I was about two seconds away from hanging it up for good this weekend. No fan fare, no hype, no childish pleas for assistance. I was going to silently walk away. Instead, I have decided to make a lateral move of sorts and turn the page over to the Packer fans it was always meant for.

I'm burned out, plain and simple. I am working towards larger goals, and this little website never stops humming. If it made any money, that would be fine. But, it doesn't, and never will. This being said, from day one I always wanted The Packers Lounge to actually be "By the fans... for the fans." My initial dream was to have an open source format where nearly anyone could have an article published, get put forth on a large network, and be made available to a larger group of readers than they might be able to touch on their own.

This wasn't really possibly initially since the site was new. But, through the efforts of myself, and many others, the Lounge has gotten to a point where it is a daily read for quite a few people. Although you might not see them comment in the comment section, this place is not hurting for traffic. I'd like to think I played a small part in the growth, and now it is time to pass on that network to other Packer fans and inspiring creatives.

So today, as once planned, I finally am going to open source the Lounge for all Packer writers. If you would like to be published, have an opinion, or just feel like being creative, you can now submit at will for publication on:

Our Submissions Page

I have assembled a small team of (pretty inept) editors and readers. They will take care of the finer points of adding a picture, or catching a typo. Once you submit an article it will be reviewed, lightly edited if needed, and chosen to appear in some fashion on the website. Solid articles will receive feature spots on the top-shelf, but, if you just have a lengthy opinion, or want to forecast the next free-agent signing, we'll get you up too. I also encourage NFL related articles as well, and we will make sure and have a category for those who might want to step outside the bounds of Lambeau Field for a moment. All articles will appear in our Twitter and Facebook streams along with our search engine results. Let me stress that this is not a place to advertise your products, but feel free to include a link to your website within your content. It is a fantastic and completely free way to start getting your name out there.

I really hope people take advantage of this. Honestly, the future of the Lounge now rests in the hands of creative Packer fans. I personally am stepping aside unless something needs to be said, or perhaps someone needs to be put in their place. I'll speak when I see fit, but as of now, the Lounge is all yours. I sincerely hope you will participate in this experiment of social discourse.

Finally, let me stress this whole thing is in BETA right now. We are really stretching the boundaries of what can be done as it is. As we grow, writers will be able to assume more roles if wanted, and become a larger part of the community process. Many changes will have to made along the way, but for now anyway, this is where it starts.

Who's first?