The State of the Lair and more (a S.W.O.T analysis)

This picture has nothing to do with the topic on this post, I just think it's cool.

The SWOT analysis gimmick that I use in World of Broadsword is a favorite of most purchasers I’ve talked to. So I figured I’d do a SWOT of myself, the Lair and EDM Productions.

Strengths
The Lair is popular and has a decent following. I attribute this to keeping it light, trying to be informative, and of course posting hot chicks on a regular basis.
If you stumble upon the Lair during a Google search you either move on or you stick around. A lot of you have stuck around, which is very cool-so thanks.

World of Broadsword (WoB) has proven to be a success/ I’ve released a product that people like and I can be proud of.

The popularity of both the Lair and WoB has given me quite a boost of self confidence. I crossed that invisible line from a talker to a doer. As my buddy Karl put it “I’m just glad to see on of my slacker gaming buddies get off their ass and do something with the hobby.”


Weaknesses
The Lair takes up a bit of time. Even though the content isn’t text heavy I find myself falling behind from time to time. The returns on my effort have lessened in my eyes in comparison to those of actually creating a product and having people enjoy it.

EDM Productions is new and I don’t have a lot of content out there to dazzle people with.
My website is extremely amateur. It gets the job done for now, but it’s far from the professional snazzy looking website I know it could be, if all the stuff in my head was out there for people to see.

I’m a chronic procrastinator (case in point: Legends of Steel). I’m also one of those guys who are always regarded as very intelligent, but lazy. I’ve always been full of unrealized potential. To quote every teacher I’ve had from kinder to college- “Jeff is such a bright young man. It’s a shame he doesn’t apply himself.”


Opportunities
The Lair has given me a great deal of exposure in our little corner of the geek multiverse. I have made friends and networked with folks I would have never met in day to day life. For good or ill my name is out there and I have a sliver of presence.

World of Broadsword has proven that if I try I can put some interesting thoughts on paper. I have been approached on several fronts to do reviews, articles and more supplements similar to WoB. No screenplays or movie deals, but it’s a start!

This may sound weird but I currently have an ailment that is keeping me off work for a couple of weeks, nothing life threatening thank God, but still I have a regimen of medications and tests that I have to attend to and the doctor doesn’t want me working during that time (Hey, who am I to argue with a doctor?). So for the next few weeks I’m home. While I’m here I have the perfect opportunity to get some serious writing done.
I’m always bitching about not having enough time for Legends of Steel or some of the other projects I’ve had on slow cook for the longest time. So here is an opportunity to get some shit done.


Threats
The internets- that thing I enjoy so much- THAT is the biggest threat to my success with all of these ventures. Sure, posting a link to a new pulp game or putting up a picture of some dream girl in a thong doesn’t take a lot of time, but the time spent surfing to find that thong girl pic is what takes up time. A few clicks here and there start to add up, minutes become hours and then I look at the clock and it’s time to get to the doctor or pick up the kids. And I realize I just pissed away the whole morning cruising the gaming message boards, reading about the same old debates, the same old “tell me of ---gaming system”, or whether 4th edition will suck or not. This has happened to me before and I know it will again.


It’s a discipline thing. I have got to try to break that cycle of failure. I’ve just had the tiniest taste of how cool it is to have something published and thought well of.
That’s some heady nectar my friend.
So posting at the Lair is going to be scarce for a while, my presence on the boards is going to be severely curtailed. It’s not about being “burned out” or hating the hobby. I just want to be one of those guys who actually does something more than say “you know, one of these days…”

I have a cache of stuff saved up so I'll still be posting, and when I do have something to write about I will. But I'm going to be refocusing for a bit, so if it gets slow around here you all know why.