17

Happy 17th birthday Hacker Labs.
While this incarnation of hacker labs was stated in 2012, I have been running Hacker Labs since to 2004. In that time this site went form a political blog top a personal blog then to the geek blog that out it’s today.

I am very happy with how far this little site of mine has come. It has developed it’s niche and has been successful by every metric that I have measured. While hacker labs was never meant to be profitable, I have certainly came away richer for it. I have found my voice and have developed greatly as a writer and reviewer. I have been invited to some exciting events nthat I otherwise would not have been able to attend and have met some great people because of this site.

In the intervening years since Hacker Labs was state I have spun off several other blogs and web projects. Some have been more successful then others.
One of witch is Jedite’s Book of Shadows and it’s YouTube Chanel Jedite’s Pagan Vlog. This site really took off a few yeas back and has been growing since. It accounts for the vast majority of page views across all my web properties. I have recently started a 501(c)3 non-profit to run the site and to spread knowledge to all who seek it.

I know that my posting has slowed down over the last year and a half. This is because of a mix of burn out and being busy with other things.
I got burned out because being a geek started to feel like a chore. I couldn’t just sit down and play a game or watch a movie. I had to stream and comment on games and always be planning the next review I was going to write. Don’t misunderstand me. I enjoy streaming and sharing reviews, but it got to a point where my hobby was starting to feel like work. It go to the point where I just didn’t want to play games or watch anything other then clips on YouTube.
I have also been busy with my offline life. They last year and a half has been difficult on all of us. Because of Covid-19 I left my job in retail and started a delivery business. This was to make it easer to social distance and avoid people while still taking care of my family. I have recently started working a normal job (now as a delivery driver) but continue to also work of myself. Running my own business has been very educational for me and has given me a bit of a safety net incase anything happens to my current job.

I have not given up on this site. I know that I need to get better at posting regularly again and I do plan to get back to it soon. Near the end of this month I am planning on going to MetroCon in Tampa FL and will be posting pictures and coverage of that event.

Thank you for the great 17 years and here is homping for many more to come.
~Jedite83