Wow. Where did summer go?
It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to sit in front of my laptop and bang off a blog post. There are many reasons why, but they mainly boil down to a lack of time and a hectic life that just never seems to permit me the time to write as much as I used to.
What’s been keeping me busy? Primarily it’s the establishment of MICHIFCO, my consulting firm. I’ve been able to secure some amazing new clients, primarily in the health sector.
To be clear, as a consultant, you want to be busy! So having more clients than you can take on is a good thing. But on the other hand, it’s also a trade off in terms of the time I now have to draft blog posts or do other recreational activities.
In addition to my consulting practice, a significant number of hours each week are dedicated to public service in my role as a city councillor. I’ve really been enjoying this over the last 10 months and have had some amazing interactions with constituents and local business owners throughout the city.
It’s also been wonderful to watch a newly elected Board of Directors for the New West Progressives take this political organization to the next level. They’ve all been a pleasure to work with!
The reason I am referencing how hectic life has become is because this will be my last blog post – at least for the foreseeable future.
In case you haven’t noticed, the number of people reading blogs has gone down over the years. Our world is rapidly changing and ‘lengthy’ 600 wordcount blog posts – even about the most interesting of topics – simply doesn’t generate the level of interest they used to in previous years.
People have pivoted and prefer to get their information in more bit-sized chunks from social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and X. A growing number of people have also switched their information consumption habits and now listen to podcasts – including me.
A podcast is great information all condensed and packaged up for you to appreciate when you have the time to do so. Whether you’re at the gym or on the road, podcasts have become an ever increasingly popular way to communicate to people.
That’s why I’m pleased to announce that while my blog is retiring, I’m planning on launching a new political podcast this fall focusing on the issue of municipal affairs in New West and throughout our Metro Vancouver region.
Not only do I aim to make it interesting and thought-provoking, I want it to include a number of guests who will join me to discuss emerging topics of the day.
Most of all, I want it to be informative and engaging and provide a different perspective on urban politics. That means I plan to invite guests who don’t always think like me, nor share the same political beliefs!
On that note, I now formally sign off from this blog and begin work to launch a new chapter this Fall. That said, I still plan to upload all of my podcasts to this site which will remain active. I also plan to make my podcasts available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other popular platforms.
I very much look forward to engaging with you – via my new podcast – in the near future! Stay tuned for more news on that front soon.
