2018 was a year of growth for In Third Person. From expanding to Twitch, to ramping up my social media presence, to connecting with friends old and new, to raising money for children in need as part of Extra Life, the In Third Person experience ballooned dramatically. Coming from a place where I created and maintained the blog for the nine previous years with no ambitions of reaching an audience beyond myself, it was definitely a shock to the system.

In fact, it’s a shock that I’m still reeling from well into 2019. Despite the many successes of last year, I can’t shake this sense of unease that has taken over me when thinking about what this passion project has become. After lots of introspection and a private conversation or two with others about this dilemma, I finally think I know the root issue.

I entered the video game blogosphere in 2009 with one simple goal: share my thoughts on gaming with the world. There were no ambitions on my end to be the next IGN, PewDiePie, or Angry Video Game Nerd, but I felt like I had a lot of things to say and maybe I would find some sort of audience along the way. In that time, In Third Person has generated over 400,000 pageviews, over 30,000 video views on YouTube and Facebook. With the Amazon Affiliate program, I’ve even made a few dollars here and there. Nothing that allows me to quit my full time job, but some bonus scratch is always welcome.

Truly thankful to you and everyone else that has supported my musings for the better part of a decade. That being said, the world of being a content creator is very different in 2017. Seeing it evolve, and taking the lessons I’ve learned along the way, let me take a look in the mirror and see where I stand.