We've topped 60,000 posts and 2,000 members and are on our way to 100 blogs!! Isn't it great?!!! I wonder if we can reach the big 100,000 posts by our second birthday?
I started with an art website when it was small, now it's so big, with so many subforums, I barely recognize anybody. O well, if a place is good, word gets around!
Yes it's really fantastic, thanks for bringing it up Eils. I agree with you Critter that once communities grow larger many new faces may be hard to get used to but I thnk the Stew has remained homely amongst all of the growth. At least I hope it has I suppose now is a good time to mention that in the coming weeks I will be launching a revamped design for the Stew. The structure will remain largely unchanged but there will be aesthetic improvements and of course a new feature or two. So keep your eyes peeled!!! Make that third birthday Eils! Yes hard to believe that GardenStew will be 3 years old at the beginning of next year.
Is there a start up story about how the stew was born? I'd love to know how and when the first seeds were planted, and so on.
Good question Chitweed In late 2004 I decided to make my first attempt at setting up an online community. I have a degree in software development so the technical side of it was pretty much pegged down but I didn't know what to start a community on. It hit me that a gardening community was a good choice as although there was already a bunch of fine examples out there there was still room for a new one. So once the initial version of the Stew was built it was then time for the hardest part of any community, attracting members. The Stew was fortunate in the first month or so to have Eileen join (who is now a moderator ). It was pretty much Eileen and I talking to each other for a few weeks But slowly as more and more found the site it started to grow. Toni joined as a moderator last year. It has evolved quite a bit from the old days (I must dig up a few old screenshots to show you) with new features being added, most notably the blogs. The last year or so has been a period of great growth and that looks set to continue! That's the short version, I could fill pages with the long version
Very interesting! I do enjoy a good 'this is how it all began' story. I'd like to see some of the pics, too! You guys have done a great job in making this an informative and organized, yet homey,fun,and interesting, place. Kudos!
