Time flies!
Has it really been three years?
It seems like only yesterday that we launched Life As A Human.
In three years, we have come such a long way. The last two birthdays, I gave you all a bunch of numbers and statistics to illustrate our growth and how we are doing. I’ll provide a few for you but I thought on this birthday, I might get a bit more philosophical to offer a different measure of our success.
From our About page … a mission statement:
“A multi-author blog featuring more than 150 international writers and bloggers, Life As A Human is a multicultural matrix for writing that moves and inspires – a venue for the authentic voice, regardless of age, nationality or perspective.“
We really wanted this to be a place for everyone and that is exactly what it has become. We are now read in 218 countries/territories and our 2700+ articles are written by authors from around the globe. Some are as young as 11, others well into their 80’s. These writers who come from a wide variety of cultures, perspectives and spiritual beliefs have indeed moved and inspired about 2 million visitors who have read over 4 million pages.
We wanted this to be a place that builds people up, not rips people down. And while we have published some thought-provoking articles, we believe that we have achieved our goal of being a site that celebrates our similarities – and our differences – through stories that unite our experiences in meaningful ways.
We continue to receive a lot of positive feedback from our readers, and that remains our most important yardstick. Our readership and our traffic continues to grow steadily. We are also getting noticed by many other sites and have begun forging some very interesting relationships with publishers and publicists. A year ago, we might have had one or two enquiries each month from publishers and publicists. Now, a week does not go by where we don’t receive at least 5 or 6!
Our server has been extremely busy serving up over 221 million hits, 12.4 million pages which all translates to over 4.5 terabytes of data transferred!
In the coming months, you will start to see some new types of content at Life As A Human including school writing contests, articles on repurposing, food and recipes. As well, we will be publishing many more photo essays from some very talented photographers and putting a lot of energy into our art site.
Thank You …
I want to thank all of you, our readers, for your continued support and for sharing our site with your families and friends. I am so grateful to all of our authors for their excellent contributions and for sticking with us as we grow. And, enormous thanks to the entire Life As A Human team for all the work that they do to make sure there is always fresh content on our pages.
I ended last years birthday note by saying “This year, we learn to run.” We have done that, but I can also tell you this:
We’re just getting warmed up! 😉
Photo Credit
Birthday Balloon – Microsoft Office Clip Art Collection
Has it been three years already, Gil? Amazing and congratulations! Continued success!!
For what it’s worth Gil,
I’ve been a journalist for more than 30 years.
I’ve worked mostly in newspapers and as a contributing travel writer and photographer to newspapers and travel magazines both in Australia and overseas.
Some publications in which my work has been reproduced pay okay but are not the kind of outlets that I choose to publicly hang my professional hat on, if you know what I mean.
They pay and I am happy to have my work published and that’s the end of the relationship.
With Life As A Human, it is different.
If asked, I am quietly proud to tell people that I have work published on Life As A Human.
The general response is: “What is that?”
And then I explain and tell them to take a look at one of the few websites that celebrates human expression.
Good ideas tend to take on a life of their own.
Life As A Human was and is a good idea in a world of electronic media mostly focused on “bells and whistles”, quick grabs, the quirky and the sensational.
You have created a celebration of “the human condition”, which ain’t a bad thing.
We are all one, unless of course the website is being read by Aliens…. which is quite possible.
You and the LAAH team should be rightly proud.
Cheers,
Vince
Hi Vince,
One of the great pleasures for me over the last 3 years has been to build some great relationships with some very fine humans from all over the globe … like you! I consider this a great privilege!
Thank you for your words Vince. I can’t tell you how much they mean to me and our team.
Indeed we are proud! As for aliens … I am quite sure your are right that it is quite possible! Perhaps next year, I will be able to add planets and stars to our list of reader locations. How cool would THAT be 😉
Nanoo Nanoo!
Cheers,
Gil
Hi Gil,
Yay you and everyone involved with LAAH! I’m so proud to be a part of your crawling, walking and soaring creative experiment.
I agree with Gab – woot! woot! Mr. and Mrs. 🙂
Best,
Tess
Hey Tess!
Thank you! We are happy to have you as part of our grand experiment as well 😉
WOOT WOOT Indeed!
Gileeeeeeeeeee
Woot. woot! Congratulations, this is an amazing site and an amazing bunch of people. I love reading all the great stories and articles and keep sharing with everyone I know. Here’s to another three years, three decades, three centuries…well maybe not three centuries, but one can dream right?
Thanks Gab!
I know I am not alone when I say that we are thrilled to have you on board! I shall soon go raise a glass (or 3) to your good wishes 😉
Have a great weekend!
Cheers,
Gil
Hey Gab … P.S. … re woot!
http://lifeasahuman.com/2012/our-human-experience/people/woot/
Ha, too fun! Here’s to Woot and Mrs Woot.
It’s great to hear how widespread LAAH’s audience has become! I am pleased to have been one of the authors around since the beginning. The writing and photography keep getting better, and readers should know that LAAH treats it’s contributors well. They care about our work, and how it goes out in the world. Cheers to 3 years, and onward for many more!
Hi Nathan,
Thanks!
We are very happy that you are with us 🙂 Thanks for your nice words about how we treat our contributors. We do our best!
Have a great weekend!
Cheers,
Gil
Congratulations, LAAH! I am aware that a huge amount of work is behind what appears on the pages of this wonderful magazine, most of it carried out as a labour of love by the CEO, with no guarantee of recoup of investment, not to mention appropriate remuneration. Thank you for providing this valuable forum for thoughts, ideas, opinions, musings, and creativity, and wishing you even greater success in the coming year.
Hi Ross,
Thanks for your kind words 🙂
It is indeed a lot of work but it could not be done without the LAAH team and we are so fortunate to have you as part of that team.
Here’s to 2013! It’s going to be a good one 😉
Cheers,
Gil
Hi Gil,
Congratulations to you, your team, and all of the writers who have contributed to LAAH over the last three years. May you look back at year four as a break-out year for LAAH.
Thanks Ray!
2013 should be a very good year! Hope all is well for you 🙂
Cheers,
Gil