Started in late 2011, it's only been around for a year and a half. It's gone from an average of 100 views per week to well over 1000. And that's promising, because it's only one year! I'm not anticipating an exponential increase of traffic, but a nice steady rise would be a good thing.
So here's to you. Thanks for checking this site for cool content, and I hope you stay tuned to what we do next. A special "Legend of Zelda" themed video is planned in celebration of this. Just remember a couple things about this site which I believe has led to its success so far:
- No Search Engine Optimization.
We don't play with search results so that the site appears higher on the list. People who visit this website are here because they have chosen to be here intentionally. - No Advertisements, Mostly.
This isn't going to change. But we're working on developing a different model for revenue streaming that is entirely unconventional. Rather than trying to capitalize from Google Adwords all over the site, which would go against the mission statement ("Information of Relevance") we are going to try to create entertaining videos for local businesses, which resemble the sort of thing you'd expect more from television programs. Think dramas, think sitcoms. But all local! We have the know-how and equipment. Check out our Vimeo channel to see where we're at.
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| Elm City Market at the 360State Building (photo: @nhvorg) |
At 710 Posts, that's a little shy of two postings per day. The type of posts that you'll find could be literally anything. One of our first articles ever was simply just a photograph of a community garden, still in full swing in the month of November (2011). You'll find posts pertaining to restaurants, sports, gardens, concerts, art shows, and just about any opportunity publicly available to the community. Where else would you know that there's going to be free Chipotle on Thursday at 5:30? Check the calendar for details!
It's not just us creating good unique content online. Friends of East Rock Park have an awesome youth blog that is full of great current information about what's going on in the community for real. Lots of people do, and you can find out more in the directory. You can even add yourself to that directory by filling out the form on that page.
So here's to a more well-informed society! If all goes well, the site will continue to increase in both quality of content and quantity of viewers, and maybe it will be known as an ongoing success story of growth and development in the city known as #Nhv!
