John Dedeke

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Web, WritingJohn DedekeComment

So I quit Facebook. 

Well, I didn't quit it so much as I committed to not looking at it and putting stuff on it, which I didn't really do much anyway, so I suppose, as Drew Crowley has pointed out, it's not that much of sacrifice. But that wasn't really the point. 

Anyway, I quit Facebook. You should try it, too, if only to say that you did. I tried to do it with as litte fanfare as possible, but my last post before going dark drew a much greater response than I'd expected; greater than anything I'd posted in like the entire previous year, actually (if you're still asking why anyone would want to quit Facebook, just reread this sentence).

I'd fully expected to go quietly into the night without much concern, but there were a couple of comments made in the wake of that last salvo that gave me pause, that inspired some remorse -- maybe even guilt. As is typical with my approach to such situations, I decided to take action in a way that entertains me without directly addressing the problem, and thus an email newsletter was born.

Imagine if all of the weirdo photos, made-up words and 1990s Nickelodeon videos that I used to post to Facebook were delivered to your inbox. Now imagine that in addition to that junk, I also slipped in some actual "news" -- pieces of writing, photos of things I've done recently, reviews of fish tacos, etc. 

Now imagine no more, because that day has dawned


Missouri Botanical Garden Fall 2014 Member Bulletin

Work, Writing, JournalismJohn DedekeComment

This summer brought a welcome opportunity for me to dive back into the journalistic process deeper than I have in years, and the result is starting to show up in mailboxes this week. 

The Bulletin is a quarterly publication distributed exclusively to 44,000+ Missouri Botanical Garden members and partner organizations, and I'm excited that I was able to be a part of one of its most topical issues yet, concerning the Garden's efforts to study and address the effects of climate change around the world. 

If you're a Garden member, you can check out my feature pieces throughout the magazine. If you're not a member, you can become one today