Goodbye 2012 and Hello 2013

What a crazy year 2012 has been. The site, because of a dedicated, and I assume attractive user base, continues to grow at a sometimes alarming rate. In the past years I have been forced to upgrade the site, usually once towards the end of the year, but this year was a little different. The site has gone through four upgrades already, and I am pretty sure might need another one in the new year. It is hard to know how well your website will do when you start publishing, you can only hope that people will like what you are doing. You can also pretend that you do not care how many people visit your site, but when you are putting stuff out there, it is very satisfying to see people show up. So thanks to everyone who reads this site on a regular basis or is just clicking through from a search.

Of course, the site is not just me alone anymore. A solid group of retro fanatics are submitting to the site every day. Let me start off with Vic Sage who has now been on the site for a couple of years as both author, editor and all around awesome guy. For a while it was just Vic and I putting up stuff here, but that is not the case anymore. We get regular posts from Rob “Flack” O’Hara. Doug McCoy, Drahken, Atari Adventure Square, CarlosTheDwarf, Daniel Th1rte3n, vinvectrex, retrojustin, Brian Boone, blinddog, TheSixMillionDollarJedi, Patrick Doody, Professor Brian Oblivion, Ernio Hernandez, metagirl, Morgan Wentworth, Joshua Caleb, Rick Doherty, Sean Hartter, shakin steak and many many more. I want to thank everyone who posts on the site because it gives me an opportunity to enjoy the site as a reader, which is really fun for me. I also want to invite people to submit to the site for 2013. It is as easy as emailing.

This was the year that the podcast moved solidly into the 3 digit space. 28 new episodes were made this year and while that is a smaller number than the year before, I am very happy with the direction of the show. Not only did we have some fun “Special” episodes, but 3 contributors have been making their mark on the show now. Vic Sage, Rob O’Hara and Doug McCoy have been contributing segments for months now and join metagirl as show regulars. Of course, behind the scenes, Peachy continues to deliver music for the show and punching things up. He has been releasing music of his own on a regular basis, and I am pretty sure in 2013 we will see a Peachy 8-bit album (original music!). That will be very exciting.

In 2013, we will have a bunch of new shows. I think maybe even a few more than this year. If you are a listener, please help spread the word about the show and if you download it from a place like iTunes, it would be greatly appreciated if you could give the show a rating and/or review.

The Forum came back to life this year and as of last week in 2013 will be completely sponsored by its readers. So if you want to join in the discussion, head on over and tell use what you enjoy or dislike about nostalgia, or perhaps just what you miss.

If forums are not your thing, the Retroist Facebook page continues to offer a fun place to interact with your fellow lovers of nostalgia. Plus, you get stuff there that you will not see here on the site. It has grown rapidly this year, as has the site’s Twitter. So stop by and like or follow The Retroist (that’s the site retroist, not the me retroist).

So what else in 2013? I have been playing around with other nostalgia fun, including spin-off site ideas and an android app. I am not sure either of them will work out or be any good, but one of the things I enjoy about the internet is that if you have the time and the ability, it never hurts to try. So look for more info about these things in the upcoming months along with new posts, shows, and contributors.

In 2012 I digitized 200 hours of retro TV and have made 1250 retro scans, this joins a huge amount of material that is just sitting around on computers in my office. None of these things made it onto the site for some reason or another, so in 2013 I am hoping to tap into that material (instead of just digitally hoarding it).

On a serious note, this is the first year that I spent without my Mother, who I lost last year. She is the one above everyone in my life who instilled in me an appreciation for nostalgia. This site exists largely because of her. She was an occasional commenter here on the site and a regular reader/listener. We often talked about the site, and she enjoyed reading the contribution of others and relishing in their memories. I miss her tremendously. It is her memory that gets me up extra early in the morning to work on posts and to give up sleep to edit the podcast. I love doing this site and show, but I would happily delete the entire thing for one more conversation with her.

So in 2013 please remember to make the most out of every moment with the people around you. Time flies, so make some great memories and if you have some spare moments come here and share them. Goodbye 2012…thanks for everything.

Hello 2013!!