredible.  Much to my surprise I don't fall victim to the unrelenting trolling and negativity that I fully expected going into it.  In fact I would estimate that almost 98% of my interactions have been positive and supportive.  I thank you all for that.

I put @BrownsMemes up as an "anonymous" account, not because I had anything to hide, but because when I started this I really didn't feel that anyone would care what "Josh from Canton" would have to say.  In hindsight I am glad I did things this way, I have no desire to be a "superfan" or a public persona.  I've seen that status chew up guys like Big Dawg and Dawg Pound Mike.  I've seen guys like Pumpkinhead and Mike Polk Jr. deal with tons of venom spit their way.  Recently the Angry Browns Fan retired his character, presumable because he got tired of dealing with trolls, negativity and copycats.  I've read tons of stuff that has been written to those guys and I am glad that I don't have to try respond to some of the negativity I have seen those guys deal with.  Something tells me that eventually it would make this not worth it to me anymore.

Maybe @BrownsMemes works because it isn't just the musings of one guy.  Even though only one person has run this account since it started in August of 2013 I make sure that I follow people back.  I read what people are saying almost everyday.  Frankly it drives me nuts to see some people running popular accounts that won't follow anyone.  Why should a person expect other people to care about what they are writing, if they obviously don't care what anyone else is saying?  @BrownsMemes is done by keeping my finger on the pulse of what everyone is talking about, always has been and always will be.  You all tell me what to make my jokes about, I just come up with the punchline.  That is why I find doing this so rewarding, I don't know very many of you personally, but still consider many of you my friends, and unintentional collaborators.

For that I am very appreciative and have always wanted to come up with more ways to be entertaining, and most importantly unique.  And that is where I think this blog has failed.  Once upon a time this was the exclusive home to my GIFs, but now that Twitter can use them this blog has devolved into nothing more than a regurgitation of what other people are doing.  People that have a lot more passion for form writing than I do, and certainly run much better blogs than this one.  But I'm also not a wannabe journalist, I'm a topical humorist.

That is why I am saying goodbye to this as my main website.  Twitter is now my online home, but it honestly has been for over a year now.  But the big news for me is I've recently started a new Twitter companion channel on YouTube.  MY CHANNEL LINK HERE  Yes, making videos is a bit more work than writing, but I think the end result is much more rewarding.  Obviously there are some limitations to what I can do there due to copyright issues and things of that nature, and I'm sure I will constantly be toeing the line.  And if I have to take a video down, I have to take a video down.  But I hope it also gives me a bit of a chance to flex another side of my comic muscles.  And much like my Twitter, it will be all in good fun and continue not to take itself too seriously.

So once again thank you all for making @BrownsMemes as popular as it has become.  Thank you all for not chasing me away from it.  You've all allowed a middle aged guy with a wife and kid and no forum for his creativity, create a character in @BrownsMemes that I always dreamed of being since I originally came up with a "Salty Dawg" character and tried to (unsuccessfully) make similar jokes on Cleveland sports forums years ago.

So here is a sample of my new videos, I hope to have some new ideas in the weeks to come.  Please check them out, hit the like button if you think they are cool, and subscribe to the channel if you want.  I would appreciate that very much.  And again THANK YOU ALL!!!