A year ago, I formally launched this rather interesting experiment in self-publishing. Woo-hoo! Observations on year one within.(Updated7/12/2021, because for some reason this page is getting a lot of traffic.
Alex 2021 note: For whatever reason, this page is getting a lot of traffic of late. I retired Fat Duck Tech years ago, and while someone else has cybersquatted on the domain now, it’s 100% nothing to do with me any more. Just so you know.
OK, that’s enough self-congratulation; I can’t exactly claim to even be the millionth person to do this kind of thing.
Still, I’m happy to an extent with what I’ve done with Fat Duck Tech, while at the same time being well aware that’s there’s a lot more that it could be, and a few rather important goals it hasn’t hit — at least, not yet.
I’ve written some things that wouldn’t fly at a lot of my regular freelance gigs, some of which have had very positive responses. I haven’t been sued (yet). It’s also been rather fun, but then I am rather sadly addicted to writing as a general thing. Then again, I have been for years, and I don’t think I could give it up even if I tried.
I’m also rather chuffed that I’m once again a finalist in the upcoming Australian IT Journalism Awards, more informally known at “The Lizzies“. A lizard being an informal name for a journalist. The award statues used to be these cool bronze lizards. They’re not any more, but in any case I’m a finalist this upcoming Friday in the “Best Columnist” and “Best Consumer Technology Journalist” categories, including for work published right here at Fat Duck Tech.
I’m also in the nomination pool for best video for both 30 Seconds Of Tech and Vertical Hold, although I’m realistic enough to realise my chances of winning there are improbably slim. Still, nothing ventured, etc. Fingers crossed!
For the statistics freaks, the most popular stories on Fat Duck Tech over its first year have been:
Kogan Agora Smart TV Quad Core HDMI Dongle Review
How Do I connect my Smart TV to the internet?
Apple iMac (Late 2013) Review
Sony Xperia Z1 Review
Tech21 Impactology Cases and Impact Shield review
Samsung Galaxy S4′s S-Translate: One part brilliant, one part ****house.
How Do I cancel an iTunes Download
Unotelly Review
ASUS Republic Of Gamers G750-JX Review
Seagate Central Review
For the trivia freaks, because it crops up from time to time. The name comes as the result of a road in Woombah, NSW, and has nothing at all to do with restaurants of any type. That had to be pointed out to me post-launch, which perhaps says something about how much I care about such things. Why name a tech site after a road? Well, I have to have some mysteries. Those who know why, know why.
Enough self-congratulation, Kidman.
So what needs to change?
Well, I’d be lying if I said that Fat Duck Tech was, up until now, a roaring commercial success. It’s very solidly propped up by my freelance writing work, and it is ultimately a little frustrating, because I’ve thrown some solid work into pitching Fat Duck Tech to a few places for commercial support.
The work continues, but needless to say if you’d be interested in supporting independent Australian tech media by way of sponsorship, advertising, newsletter ads or similar, feel free to drop me a line.
I’m also looking at a few alternative methods for raising a little revenue out of the Duck, although some of those are more radical than others. Again, a wait and see process.
At the same time, some of that freelance work has taken my time up heavily (hey, it does pay the rent), which is why things have been a bit quiet around here, especially of late. That may well change in the very near future; wait and see.
I’m also happy to have had a few other writers support Fat Duck Tech, especially The Wumpus in its many guises. To explain, The Wumpus is the official (which is to say that I’ve chosen it) pseudonym for Fat Duck Tech. To date, I’ve had a few Wumpuses help out, as well as Katie’s contribution more recently. Again, if you’d like to write for Fat Duck Tech, I’d love to hear from you. I was very lucky to be mentored by some excellent writers, editors and sub-editors when I was first starting out, and I’d love to help pass some of that knowledge on.
I’d love to have more writers contributing, but right now, to be absolutely level with everyone, if you did it’d be a labour of love, or at best relatively low pay rates. I hate having to say that — I would so much rather pay people decent money, but the reality is that I don’t even pay myself decent money right now. If you’re interested in getting some editorial advice/mentoring on your writing, and a share of what Fat Duck Tech makes in the future, drop me a line.