Just shy of our three-year anniversary, we celebrated our 10,000,000th visit on August 3, 2005. As co-owner of Blogcritics.org, I am especially proud of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to make this site a success. A group of 16 volunteers work with Eric Olsen and me as Section Editors, Assistant Section Editors, and Editors-At-Large, as well as on specific tasks like maintaining the database of items available for review and enforcing the comment policy.
But as important as the behind-the-scenes work is for keeping the site running, I think all Blogcritics should be proud of what we've accomplished in less than three years. There is a team of more than 1000 writers here now, and more than 60 new articles are produced every day. The quality keeps getting better and better, and the world is noticing.
A steady stream of materials comes from labels, publishers, and resellers, all of whom recognize that Blogcritics.org is a place to find out what's hot and what's not, what works and what doesn't. And people are visiting, and coming back for more; Blogcritics.org hovers in the neighborhood of the 15th most popular blog on the web right now!
With dual milestones in view (10,000,000th visit just behind and third year just ahead), I poked around in the database to see what sort of things might be interesting to remember.
In the first month of the site's existence, 80 writers posted articles. Eric Olsen posted 226! Among those first 80 pioneer Blogcritics were Aaron Hawkins (deceased), Henry Copeland (creator of Blogads.com), and local favorite Jim Carruthers (recently deceased).
I was happy to be included (twice!) on the very first day of the site. I remember being so eager to be included, and so concerned that the book I reviewed must be a recent one and not just something off my shelf, that I went to the library and checked out something from the New Releases section which I happened to really enjoy. My wife thought I was crazy to make a special weekend trip to the library, but if she had known how heavily involved in the site I would eventually be, I think she would have hidden my keys.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Eric Olsen
great job Phillip, thanks - 13 out of 80 isn't a bad percentage at all in the blogosphere, where a year is a generation!
2 - RJ
Things have changed here over time:
- No more "MD" means fewer flame-wars
- No more asking for donations, as ad revenue is apparently more than enough to cover expenses
- Google News has made us an official media source, and Yahoo News will hopefully soon see the light as well
FWIW, I've been around here for almost two-and-a-half years, and it's been a blast. And things will just keep getting better.
Thanks, Eric and PW! :)
3 - Phillip Winn
Eric, when I widen the window to the last six months instead of just three, the number climbs to 20 out of 80, which seems very high.
While at least two of the original 80 are deceased, and one or two others have, I think, given up blogging altogether, I bet we can draw some of those other pioneers back with a little effort. It's a great site and they should be proud to be in on its founding!
4 - Phillip Winn
RJ, yes lots and lots of changes. Flame wars are a constant struggle, of course.
I'm so glad the days of asking for donations is gone. I wish the site made enough to actually pay me, of course, but that day will come.
Google News is awesome, of course.
Thanks for being part of the site. Onward and upward!
5 - Eric Olsen
thanks RJ! you have contributed a lot for a long time
6 - Eric Olsen
and it should always be noted that RJ was the one who made the Google News connection - that in itself was a Hall of Fame move
7 - Aaman
Please propose one or more of his many posts to the Hall of Fame post
8 - RJ
Baby Ducks, baby... ;-P
9 - Phillip Winn
Amazingly, I forgot that RJ was the one who hooked us up, though now of course I remember it clearly.
Dude, that was an amazing move.
10 - RJ
Thanks, guys.
Just wish I had been able to swing Yahoo News your way as easily...
Perhaps this calls for a new effort to encourage them to add us?
11 - Eric Olsen
oh, we're totally in the door - we were added to their search database, are featured in My Yahoo, will be in the News database shortly, and have an advocate working on the actual Yahoo News itself, where only one other blog is currently carried
12 - TDavid
Congrats on the 10 million visits! Here's to another 10 million :)
13 - Eric Berlin
Just for any of y'all out there who don't know:
Phillip Winn does an enormous amount behind the scenes to make the site what it is.
I'm looking forward to the next year and the next three years...
And the flurry of posts about the one hundred millionth post.
(Was going to write one billion, with a pinkie to the jaw a la Dr. Evil, but I thought that might be pushing it a tad!)
