Abuzz has finally shut down. Now, this may not sound like a big deal to most people but it’s a huge happening in my life. I was the Member Services Manager at Abuzz.com for it’s entire existance. I helped in designing the website and I was responsible for dealing with the customer facing aspect of the website. I was responsibible for answering ALL of the incoming email to the website, everything.

I nurtured the original members and walked the first ones through the original Abuzz, then I walked the millions of members through to the second revision. For the first time in my life I felt like I was someone doing something really important and cool.

Well…it’s over. And the saddest part of it all is that the Members…the people that really filled the corridors of Abuzz were really let down. I worked, sometimes 24 hours a day to make sure that Abuzz was the best place on the Internet that it could be and for every ounce of blood and sweat that I poured into Abuzz the New York Times threw out a TON of good faith and integrity by pulling the plug. Now, don’t get me wrong…they kept Abuzz online for longer than I expected, but it was COMPLETELY unmanned. They KNEW that I would maintain that website for free. I offered them my services at HALF PRICE!!! and they told me that they were not interested knowing full well how I felt about the website and knowing that I would act out of a sense of responsibility to the members.

Ok…now that I have vented I will end in saying that it’s a sad day in the history of the Internet.

The truly revolutionary website that was Abuzz is no longer.

Viva le Internet and it’s sucky relationship to money.

Mookie.