What a year

This was the first photo I used in a post. We're all about the nostalgia.

As I mentioned in the Headlines today, we’re 1.

(Notable people we share birthdays with: The Unknown Studio, sort of…Edmonton reporter Simon Ostler…Queen of the Cougars, Courtney Cox…K-9 star Jim Belushi…Neil Patrick Harris, freakin’ NPH…Ice Cube…Waylon Jennings…and Helen Hunt…not bad company at all.)

We had to go back and check when we actually posted for the first time last year, since it’s been a long year. It’s been a lot of blogging, but, as with most things, life also gets in the way. So I mean it when I say the edmontonian has had a long year. Heck, I was really blown away when looking through our old stories. It was lots of “We did that? We talked about that already?”

I like hearing the guys at The Unknown Studio joke in their podcasts that Scott never thought they’d see one year, and Adam gets to gloat. (They’re also turning one!) I feel the same way, sometimes.

the edmontonian is a blog. But it’s just a website. It’s a news aggregator. But it’s also a content creator. It’s an online magazine. It’s about Edmonton. It’s a conversation. It’s just a blog. It’s a place where anyone can share their stories, whether in an actual post or photos or just in the comments.

I think I’ve seen, in the last year, how titles and jurisdictions and mediums matter less. I really don’t think it matters if you’re putting out stories of Edmonton on TV, newspapers, radio, online, in magazines, in photos or videos. People want information, they want discussion, they want to solve problems and celebrate victories. Personally, I feel the Internet can do a combination of that better than traditional mediums (if only for interaction and constant updating) but as long as newsrooms and blogs and people telling stories are after truth I think it’s all good.

Truth being stories about this place we live in, good and bad. Truth being facts not plainly stated or available, sometimes only revealed through digging of crusading reporters. Truth being that we’re all in this, so we better find some common ground and try to solve problems, be for something and not against everything.

And truth being that we’ll talk about stuff like broken doors and mall openings because it’s fun and funny, not because we think it will attract eyeballs.

And I like to think this is all part of a wider connection of blogs, podcasts and passionate Edmontontians that are changing, not just how the city approaches things, but also, the way people get their news.

There you go. Edmonton’s got a world-class online, and tech, community. That’s how you become a great place to live, you do it without trying.

Don't go shopping for glasses with Sally. She'll just take photos of you to make you look like a perv.

It’s been a wild year. I can’t believe we’re still here, and I’m glad we are. I can’t believe people readily write for us and team up with us. I’m blown away when people talk about us, or thank us for talking about their blog or their issues.

It’s humbling. And it’s not something I always got, or recognized, when working in daily news. This little blog has changed my life.

Thanks for sticking with us for one year. We hope to be thanking you again in 365 days.