Geruk (Velun US) Steps Up: For The Horde!!!

Yesterday I needed a break from the gold grind.

I went to a random server (almost random, anyway) and rolled up a Female Orc Mage. Why? Several reasons: never played an Orc, very little Horde experience at all, and mages really rock.

I met a totally cool player who reinforced my bias that awesome people are everywhere in WoW.

750k Gold: New Milestone, New Observations

I'm a few days delinquent in publishing this post. I hit 750k on May 20 just before bed, during my last mail sweep of the evening. I meant to get this post out for Tuesday but life intervened. 

Some interesting trends have recently become obvious to me, and hopefully these observations will help you in your gold acquisition efforts.

Remember to Blog Responsibly!

OK, I admit it.

I'm old.

You young whippersnappers with your Tweets and your Internets and You Tube and such.....you just confuse me.

I don't Tweet because I don't think anything I'm doing RIGHT NOW is just so damn interesting that you or anyone else would need or want to know about it.

I don't Facebook because everyone I want to talk to is either living in the same house with me or available via telephone or email when I need to communicate.

It mystifies me as to why anyone would want to publish private info like a birthday, likes and relationship status on the Internet. Anyone can see it. Forever.

Forget the stories about employers not hiring people because of what was on their Facebook page. Forget the stories about employers firing people because of pictures on Facebook.

Whatever you put out there in the cyberworld is there forever.

I vividly recall when email became the new "IN" thing in the business world. My employer actually published guidelines on how to write and send an email. I wish I had saved the booklet.

It contained priceless stuff like "write your email formally as if you were writing a business letter" and "never send an angry email; instead, save it and come back the next day to make sure it still makes sense". Oh, and the very important "facial expression and voice tone do not translate well in an email. You might mean to be funny but the recipient might be offended."

I guess no one had invented "lol" yet.

Anyway, there have been some very public disputes lately in the gold blog community. I'm not going to re-hash them or link them here. If you are reading this email I'm sure you linked here at some point from one of these sites.

One blogger is miffed about a program another blogger started that seemed to flame out or fail somehow. Another blogger jumps in to defend one party or the other. Soon after, yet another blog pipes in defending the first one.

The reason I don't get Facebook and Twitter is the very same reason these disputes are so depressing.

Privacy.

My generation believed in discussing things "man to man" (or "face to face" if the masculine image is somehow not PC here).

Have a problem with your boss? Don't email him. Knock on the door, go inside and talk it out. Have trouble with your gf or bf? Don't break up on Twitter--go out, discuss it and if you have to end the relationship, do so with some dignity.

Some things should just be said privately. If I have a problem with a blogger's topic, I really think about the comment process. I still don't "email mad".  (Most of the time) If my comment looks like it is going to rile someone up then I hit "cancel" and send an email. Or, I don't comment at all.

Today I broke that rule and made a public comment on a blog. I thought I was defending a fellow blogger who I perceived had been disparaged by name. I felt a public slight should be called out publicly.

That was wrong of me. I should have handled it privately. I let my emotions get the best of me and only made things worse.

If you are reading this and you know who you are, please accept my apologies. I have already sent emails but wanted to address this topic, well, on a bigger scale.

So, next time you get ready to Tweet or Facebook or whatever you young folks do give it a second. Wait. See if your comment really advances the discussion or only becomes a diversion into a new, unintended and horribly wrong direction.

Had I taken my own advice I don't think this whole issue would have blown up.

Demand Side Economics

Goblins require that someone "need" our items. We can supply all we want but if no one is buying what we list, we don't make any gold.

We often look at gold earning through this lens--"what can I supply that will sell for a profit?"

We might even ask, "Of all the things I can possibly sell that will earn a profit, what can I list that will make the best profit in the shortest time?"


These questions frame the analysis from a supply standpoint. Let's quickly look at this picture with the demand lens to see if additional ideas are discovered, and if so, if they are helpful.

Best. Week. Ever. ((4.1, Oh How I Love Thee, Let Me Count the 77,000 Ways))

Prior to 4.1's drop I prepared to move away from gold earning and return more to game playing. The mindset is different. Go cold turkey? Nah, that's a recipe for disaster. Gradually wean off the golden teat? Seemed more realistic but requires more willpower--something I have been known to lack in the past. 


Somewhere in the middle....gradual reduction in AH time coupled with more dungeons and questing....that should do it.


Seems like a plan.....then by Saturday the whole thing went to hell. I was back to full-on AH activity. The result?


Best. Week. Ever.