Thoughts on Reaching 20,000

Thoughts on Reaching 20,000.

I suppose in the world of the Internet, reaching 20,000 pageviews on a blog is no big deal.  Some blogs do that in an hour.  But it’s a milestone for us.  It took us nearly two years to reach it, which works out to about 850 hits per month, although for much of 2013 and 2014 we’ve been viewed more often than that.  I tell myself it takes time to build something, but as my parents always said, I have high hopes but no patience.  

I would like to thank all the people who have written reviews of CDs and concerts over the past two years.  You have all been great to work with (well, most of you), and I look to your continued help in getting interesting things to read posted on Buzzard Tracks.  We will continue forth with heads held high.

Given our niche focus on music of Northeast Ohio and by Northeast Ohio musicians, it’s no surprise that we haven’t become the next Pitchfork.  But that was never our intention.  We wanted to be a big fish in a small pond, but so far, we are still a small fish, and it turns out that the pond is bigger than we thought.  Northeast Ohio is musically deeper and wider than any single blog can handle.  Our ability to produce blog postings has been somewhat limited by available writers.  In the Hiram College community, including alumni, I have only found a handful who have the combination of being good writers who want to write about local music and also have the time to commit to a review cycle of a month.  There are several possible solutions to this dilemma:  a. dig deeper into the community; 2. find some way to pay people (never happen); c.. reach out into the larger Northeast Ohio community for those willing to do some reviewing and reporting.  

So, here’s the deal.  If anyone in Northeast Ohio would like to write for Buzzard Tracks, I’d like to hear from you.  I am especially interested in concert reviews (of NEO music, not just folks passing through), thought pieces on music in the region, retrospectives on specific artists or genres, and short essays by musicians about their work.  Of course, you can review CDs too, but it sure is easier if I don’t have to mail stuff to you.  Any takers?  All you get is glory, and if that’s good enough, please contact me at wanserjc@hiram.edu.  

Your Editor,

Jeff Wanser