Two years ago, at 11:17am PT this morning, eBay Ink was officially “turned on.” Even though a lot has happened since then, I remember that morning very well. I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I woke up around 4:30 that morning. Was I really about to launch the corporate blog for eBay Inc.? What was I thinking putting my bloody face up there? Could we possibly announce MORE changes to the eBay Marketplace during that same Spring? (The answer to that last one was “yes”, of course). There were a lot of questions.

I’m sure there were questions here at eBay too… very similar to the ones we saw on the blog as we opened it up to the world. In a nutshell – who is this guy writing on behalf of the company? Do I really care what he has to say? How unbiased can a company stooge really be?

I sat down with my wife the night before we launched the blog and had the same conversation with her that I’d had many times in the 3 months leading up to the launch (even though we launched eBay Ink on April 2, I actually joined the company on January 7). It went something like this:

Me: This could last just a couple of months, you realize that?
Allie: I know. But it could also last a long time. You could be talking years instead of months.
Me: “Corporate blogger” sounds so forced and ugly.
Allie: Just be yourself. Pretend you’re bartending again and just listen and tell stories.

And that pretty much nails what eBay Ink is all about. If there are 5 pubs or bars in your town, all serving the same drinks, why do you choose to go to the one that you do? At some point, it comes down to the person serving you the drink [insert Kool-Aid reference here]. You have a connection with them more than the other bartenders. (And, while I’m on the analogy, the English pub or neighborhood bar is essentially your first social network right? The place where workers, farmers, butchers, etc. all came together to share stories over a pint).

Blogging is bartending. There may be a dozen or so people out there online that all have the same story or news to tell… but you choose to have that conversation with blogger A over blogger B.

I don’t want to dwell on this. I need to get ready for the shuttle into work this morning and get back to serving folks. I just wanted to take a few minutes to say thank you. Thank you for making it last more than a few months; thank you for putting up with my all-too frequent ignorance on certain things; thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt; and most of all, thank you for choosing the eBay Ink “pub” to tell and listen to stories. Because when it comes down to it, no pub or bar can survive without its customers. Plain and simple.

So now you know, after all this time, why I sign every blog post the same…

CHEERS!
RBH