One year anniversary of this new board - official.....

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
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Congrats to a former Jerzy boy
 
"What a long strange trip it's been!"

Ain't it the truth. An old, shy woodburner turned into a blabberfingers. 5.3 obnoxious posts a day.

Well, anyway, thanks for having the Forum Craig. I stopped in wondering what was new in the wood burning world and have spent a fortune and worked my butt off on the stuff ever since. Not one stove or chimney in this house are the same ones they were last year at this time. And the temp is supposed to head South here tomorrow night so we will see how it all works.

Hopefully this next year is just cutting and burning wood and reading posts.
 
BTW Craig. How is the "Industry" side of the Forum doing?
 
BB, that is the ultimate testimony to Hearth.com!

Now I can tell my advertisers that we definitely KNOW how to make people part with their $$$.

I think the entire crew deserves a pat on the back. I can't imagine any similar forum with so many posts - and so few problems. Heck, I even like Frank Ivy, Gideon.... well, compared to those folks, castiron is a pushover!

I hope the next year sees growth of the Wiki and the new Fuel Price Guide. After all, this is "web 2.0" (translation - the new web where we all are both giving and taking information)......

I've probably told this one before - but when I came up with the idea of Hearth.com, an industry contact told me it was a "Grandiose Scheme". That ws Tim Nissen of Homefire Stove in Salem Or (a GREAT shop for those close by).....

After things really got going, I looked forward to seeing 10,000 visitors in a month. That, to me, was a lofty height. I would have never imagined 250,000 to 400,000 site visits in a busy month as we had this past year!

A new word defines this type of thing: Meganiche
(broken link removed to http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/meganiche.html)

"Now that more than a billion people have access to the Web, there is no longer a trade-off between size and specificity. The basic math is simple: A tiny piece of an immense pie is huge. A decade ago, reaching one-tenth of 1 percent of Web users amounted to 36,000 people, a number that compared favorably with the circulation of, say, the daily newspaper in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Back then, reaching a million users required a decidedly mainstream offering (Amazon.com and MSN come to mind). Now, getting niche can be the path to getting big; one-tenth of 1 percent of today's Web audience is a million people. Forget Bridgewater – the Net is chockablock with special-interest sites and services you've never heard of but whose user base exceeds the print circulation of The Washington Post."
 
BrotherBart said:
BTW Craig. How is the "Industry" side of the Forum doing?

You're not missing anything! All the action is here. It has been my experience over the past 10 years that many in the industry are either:
1. Too busy
2. Not up on Internet matters (I tried to remedy this in many ways including seminars at the trade show and mass mailings)
3. Scared of sharing

or something else. Luckily, we have some top-notch industry people who tend to hang around here as much or more.

For year before this forum, I had an industry email list with 600-1000 members - but what happened (very typical with email lists) is that 10 people talked (mostly me) and 600 listened. So I axed it. This model is better - if them want to put out the energy to come and share/promote/help - then we are ready. If they don't - well, you can lead the deer to your bedroom....but.....
 
:exclaim: HAPPY BIRTHDAY :exclaim:

Thanks for puting this all together. You've managed to gather a great crowd of professionals, enthusiasts and characters here. I am truly glad that I came across this site when I did (before I put the insert in).

On that note, I think I'll grab a beer and "cheers"
 
Congratulations and thanks Craig. I remember the day. It's been a fun year.

I hope a refined reviews database is also coming. That is what first drew me to Hearth.com. But it took some persistent digging to find it and figure it out.
 
WOW Has it been a year already!? Thats a lot of logs being tossed around.
Well , Onto and into another great year.
 
5.3 obnoxious posts a day.

Call it what HE wants, because of yours and others posts, My house is carbon MONOXIOUS free!
Love that new avatar BB!

Craig, Kudos' to you- and all the members here for making this forum a learning experience, and sometimes fun as hell site to be a member of!
 
Well done Craig, and well done all.

(There goes the Ash can? I'll have to look)
 
Great job Craig. I don't know how some of us 'newbies' would have made the right decisions without all the good info here.

Keep up the good work!
 
Craig - May the bird of paradise do the backstroke in your pre-mix. Thanks for this excellent web-destination for the past year. I can honestly say that I have learned more from the guys on this forum than I had in the 12 previous years I have been burning wood for heat. We'll do anyting we can to support the site. Keep your cutters sharp and your rakers low!
 
Congrats! I wouldn't know a darn thing about wood burning without this place! Thank you & everyone else for the best hearth knowledge on the web! :-)
 
Thanks Craig, it's a great site. Even though I'm a newby, I enjoy checking in every day! Great info and reads! Jim :coolsmile:
 
Congrats. I also found the site via google leading me to the REVIEWS part of the website. Google also led me to your fuel comparison cost calculator. Getting to the forums was a bit clunky from those other parts of the site, and like someone mentioned, the reviews engine could use a major overhaul - but all in all this is a great site so keep up the good work!

-Gordo
 
Happy birthday to Hearth.com and congratulations Craig. You have a great resource here and I think one of the reasons for its success is the welcoming nature of the long time board members and of course the outstanding information that one can glean from the site. I wish many more birthdays to come. This is without a doubt the best wood/pellet burning community on the web!!
 
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