Article: Happy Birthday Everyone

[John Bonnes]

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About 15 months ago, Nick, Parker, Seth and I began talking about creating a Minnesota Twins website for independent writers and fans. It became clear we were on the right path when the question we asked ourselves changed from "Are we going to do this?" and became "Why the hell didn't we do this five years ago?"

 

So, really, today should be Twins Daily's sixth birthday.

 

If it was, this site would make a lot more sense. Six years seems about the right amount of time to generate 1200 Twins stories by independent writers. 2500 registered members over that time would seem reasonable. Over 6 years, 14,000 posts and comments per year would get us to the 84,000 that have already been entered. And we would be doing backflips over 6.2 million page views during that six-year period.

 

Except that we didn't start it six years ago. Those numbers are all from this first year. And you're the difference.

 

You're the difference in a lot of other ways, too. We are daily witnessing members find their voice, either in the blogs or in the forums. Our community has become the definitive source for Twins minor league coverage. Also, discussion about the team is increasingly centered around thoughtful analysis, both internally and in the corporate media. You're the driving force for all of these.

 

Best of all, the community, content and interaction just keep growing. Our numbers are showing 30-50% growth this year, even as the Twins are selling 25% fewer season tickets. But we're determined to do better, so please let us know your thoughts about the site.

 

So Happy First Birthday everyone! Go for it - stick your whole face in that cake. The site is in its infancy, but you've already made our wildest dreams come true. Thank you. We'll do our best to continue to deserve your attention and support.

 

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