Fourth anniversary of the IT Skeptic

Four years ago this blog started out by saying

In the ITIL world it is still spring or summer. This blog seeks to balance that with an icy blast of winter through the techniques of the skeptic – consider the observable facts and question the underlying assumptions – as well as applying that other great Litmus test: common sense

In the intervening four years I've branched out to other topics that appealed to me ("oooh shiny!") but spent most of the time plugging away at ITIL: ITIL's content; Castle ITIL - the establishment industry; ITIL as a cult; and crass ITIL commercialism. I doubt this blog has made a great deal of direct difference, but certainly my views are more mainstream now than when I started out: much of the world is skeptical of ITIL. This is probably a function of the Gartner Hype Curve, which ITIL must be about to bottom-out of. If so, in future things will be rosier in the ITIL world as the movement rises back to a more centred position, hopefully not reaching the peaks of hype of old. Of course the engineers amongst you know that Gartner only describe one system behaviour: a system can equally be unstable and continue to oscillate wildly, with two possible outcomes. More of that in a blog post I may one day finish.

In the four years the site has been to Google Page Rank 5, dropped back to 4 in the Great Google Recalibration, and recently got our PR5 back again. That's pretty good for a niche blog that doesn't present a sunny you-too-can-do-it easy-answers-to-ITIL message. It is interesting to note that some of the heaviest hit pages are those that advise how to pass the ITIL Foundation and/or offer free resources.

The other group of pages that get heavily hit talk about CMDB. There is a huge audience that doesn't give a toss about that process crap but can't get enough on technology. I despair for our industry sometimes: I feel the same way I do when I see "The Bachelor" or "Worlds Dumbest...". IT is about technology like interior decorating is about paintbrushes. Right now the painters are still in control ("What to put on the chapel ceiling? A bit of blue would be nice. Can I use yer dunny?").

Of late, the blog has actually started to reward me, with work coming in on the basis of it. But not enough to pay the bills.

There was a little acclaim last year when the blog was runner-up in its category in the ComputerWeekly blog awards without me having to write to you all individually or go naked. And so far 25 LinkedIn members Like the blog

Coming up expect more about COBIT, professionalism, culture, and governance... and of course ITSM and ITIL.

I'm not tired of blogging yet (sorry Castle ITIL). It's good fun. The need to carry the candle has gone - lots of others have joined in to shed some light. I'll try to stay out in front and I hope you'll reward me by reading and enjoying, and by telling others. A blog is all about traffic and this one could use more, if only to cover its hosting costs.

It'll never pay me for the thousands of hours gone into it, nor should it. It's a hobby, and a buzz. Thank-you so much for being part of it for a few years more.