Wednesday was my second blog-iversary. Things have changed a little bit since last year at this time. That's been mostly good for the Idea Grove, but not so good for Media Orchard.

Basically, I've been slammed with work since mid-2006. I don't mean slammed as in working a little late. I mean slammed as in getting up at 5 in the morning, sitting down at my laptop and not getting off the damn thing, except for client meetings, till 7 at night.

For some people, this is an OK thing. For me, it's really not.

As you might have guessed, it's all Media Orchard's fault. When I started the blog in 2005, it was a fun diversion; I had no clients with blogs or that were interested in blogs. Today, the majority of my work has a Web 2.0 component -- because most of my new business in the past year has come directly or indirectly from Media Orchard.

The irony is, I took on so much work that Media Orchard has suffered. Even when I've had a moment here or there to blog, it's not quite the same. Lately I've been spending so much time helping my clients with their blogs and communities that when I'm done with all that, often the last thing I want to do is post on my own.

Of course, starting Spin Thicket in November hasn't helped matters -- but what can I tell you? I'm not that bright.

In any case, here's the deal: I just completed a long-term contract with a major client. This means that now -- if I don't take on more work -- I should have time to pull Media Orchard out of the Technorati muck and get it cranking again.

Or, I could take a new retainer client.

I can't tell you how difficult this decision is for me, because on the one hand:

1. Cash money is cash money.

2. I've asked myself whether I can recapture my old passion for Media Orchard -- while also taking it in some new directions.

And on the other hand:

1. An active Media Orchard keeps the new client inquiries coming. It's not an issue now -- but what about six months from now? A year from now?

2. I miss the fun of it.

So I feel like Hamlet on this one -- to blog or not to blog, blah blah blah. But that's where I am.

Stay tuned.

Andy Sidaris, director of Malibu Express, Hard Ticket to Hawaii and other classic "chicks with guns" B-movies, has passed away at 76 after a battle with throat cancer.

I interviewed Andy for Media Orchard last July, and I've rarely spoken with such a kindly, unpretentious person -- especially amazing considering his Beverly Hills address.

We'll miss you, Andy.

He actually refers to me as a "marketing pioneer" in an interview with yours truly that he posted this morning.

Wait ... now that I think about it ... I AM a pioneer, dammit. I want Shel Israel money! Note to clients: I will be raising my rates by 50 percent starting Monday.

Unless you're not willing to pay that. Then I'd settle for 25 percent ... or, you know, it doesn't have to be that much.

Actually, nevermind. We can keep it at the same rate. No hard feelings, OK? I'm sorry I lost my head there for a minute.

Anyhoo, I mostly prattle on about myself as bloggers tend to do, since we are all so important in the grand scheme of our multi-billion-year-old planet. But I did try to make it a little more interesting by throwing in one bomb at the end, when Geoff asked me my forecast for the future of the blogosphere:

Frankly, I think it's going to get ugly as corporations continue to exert their influence over it; the process has only just begun.

When you think about it, Web 2.0 started the way Web 1.0 started. That is, you had a bunch of techies and academics and anti-corporate types running everything and thinking they could make the rules for everybody else. But guess what? They can't. We live in a deregulated market economy -- and ultimately, where there is money to be made, the market will make the rules.

I'm not saying that this is a good thing or a bad thing; I'm just saying it's inevitable. It's inevitable in the same way that cable news stations will cover Anna Nicole Smith 24/7, no matter what's going on in Africa. All this social media stuff is going mainstream; it's all going to be owned and operated by companies that are trying to wring every dollar they can out of it.

So the geeks who think they rule the world right now are going to get a reality check from big business. The lucky few will get a cashier's check as well.