Taking the Next Step…
When I made the decision in February to sell GottaBeMobile to Notebooks.com and Xavier Lanier, my primary motivation was due to the time and energies caring for my daughter was requiring. Selling GottaBeMobile to Xavier was an answered prayer for me and my family, and I am very thankful for his loyal shepherding over the past six months.
Feeling very secure about the future of GottaBeMobile and the team that Xavier has built upon, I have decided to take the next phase in the process of selling GottaBeMobile and step away. Effective August 8th, I will no longer be contributing content to GottaBeMobile. This decision is soley based on the reason I sold the site back in February: to reclaim time and energies, and be able to focus on needed areas at home due to my daughter’s long term needs. This next step is one I must take.
I believe my stepping away at this point will allow the site grow even stronger and develop solidly under Xavier’s leadership. With a loyal and enthusiastic readership, a dedicated focus on mobile computing, forged with a talented stable of writers, there is nothing but good in GottaBeMobile’s future.
Running GottaBeMobile has been much more than about covering the latest in computers, gadgets and recording videos. Many of the readers here date back to 2002 and have followed me over the years as I’ve covered the world of Tablet PCs and mobile computing. We have developed wonderful friendships, enjoyed meeting at various conferences and meet-ups, having coffee when you’ve come to town, talking over the phone, and developing meaningful dialogue outside the area of technology. I’ve also been blessed to get to know, and develop some real friendships through various vendors like Motion Computing, TabletKiosk, MobileDemand, Lenovo, Ivy Worldwide, TechSmith, Microsoft, Allegiance Technology Partners, Active Ink Software, and too many others to go on listing. Many of these vendors and their CEOs reached out to me personally during some rough stretches the past several years. To say that I have been blessed with friendship would be an understatement.
I am also very thankful for the friendships that have formed amongst our writing team, some of the most overworked and loyal people I have ever worked with. Our friendships go back seven years or more. I will deeply miss working with Warner, Matt Faulkner, Matt Dillon, Truc, Sumocat, Craig, Xavier, Sierra, and John on a daily basis, but very good friends we will remain for sure. It is for that which I am most thankful as I look back at what God has done through the years. He gave me some of the most awesome and loyal friends, and used something as piddly as a computer to do it.
I still have a few articles and one or two videos in me until the 8th of August, so you’ll still have to put up with me for just a little bit longer. Our family is then heading off for a week of vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado – our first family vacation in over five years. I’ll also be checking in from time to time, commenting on articles, and keeping up to date with the latest in mobile technology from the group who does it the best — GottaBeMobile.com.
For those who are interested, I write on a frequent basis on a variety of topics, as well as post the latest regarding my family, to RobBushway.com. I’m also on Facebook, so feel free to send me a friend request.
As we come to mind, please keep my family in your prayers. God has laid out a long and difficult path for us.
Always yours,
Rob
Category: Editorials
Rob,
You’ve been a trailblazer in the tablet pc blogging community which is a better place thanks to you and your insights. I may not have always agreed with your position on some topics, but your passion was true to your convictions and I’ll always respect for you for this.
Please accept my best wishes for you and your family as you embark on this new chapter of your life. If I or the TK team can ever be of assistance to you please let me know.
-M
As I’ve read everyone’s comments, I have been floored by your encouragement and understanding. You’ll never know how much your comments have meant, and I will miss my interactions with you all a great deal.
You are amazing Rob. All these comments are a testimony to who you are and the impact you have had.
A lot of you may know that Rob and I founded GottaBeMobile years ago (on the back of a paper napkin as they say — in Vegas no less), but Rob and I have been friends for many, many years now. His energy and hard work have always amazed me, but the character is what always seems to come true.
Although I may have been involved in helping him get GBM off the ground, Rob was absolutely always the star and the talent. Then once we added Warner and others to the mix, I was so outclssed by them I had to back away and just watch in awe at what they have done with the site. It’s more than a site — it is a community.
Now I just can’t wait to see what Rob and his family does next! And you know how they say that behind every successful man there is a woman? Well in this case her name is Kathi, and a man has never been more supported in his quest. Can you imagine how much Kathi has tolerated in the way of late night posting sessions, constantly answering the door for the UPS and FedEx guy, etc.? You too are a gem Kathi, and the children you are raising may even turn out better than you both!
Godspeed Rob, Kathi and family. Just keep being you.
Rob,
I was in a business trip and was not quite aware of what is happening at GBM for a while.
For me, your move was unexpected. You really created one of, if not the, most enjoyable site on tablet pc on the web.
No doubt, your decision is right, God bless you, your family and good luck for the time ahead of you.
Rob,
I’ve been reading your stuff and putting your great advice to use since the tabletpcbuzz days. You will be missed.
I don’t comment here much or post many things on the forums, I guess I would be called a lurker. But, I have been lurking around these parts since 2002 (I was a fairly active member on the tabletpcbuzz forum, and followed Warner and You over from there), when I got my first tablet pc (a second gen Acer). I come here everyday to see what the latest new is and when I have a technical issue I check the forums. I used your TabletBible in GoBinder for a while. I have prayed for you daughter. I have never met you but you have had a tremendous impact on my digital life. I join the choir of tablet and mobile warriors who are singing how you will be greatly missed, and thank you from the bottom of their hearts for these last 7 or 8 years of your life that you have unselfishly shared with us. I am little overwhelmed with emotion by this news, but i pray only the best for your family and know that you all will remain in my prayers.