I’d like to dedicate a post to welcoming back my friend PittGirl back to the ranks of regular writing.
While I’m partial to the old silhouette, I think that the new logo isn’t half bad.
Glad to have you around again.
“I need you to nuke my blog.”
When I saw those words sent over three weeks ago as as part of a direct message from Twitter, my heart sank. Without knowing any of the facts or the details, I knew right then that The Burgh Blog had come to an end. As PittGirl said as part of her very eloquent goodbye – we both knew the day would come.
Even now that some time has passed, it doesn’t make her departure any easier.
Over the days between when PittGirl first said she needed to shutdown The Burgh Blog and the plug was actually pulled early on that Tuesday morning, I had several discussions with her on how it would be done and how it would be received. I told her that I thought this was a big deal - not because I thought it was a particularly newsworthy event, but more that people would have an emotional reaction to it. I also thought there would be some press, but had no idea how much. She was truly stunned at how people reacted.
Even all the while her fanbase was lamenting her exit from the Burghosphere, it became clear that PittGirl was not sunshine, rainbows, and fuzzy bunnies to everyone in the city. While not agreeing with them, I could see the perspective of some of their criticisms. Some felt strongly that she should have stood by her blog with her real identity and backed up her words with a face. Others didn’t like the fact that she didn’t regularly blog about serious issues such as the current status of worldwide nuclear proliferation, the problems with Fifth and Forbes, or the shitastic state of the Port Authority.
Separate from all those was one criticism that came off as just plain ridiculous and smelled of a tinge of jealousy: she isn’t a good writer.
Come on. Really? Are you serious?
PittGirl, as I and others have observed, is a great writer who happened to blog. While you might not have liked everything she wrote (I didn’t on occasion), you had to respect the consistent quality of her material.
Much was made of the strong reaction by media, bloggers, and readers when she hung up her heels. Snarky remarks abounded about how people need not jump off the Rachel Carson bridge or do faceplants from the top of Mt. Washington. It’s true – here we are three weeks later and Pittsburgh survives. It is now, however, an emptier Pittsburgh. Human beings are creatures of habit. We love routine. When something is disruptive of that status quo, it becomes uncomfortable. Couple that change with the deep emotional investment many readers had made over the course of months or even years and you start to understand why many lost their shit for a few days.
I’ll let the words of others express what The Burgh Blog meant to the city and why it was better for her writing. It will only come as biased coming from me anyway.
Instead, I will tell you what she’s meant to me.
What started over three years ago as a request for a sit-down for my nascent interview blog turned into something much more for me. I was able to assist a very talented writer as she created something very special. The funny thing is that she didn’t know she was creating it while it was being created. A week into The Burgh Blog’s life I knew that it was something that would become popular… perhaps the only prescient thought I’ve ever had. The common refrain I always heard with those new to The Burgh Blog was, “I started reading and was immediately hooked.” So many were able to identify with her even though she was unidentifiable.
She never had lofty goals or grand designs on self-promotion. If anything, I am greatly responsible in calling attention to her anonymity by creating the silhouette trademark when doing her first blog template several years ago. She had never really sought out a way to make money from The Burgh Blog – it was only within the final months that I even brought up the idea of sponsorships or other sorts of supportive revenue. She simply wanted to write and share her thoughts through a creative outlet. And she did just that. Reliably. Nearly every day and often several times a day. Her blog really was a joy to read and I deeply miss it every day.
Most importantly – I gained a great friendship. PittGirl and I had lunch on a semi-regular basis where we would talk about The Burgh Blog and the Burghosphere. We’d also discuss our personal lives and what was going on with our jobs. I would seek her counsel on matters both professional and personal and she would do the same. When Mrs. Woy was in the hospital for the Battle of the Clot and the Delivery of WoyGirl, she was very supportive and I communicated with her along with family and close friends. She was a shameless promoter of WearPittsburgh and was behind it from the very beginning without asking for anything in return. Incidentally, all proceeds of the newest PittGirl shirts will be going to her – it’s the least I can do to thank her for all that she’s done.
The second most asked question that I would get behind “who is she?” is “what’s she like?” In many ways she’s how she wrote – hilariously funny, a tremendous storyteller, and fiercely loves her family and Pittsburgh.
And she’s what made The Burgh Blog extraordinary.
