Lockergnome has been a labor of love, and a profitable business venture, for the past decade of my life. I’ve enjoyed seeing where it’s been, and I look forward to where it’s headed. But I’m about to take an extended leave of absence. You’ll completely understand why I’m doing so in just a few short weeks - but you’re going to have to start following my personal blog if you want to continue to hear from me on a daily basis. My name will no longer appear tied to Lockergnome (on Lockergnome.com itself), and there’s a huge reason for that - but a very good reason.

The business is going to be left in the very capable hands of my fiance, Ponzi - who will become my lawfully wedded wife in December. I don’t know if we’ll be able to stream the ceremony live, but I’d like to be able to share the video and photos with everybody once everything’s been said and done.

If you hadn’t already noticed, we’ve changed our look and feel - and we’re still in a state of flux. Our mission is shifting - largely for and to your benefit. We’ve started to open up invitations for anybody to start a blog (for free) on Lockergnome.com. Even if you already have a space on the Web, we are developing tools to make it easier for people to find you and the things that you write. Lockergnome is becoming your platform - and we’re doing it (today) with WordPress MU. Our knowledge of advertising will even help you monetize your knowledge in ways that you might not have been able to do before - at least, on our domain and in the brand new “Lockergnome Nexus.”

We’ve only got a couple of developers on the project right now (and are looking for more, especially those with deep PHP and WordPress experience). We’re also looking for people who love writing about anything, not just technology. If we can help you pay your monthly bills by giving you a point in the Nexus, I’ll be thrilled witless.

But as I said, if you’d like to follow me, you’ll need to find me elsewhere on the Web. I’m very proud of Lockergnome, but there’s a very good reason why these things are happening. You’ll be happy, I guarantee it. chris.pirillo.com will be alive forever, too.

[tags]future, trendspotting, trends, trend, trendy[/tags]