Is this web site still active?

The short answer is “yes.”

I continue to update my fun-filled blogs on the encroachment of commercialism on culture on a regular basis.

I am also adding a bit to my FreeFromCorporateAmerica.com site as time permits.

But those of you who have emailed me asking me why there haven’t been many updates lately deserve a further response.

There are a number of different aspects that have contributed to less posting on the site. I *do* have a lot of material in the works, but it is not yet up to the standards I have set for the quality of the work I want to publish here.

Here’s a few things that are going on that are impacting the site updates:

For most of the years jonreed.net was in existence, I was fortunate enough to have very steady client income. Currently, I am in the midst of a more challenging time with cash flow, I’m launching a new business web site that could be the fulfillment of some business dreams and the ability to generate cash flow without being depending on my client income. Or maybe it will be another bump in the road. Who knows? At any rate, I am doing a bit less creatively than I have, as I am in an “all in” phase with my business, and I don’t want to lose it after all I have put into it.

Second, I am hard at work at finishing my book Free From Corporate America. Most of the web writing on that site has been reworked up to five times in book form (eventually it will be reposted on the site). I’m hoping to have the book out within the next six months, but it could be a bit longer. It is my most important book effort I have yet undertaken, and I’m determined to make it as good as I can make it.

I am also branching out into spoken word performance. Currently, I am writing a collection of spoken word pieces that I plan to perform locally once I get enough of them completed. I am considering recording some audio files of these pieces and posting them to the site at some point.

Rachel Meyers and I are two thirds done with our sequel to Resumes from Hell , entitled Resumes from Heaven. We are pushing through the remaining third of that project.

I am also 2/3 of the way done with a revision of the jonreed.net web site. The big appeal of the revision is that it will make it much easier for me to post and revise pieces on the back end. Once that revision is done, I’ll be able to post more things across the site. I don’t have an ETA on this redesign yet, but it’s going to be awesome when it’s ready.

I’m determined to get some of my screenplays into more finished form so that I can pursue that dream more aggressively.

I am also struggling with some challenging health issues that are requiring more of my attention and resolve, and taking away a bit from my creative focus. I want to encourage any of you who are grappling with your own health problems not to give up. There are people out there who will support you if you are willing to reach out.

When I first launched jonreed.net, I had a somewhat naïve hope that this site would lead to some kind of accolade or recognition if I worked hard enough at it. My motivations were not about glory, but I was hopeful that the writing I did on this site would lead me to some great writing assignments and eventually bring me to the point where I could do this kind of writing for a living. I think it is still possible, but the problem is that you cannot make a site like this into a revenue producer these days without taking advertising. And while I’m not opposed to taking advertising for some of my ventures, I feel that accepting advertising on jonreed.net would take away from the integrity I am struggling to achieve for this particular site. The biggest theme of the jonreed.net web site is that we need to protect some creative work from the jaws of commerce. Putting ads on this site would really take away from that message. I am proud to say that I have financed this site all these years solely out of my own pocket, and I have never compromised any of the material on this site for a corporate sponsor. I believe there is a need for this kind of work in the world and I hope others out there do too.

It may seem as it I am implying that I have some kind of regret about jonreed.net and the fact that it didn’t liberate me into some kind of freewheeling Hunter S. Thompson journalism career. But that’s not really the case. I feel so much appreciation for the thoughtful readers who have emailed me over the years and told me about the pieces that affected them. This web site has brought some wonderful people into my life, not the least of which is that it led to a once-in-a-lifetime meeting with Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy in London, the lead singer and guitarist of my childhood idols, Hanoi Rocks. So, I really can’t say I have any regrets. Any of you who are considering starting such a web site for your own creative efforts, I would say, go for it! The great people you will meet will outweigh any of the haters who occasionally email you. Don’t worry about taking a bit of heat from time to time – that just means that you are touching on something important.

So, fret not, I will continue to add to this site – I am in it for the long haul. I will always be glad to hear from my visitors, and I dream of a time when I am able to focus more fully on my writing on jonreed.net. But you have to take each day as it comes. Just know that even if you don’t see a lot of new writing on jonreed.net, it doesn’t mean that I have been silenced by life’s adversity of by the impotent criticism of the so-called powers-that-be. No, I will always forge ahead, as long as I am kicking, and I will be kicking as long as I am on this earth. But, part of moving on with life is expanding your creative boundaries, and right now, my latest book projects and my spoken word pieces are taking priority.

Thanks for your passionate interest in my pursuits, and whatever you do, keep on sounding off, the world needs to hear what you have to say!