2000-2024

Greetings and salutations:

I started the website way back in 2000, long before social media. Back when the internet was a kinder gentler place. At that time, there were a number of blogs– yes, that was when blogging was a thing– that would feature home improvements. House blogs. And that was niche that my website fit in. Amateur DIY type stuff. Comments were generally positive, nothing like the toxic negativity you see on social media today.

My website was always a “how I did it site”, not a how to site. My original tagline was something like “look over my shoulder as I attempt home improvement projects. See what worked and what didn’t…”

The landscape has changed since then, thanks to social media. Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, TikTok…. there is no shortage of DIY home improvement content out there. Some of it is very good. A lot of it is very bad.

And here’s the problem. In a lot of cases, the bad content is deliberately bad. Why? Because we all know that people like to post comments about how something is done wrong.

“Looks good from my house”

“Who did your tile, Stevie Wonder?”

“If ya squint, it’s mint”

“That would never pass inspection where I live”

“Handyman special”

“That’s nothing to brag about”

“The longer I look at it the worse it gets”

“I fix substandard work like this. More job security for me”

“Stop posting this crap or you’re going to get someone killed” (usually directed at anything electrical)

“That’s going to fail in 6 months”

And of course, quite simply, “You’re a hack.”

Now, the thing is, the algorithm doesn’t care if the comments are positive or negative, only that they exist. Engagement is engagement. Engagement feeds the algorithm. And the algorithm drives more traffic. And it becomes a self-feeding loop. And that’s how bad content can drown out good content.

It’s unfortunate, but that’s where we are.

Now I never pretended to be anything other than a hack. I started my website when “weekend handyman” wasn’t derogatory. And I always made it clear that I wasn’t a professional.

Unfortunately, while such content may have been acceptable at one time, it now serves to only add more noise to an already confusing and frustrating topic.

If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

It is for that reason that I have chosen to pull my content down. And that includes the Thumbandhammer Home Improvement Podcast.

I launched the podcast with the best of intentions, originally planning weekly episodes. Unfortunately I never seemed to be able to devote the time necessary for success. In 10 years, I produced less than 70 episodes, a handful at a time, with long breaks in between. The podcast always took a backseat to my job and life in general, and that is unlikely to change in the near future. So I’m looking farther down the road, as I plan to retire in a couple of years, which should free up my schedule considerably.

That leaves me a few options.

• I could leave the original podcast up and add new episodes as I am able
• I could go back and edit and update and remaster the old episodes, adding corrections and clarifications where necessary and release the remastered episodes as new. This could potentially help the podcast find new listeners and grow my audience. However, it would also be a lot of work. In fact, it might be easier to simply re-record everything.
• And that’s the third option: a new and improved Thumb and Hammer Home Improvement Podcast. Previously published content can be rewritten and reorganized, and new content can be added. Episodes can be batch-recorded and released in a seasonal format on a consistent, predictable schedule.

The third option is the one I intend to choose.

As for when this will happen, I can’t say for certain. And I can’t say for certain that it will happen. Because there is always a fourth option– to retire Thumb and Hammer completely. Time will tell which option I choose.

Cheers!

Doug