Sometime last week, The Big Dead Sidebar reached a milestone no one (other than myself and Matt Hartwig) ever thought would be reached. 10,000 hits. Let the record show that's 5,477 more hits than should-be Hall of Famer Pete Rose collected in his Major League Baseball career.
So, to say we've earned the 10,000 hits is an understatement. As for the future, I hope it continues on the upswing. We've recently added advertisements ... PLEASE CLICK THEM. PLEASE! HELP US GET PAID! WE'RE POOR!
It's been a long time coming for TBDS, a site started by two college kids looking to make their own breaks after seeing how the world of print journalism continues to reach the kinds of depths that only the Los Angeles Clippers know.
As for the lucky lady (Diana!) who claims to be our 10,000th visitor, congratulations. Your prize is a date with me. (B-Dubs?) I hope you're happy for bringing that to my attention. (P.S. Thanks for the sweet screen grab! Or, at least posting it on Facebook so I can right-click and save!)
And this is the part I get nostalgic and have a flashback.
TBDS literally started as a two-bit operation with myself and Hartwig. It slowly expanded as we added a few of our friends to the writing staff. If you dare look back at the site's early post, you'll notice the site's simplicity. Then, after a tip, we started to add pictures to accent the stylings of two very talented writers. The photos (usually of scantily-clad young celebrity ladies) drew the eye of readers, fans, detractors and those who needed a distraction from your everyday run-of-the-mill sports blog.
However, the site really took off in the first few weeks of the Fall 2008 semester. I recruited Daily Egyptian sports writers Brian Feldt and Stile Smith, along with former DE Sports Editor Jeff Engelhardt to join the up-and-coming site. And finally, it was all coming together.
Hartwig, and his well-placed sources, is our Major League Baseball while playing ying to my yang as he covers White Sox baseball to offset my Cub-centric posts. Of course, you know me as the resident blog-a-hollic. As for the additions: Stile, a freshman from Centralia, Ill., (which explains the whole SalukiOrphan thing) joined our staff as the St. Louis Cardinals expert and Jeff (who swears his Milwaukee Bucks are worth a damn) is our NBA expert. Feldt does what he wants, when he wants. That's what you do when you deal with a primadonna.
Heck, now we've even got a hockey blogger with the addition of Johnny Sole of WSIU radio down here in Carbondale.
That's right, hockey.
The ability to connect to the masses via Facebook and MySpace, along with the exposure provided when the Chicago Sun-Times started picking us up via BlogBurst has helped allow TBDS to be seen by so many eyes.
And to think, I was afraid this site was going to get shut down by a higher power. I guess this is where I thank the powers that be and a great support group for not making me the next Christmas Ape.
Anyway, my plea to you is as follows: Keep reading, keep clicking the advertisements and keep sending tips. And please stay tuned for more of The Big Dead Sidebar.
0 comments:
Post a Comment