Thank you, Jane, for three and a half awesome years. I’m honored to have been at your service.
Before I write a post of my own about The Burgh Blog’s ride into the sunset, I wanted to read what others were saying about her departure. As I started going through them, I thought I should round them up here. Normally I’m not about link vomit but I hope you will grant me license to do so now:
City of Pittsburgh: “The End of an Era.”
Jim Lokay from KDKA: “She never forgot where she came from, and so many can learn from her words.”
From the Admiral: “Nobody did it better than PittGirl.”
DJLunchbox from Thoughtful Riot: “PittGirl has decided to hang up her keyboard.”
Mind Bling: “If you ever need anything, tape an X on your window. I’ll know what it means.”
What Would Chuck Bass Do?: “You will be missed, and I will keep drinking on ‘moving forward’.”
Screaming Weasel: “it was done with fun, and it wasn’t done with income from Google ads.”
Ms. Papuga: “It’s like saying goodbye to a college friend you don’t know if you’ll ever see again.”
PGH is a City: “Au revoir, PittGirl.”
2 Political Junkies: “PittGirl says goodbye to blogging making it safe once more to look for love (and other stuff)on craigslist.”
The Blog of Burgher Jon: “…one of the coolest things about the burgh.”
Keeping Up with the Belks (from NC): “Good Luck, Pittgirl. The expats will miss you.”
Sesquipedalian Prose: “Tonight, before, during, and after the Penguins game, a Zima shall be poured on the ground to let the fallen take a last drink.”
Uncle Crappy: “Thanks, PittGirl, for three awesome years.”
Jennie at Bricks and Boxes: “Today, we are all PittGirl.”
Jen at Can We Talk?: “I still don’t get things, but I feel that reading her blog helped me with the transition and I became comfortable enough to eventually call myself a Pittsburgher.”
Father Spoon at My Blog n’at: “PittGirl broke up with all of us today and headed off into blogger retirement.”
Liferants: “We were shocked to find out today that one of our favorite reads shutdown.”
Fresh Pittsburgh (HBIC): “Because one of the most popular blogs about Pittsburgh The Burgh Blog is no more. and although its sad for some, I say YAY!!!!.”
BurghBaby (via OMGPittsburgh): “Thanks, PittGirl, not just for supporting fellow bloggers, but also for the daily laughs. The Burgh Blog will be missed.”
Erin Patricia: “Thank you for being Pittsburgh.”
Mme. Trois-Rivieres at Out of the Burgh, In the Pitts.: “It was The Burgh Blog that sparked my interest in writing about the city I love so very much, in making it funny and sweet and most of all making other people think about seeing Pittsburgh the way I do.”
Rebellious Flaw: “Whatever her rationale for doing so, everyone reaches a point when they must move on. And, for PittGirl now is that time.”
Pop City – A Fan’s Perspective: “Let’s face it: PittGirl … just got Pittsburgh.”
Andrew Stockey – WTAE: “She didn’t hide behind it as much she used it to truly say what she felt and what was on her mind. Had she used it to just rip on people, I doubt she would have had thousands log onto her site daily.”
Sorgatron.com: “Goodnight @PittGirl. Whereever you are…”
Michael Fulk’s blog: “We’ll miss her random and somewhat snarky commentary on happenings in Pittsburgh, quirky nicknames for politicians and celebrities, hatred of pigeons and everything.”
timesonline.com: “Goodbye to The Burgh Blog”
The Busman’s Holiday: “Someone recently said to me of PittGirl, ‘I know who she is!’ I didn’t even ask.”
Corner Press: “PittGirl taught me so much, not just about loving Pittsburgh, but loving blogging.”
red pen mama: “… I would feel remiss if I didn’t mention that PittGirl had become probably my favorite Burgh Blogger to date …”
Writing by Ear: “Writer to writer, I’ll miss her.”
Pittsburgh Hoagie: “Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?”
Sesquipedalian Prose: “I have jumped on the bandwagon just as the bandwagon stopped moving.”
More of Mandy: “Sadly, one of Pittsburgh’s most entertaining writers has closed up shop.”
Plus the countless Tweets, Plurks, and other sorts of micro-mentions.
These are the ones that I have found to date. If you’ve found more, please include them in the comments and I’ll add them.
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