Mark Bult Design: San Francisco, CA, Established 1988

Transition

Last week I returned to the office from a web design conference to learn that Webshots had been sold by CNET Networks to American Greetings Interactive.

I really didn't see this coming, so it was a slight shock to learn that my job was ending. I'll remain here through the end of January as part of a transition team that will ensure assets and knowledge get appropriately transferred to the new owners. But a few of my colleagues got two weeks notice, which was a bummer to say the least. There are severance packages and whatnot, but that only goes so far when you're suddenly out of job.

The Webshots purchase is probably a very good move for American Greetings Interactive, and maybe it's a good move for CNET Networks too. But it doesn't lessen my bad feelings that we won't be able to finish all of the projects we had planned.

That said, I'm proud of (most) of the work I've done at Webshots, I've learned a lot and worked with some great people.

So now I'm faced with the prospect of trying to figure out what to do next. There are a lot of options, among them (in no particular order):

• Finish the transition here, then take some time off to consider my next career move
• Go freelance again
• Join a startup
• Join a design firm that I respect
• Start some other kind of company (I have a few ideas)
• Dabble in side projects
• Write a book or two
• Stay at CNET Networks, at some other business unit
• Join one of the other up-and-coming social sites, or *gasp* even a big company
• Join some other sort of tech company
• Go back to the nonprofit world *double-gasp*

...and others.

Now I just gotta figure out which one I really want to do. It's going to be an interesting winter.

Labels: CNET, misc. personal, work

Posted by espd at 5:16 PM | 
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