Another year has come and gone. When I started this site four years ago, I knew I was setting out on a crazy journey. It was going to be one that took me even deeper into the depths of geekdom than I had ever been in my life. Conventions, nerd music shows, hotel parties, lasting friendships and a whole slew of other great experiences have colored the last few years.
From the initial thought I had of the site at Nerdapalooza 2010 to what the site has become today, I am so proud to see the growth and opportunities it has provided me. Wanting to break away from the cliques and in groups to see a unified geek community has always been a goal of mine. Whether you love Star Trek or Star Wars, love or hate Dr. Who, or whatever your geeky passion is, I have always wanted this to be a site that any geek can be welcome at. I am glad to say that so far I have not been disappointed in that regard.
I want to take a moment to thank all of those I have met personally through this journey. I have met so many wonderful people through conventions and the geek scene. You all are like family to me. Whether we hang out at every con or if we can only exchange banter on Facebook due to distance, you all mean the world to me.
I want to thank those that spread the word of the site and provide content for it. It is the cross exchange of our content that was a driving factor in starting the site to showcase that talent. Podcasts including Slacker & The Man, Just A Couple of G’s, The Real Congregation, WeBeGeeks, and The Nerd Groove showcase a wide array of geeky interests and talent. Bert and Shawn’s toy reviews have always been fun and have inspired me to do my own. Finally, thanks to Joe Convoy and the rest of the Critical Botch crew for providing a few laughs along the way with their RPG campaigns.
With all the great things that have happened so far, there is still quite a bit that can be improved on. I’m always on a search for great, geeky things to showcase. Conventions and concerts will still get the photo coverage this site has been known for since the beginning. With a new camcorder, hopefully I’ll be able to deliver some video updates from the cons as well. Along with that, I am going to be trying to set up interviews. They will be with local talent as well as trying to get celebrity interviews at cons. I will also be bringing in more unique content to the site. I have a toy review series that I just released the first episode of and will be coming up with more of my own unique content.
A lot can happen between now and next year’s milestone five year celebration. I will try to bring the end of our first five year journey to thrilling conclusion. This year will be about setting new trends and taking this site where it has never been before. With all of my fellow geeks by my side, we will promote geeky unity for a long time to come.
Thank you all for following me this far. Here’s to the four years we’ve made it through and here’s to the ones that will follow.
-Randy
Happy birthday GWO!