You may have noticed it’s been pretty quiet at Onya HQ for the past six (or so) weeks.
No, we didn’t stop finding things to write about.
No, we weren’t failing and giving up (we never will).
No, we weren’t being lazy.
We had a little break. That extended into a slightly larger break.
I got married. As some of you already know. Don’t believe me? Here’s a picture:
In the two weeks leading up to the wedding I took some time out to focus, prepare, organise and enjoy. Then I had a month off.
An entire month off. From everything.
I’ve never had such a luxury in my life. I’ve never had that many days off in a row. I’ve gone to school and to work and to uni and this, that and the other and always juggled it all.
But not this time.
I lived in a bubble. And I loved it. It was the best, most relaxing, most important thing I have done in quite some time. My husband and I had the most amazing wedding day – relaxed, beautiful and full of love.
Whilst I can’t say that I completely kicked back and did nothing (I mainly settled into my new home – which involved lots of unpacking and sorting and organising – and I still co-ran a youth program I’m involved in) I can say that I unplugged. Switched off. Refreshed. And recharged.
And, as a result, so did Onya.
I was questioned a few times over the course of my break as to how I could possibly take such an extended period of time out of my business, out of my magazine, and not expect it to be affected.
Here’s the thing; I never assumed that it wouldn’t be affected.
I never expected that by ceasing to publish new content we’d gain new readers. I never expected our web hits to grow in that time. Our database to expand. In fact, I expected the exact opposite. Our web hits to decline (which they did), our readers to wander (which I’m sure some have), our database to dwindle.
So am I slightly irresponsible for just pulling the plug for six weeks? Am I a little off tap?
No.
Most people that work in online media are almost somewhat obsessive about constantly churning out articles on any old topic just to boost web hits. Onya has never been about that. We’ve always been about quality over quantity. Real over tabloid. Intelligent over airy. And, as a result, we’ve had a pretty good run – turns out there are a lot of people out there that are about that too.
But the most important factor in my decision to slow down was very simple; I wanted a break. I wanted to live in that post-wedding bubble for a month. I’m never going to have that time again. And I’ll be damned if I didn’t give myself the time I deserved to enjoy it.
I strongly believe that family is more important than success. Success to me has very little to do with web hits, and far more to do with my husband and family. And anyone who chooses to hold that against me is probably a reader I care not to have.
More than anything, on this day, June the 1st, 2010, exactly a year since Onya Magazine launched, Onya is still and will always be about Australia. And if there is anything Australia does well it’s family. Mateship. Switching off, when the occasion calls for it. I’m thankful to live in a country that allowed me to do that for a month. And I’m thankful for the readers that, on our first day back today, have been so excited and thrilled of our return, they’ve caused a collective ‘WOO’ across the country.
What has surprised me most, with only a day and six new articles behind us, is how people have come back. Willingly. Excitedly. How they have missed us. What they want to see next.
And it re-affirms to me what I’ve always wanted us to be; a quality publication that doesn’t discriminate, take it self too seriously, think it’s better than another or be so full of ego, academia or the desire to be cool, it’s actually completely out of touch.
Onya Magazine has a very big six months ahead. We’re growing, expanding and building, every day*.
*Unless we decide to take the occasional one off, which I’m sure you’ll allow. You know we’ll be back. We’re never going anywhere.
Love,
Sandi Sieger aka The Chief