14 - Phillip Winn
Thanks, Eric B.
I've got a feeling that by the time that fourth anniversary rolls around, we'll be talking about 30,000,000 or more visits. Maybe 40,000,000. Who knows?
15 - Eric Berlin
Five years and 100 million has a nice ring to it then, eh?
16 - TDavid
I didn't know Phillip did a lot of work behind the scenes. Learn something new every day!
;)
17 - Chris Beaumont
I must say that I am proud to be a part of this. I have been here for just over a year, and have been very much enjoying being here. I plan on being around for some time to come!
18 - Temple Stark
Phillip flat saves our ass on the tech side and is underrated as a diplomat on everything else.
19 - Mark Sahm
Phil, do you still have the Day 1 webpage backed up somewhere? A screen shot of it would be cool to see (and compare).
20 - Matt Paprocki
Wow. The same week the site reaches this, I finally have posted something in every section. I never thought I would ever write anything on music or politics, but I guess that's the effect BC has on people. =;)
Congrats to everyone involved. I had to read the number twice and count the zeroes to make sure I seen that right.
21 - Joanie
I remember thinking "I don't want to do this! If everyone else is contributing, I have nothing to add." Yeah, right. Funny how it turns out that BC begins taking up more of your time than regular blogging (at least for me) and even seeps over into my non-blogging time as well.
I think this means I'm supposed to get a 10 mil tattoo or piercing or something. That's what the rest of the gang's doing, right?
22 - BRICKLAYER
BRICKLAYER'S TOP 5 BLOGCRITICS, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:
Mark Saleski-Mark reminds me of someone I'd like to go to a used record store with, share coffee with, or help move furniture. Yeah, I like him that much
Tom Johnson-Tom's love of metal has melted my cold black heart, and he has turned me on to other really cool, non-devil music also. Like Mark above, non-condescending and fun to read, the kind of person I would corner at a kegger, and demand a Top 10 list from.
Mr O-Mr. O is the even tempered voice of reason, like a rapier witted Australian Sheep dog, herding my errant thoughts back on task, always welcoming but accepting no bs
Ms Tek-I know she no longer lives here, but oh, those photo galleries... the tattooed back piece...pictures of Ms. Tek, made my life so wonderful, pictures of Ms. Tek helped me sleep at niiiiight
The Theory-Love this dude's music reviews and the fact that you can tell by reading him that he doesn't care if you think he's cool or not, which is very cool
So, kudos to you all, I lift a cup of half caff, turn up the Lamb of God to 11, and throw the devil horns to you in a most unironic way!
23 - BRICKLAYER
PS-I forgot to give it up for a few other folks whose writings make me feel all funny inside: HW Saxton- gives me that sense of been there, lived it, like if Iggy had blog, Mr. Saxton got his CBGB shirt at the bar, after some junkie tore it off in the pit, not at Hot Topic
Natalie Davis-Sometimes brash, sometimes laid back, never backs down. Straigtened me out on my deadhead bias, and if I remember correctly, once mentioned something about how one of her teenager's friends referred to her as hot..which is hot
The Duke-Dude knows lots of cool stuff about alot of cool stuff, and talks neat, has deep knowledge of dirty things
24 - Phillip Winn
Thanks, Bricklayer. Now when are you going to start up a blog so you can be a member here yourself?
Man, I'm tempted to start up a blog for you, get you to post once or twice, and then make you a member. :-)
Mark, it's not quite day one, but there's a version (that's missing some background color on the sidebar) at the Archive from September 24, which is one month and twelve days after day one. The individual posts have the right colors and everything.
25 - BRICKLAYER
Hey Phillip,
What with the pleasuring the missus, working for the man, playing with the rugrats, wincing under the tattoo needle, making sure I get enough fiber, accessorizing my bad motor scooter, and searching for Hatebreed bootlegs on ebay, I think I'd like to hopefully give it a try someday soon. At least it would help me to rationalize the obscene amount of music I buy! Although as the poet and sage Al Jourgenson said: "No man with a huge cd collection needs justified". Or, something like that.