In business, we're not used to stopping. The concept is not really even an option. Businesses and organizations are always supposed to constantly grow and innovate for their customers. So it's naturally difficult to embrace the idea of setting a stop date and tying off an idea. But in the digital space it's important to think about. Part of it is it's just smart to do... stop before the value of something becomes stale. And then part of it, I think, is just being a good digital citizen given all the content out there that Neil reminded me of the other day.
So I like what the Grass Is Greener Project did. They had a clearly-stated purpose and they accomplished that purpose in two years. Then they stopped. Job done. Tie it off. Move on to the next.
Seeing what Grass Is Greener did prompted me to make a list of things I'd do next time I close down a digital environment. Thought I'd share:
1. The Farewell Post. Something highly searchable that quickly recaps the goal, approach and success of the idea.
2. Close All Comments. Since you're no longer managing the site, be sure to close all comment ability.
3. Leave A Clearly Marked Trail. Links to the next thing. Ways to follow the authors/editors/creators. These should be included in the Farewell Post.
4. Generic-Up The Copy and Links On High-Traffic Pages. Spend some time combing through the copy on key pages and make sure it's written to be correct for the foreseeable future. Change links on those high-traffic pages to point to things you're confident will be around for awhile.
5. Keep The Site Up. You could just shut it down, but perhaps resist. Three reasons for this, really. The first is that there's lots of great content that people will continue to find value in. The second is that the digital environment will hopefully continue to occupy higher-ranking search results for you. And the final reason is, you never know, you may wish to return and revive the idea someday. And when you do, everything will be just as you left it.