200

Genuinely shocked we made it this far

My dashboard right now.

Welcome to Inherited Wil’s 200 Post Extravaganza! I’m your host Wil Wiener, coming at you live out of Boston, MA. Got a packed show today, so we’re going to have to skip the musical number and dive straight into the action. But first, a message from our sponsors!

Oh, wait. We have no sponsors.

Well, on behalf of IW, I’m proud to say that, through 10.5 months and 200 posts, we’ve refused to sell out, choosing instead to deliver high (?) quality content to our 36 faithful subscribers¹ free of charge. Although, if I could make a couple grand through product placement in my memes or something, I probably wouldn’t say no.

So… no musical number, no sponsors… obligatory moment of existential dread because I put so much time into a hobby instead of going out and making money… I’ll skip the sappy thank you to the readers as well, no one wants to hear that.² Hmmmm, looks like we should start with the announcements and jump into the awards.

Announcements:

1. I’m releasing a brief second readership survey! Please take a few minutes to fill it out.

2. I’m planning on cutting back to exactly one post each week - no, no, hold back the tears. This is hard for both of us, but we have to be strong. No longer shall I grace your weekday morning inbox so frequently. Instead, IW will become an occasional treat (hopefully, a treat with well-developed ideas and execution).

Emergency Q+A:

This is Wil Wiener, here on the scene to cover the breaking news that Wil Wiener is cutting back his blogging. I’ve had to talk several people off their respective, literal ledges on the way over. The world is in disrepair. Who could have thought that those 35 subscribers could have this kind of reach. But now, I’m here to figure out why one of the voices of our generation³ is taking a step back.

Wil, this is a huge change. Aren’t you worried that you’re making a mistake?

Honestly, Wil? Not at all. I only began writing daily to see if I could - 5 days a week was an arbitrary decision. Now, I’ve realized that I’d rather write one good piece than five rushed ones. This is just another arbitrary decision, and I can always write more if I want to, which seems unlikely.

But what about your readers? What about me?? I thought we had something special.

Oh, grow up, Wil. I do all this for free. They’ll take what I give them, especially if the writing quality actually goes up. As for you, get over yourself, man. You know how this world works.

Fine. If you want to get aggressive… why did you name this blog after a concept from One Piece and never mention One Piece again?

You clearly haven’t done your homework. I once uploaded a complete timeline of the story’s events because I was too sick to write something. I don’t think the post did very well, but it counted! Also, I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t feel like constantly explaining context to normies. I’d rather use One Piece for the occasional quote or meme.

What’s going to happen to the 3 Articles Worth Reading? How am I going to know what to read??

Ah, now we’re getting into the hard-hitting stuff. Well, that series is going to be paused. It might come back someday,⁴ but, right now, we’re going to try something completely different.

Awards:

Best Reader: Lenny Sun

You’d be hard-pressed to find a post without a like or comment from Lenny, on top of the many Weekend Guest posts he contributed. I’d like to think I would’ve stuck with this either way, but I can say with confidence that Lenny’s support and engagement has been a big part in me pushing through. Thank you, sir!

Best Recent Article: FOFOMO / Anti-Anti-Anti-Semitism

These are two pieces which got closer to the heart of what I’d like to accomplish: unique but relatable ideas. I want you all to read these posts and feel more connection than the disinterested skim of yet another post on the lackluster season of the Golden State Warriors. I’m going to strive to achieve this level of quality on a weekly basis.

Best All-Time Article: A Brief Diatribe On Legalese

Here’s an inside scoop: I wrote this in about 6 hours, on a day I had to call out from work due to food poisoning. I’d like to think that all my posts could combine humor, insight, science, and more if I had that much time for each one. This is my model long-form post, and I remain proud of the way I eviscerated my company’s lawyers.

Best Pictures: Went For A Run Yesterday

Could’ve used vacation photos, but I wanted to zag and include something a little closer to home. Brighton can be very pretty, even when it’s 45 degrees out.

Best Girlfriend: Nadia

Duh.

Conclusion

So, thank you all for sticking around this long. Truly couldn’t have done this if I didn’t know that approximately 27 people were opening and reading these emails.⁵ At the rate I’m proposing, there won’t be 300 posts until some time in 2027, assuming I keep blogging that long. So let’s enjoy this milestone while we can.

After 1-year anniversary in July, this is going to be super-serious and super-business-like, all the time. Or something.

1. Technically 35, since I’m included in that 36 number.

2. Although you guys are the best!!!!

3. Allegedly.

4. It’d be cool to hit 52 posts in the series!

5. My open rate is a tick above 70%. Not bad!