The blog is now into it's third year of life. It began as a place to share some of the "Call of Cthulhu" and Lovecraftian prop resources I thought people would enjoy. Posting was a bit spotty for the first year, but steadily increased from once or twice a month to more or less weekly as I became more comfortable with the format and more astute at finding interesting material.
Things really started to pick up after I decided to do the first "At the Mountains of Madness" patch back in 2008. In hindsight that project is a natural progression from posting my paper props, but at the time it was more than a little risky. I knew I wanted it, but I wasn't sure if anyone else would. More importantly, could I afford to risk the equivalent of my car payment paying for it? Luckily, despite me having what could charitably be called "limited" design and artistic skills at the time, the response was positive. Since then I've been able to work on even more obscure props, steadily improving the quality of each offering.
Thanks to the popularity of those projects, as well as a decision I made earlier this year to update on a daily basis, traffic here has grown pretty consistently. The first two months of Propnomicon's existence, back in October and November of 2007, saw it get 22 visitors. No, not 22 a day. 22 for the entire two month span. Things had improved considerably by the start of 2009, but it wasn't until the last quarter of this year that things really took off. Here are my SiteMeter stats for the year:
Those are trivial numbers compared to a mainstream site like Gizmodo that gets three million hits a day, but for a blog focused on a relatively obscure area of interest I'm overjoyed at the response. To give you an idea of just how niche Propnomicon is, the most popular post this year dealt with what kind of binoculars and tape measures the "At the Mountains of Madness" expedition would have used. Not exactly something that sets Google Trends on fire, my friends. No, that's hardcore, otaku-grade geek territory...and I wouldn't have it any other way.
So thanks for a wonderful year. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to get to know many of you on a personal basis and wish you all the best for 2010.
A bunch of us have been following this site for three years due to its At The Mountains of Madness leaning, which coincided with our LRP of an Antarctic Expedition. But it became more than that as the resources here grew and grew. Thanks very much for making the geek world a bit smaller.
ReplyDeleteI've been following you since before you made your first fir-sale patch (someone I read had linked to you, and I can't for the life of me remember who), and your blog has been a highlight of my RSS reader on a daily basis. Obviously, I also enjoy your for-sale work. ;)
ReplyDeleteHere's to your continued success in 2010! Thanks for all your efforts, both in terms of craft-making and sharing the excellent prop-making info you find on your online travels.
@ London Boat Game Guy
ReplyDeleteThank you for the very kind words. Considering the outstanding level of your own productions I'm extremely flattered.
@ Cmaaarrr
Again, my thanks.
As an aside, every time I see your tag I get a mental picture of William Shatner screaming your name in the infamous "Khhhaaaaaan!" scene from "Wrath of Khan". Heh.
I've been following now for about a year... love the site, love the links, love the props, and love the community. Here's to a great 2010!
ReplyDeleteI've been following the site for three months or so and stop by every day. Thank you for keeping it up to date and interesting, and good luck with your projects in 2010.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all good props, articles and to excited our imagination!
ReplyDeleteYou made a great job in 2009 and with sure a amazing job in 2010!
I just recently found your site. I'm not sure if it was from Make: or Boing Boing. I gave it a glance, and now check back daily.
ReplyDeleteYou share how you make your items. I run a larp, and make most of our props. A lot of great imagery of good props are out there, but the makers understandably don't want to share their sources, or process. You do, and that is one of the coolest things about your blog. We've talked patches for years, but reading how you go through the the process really made it more of a possibility for us to draw up, and get our own.
I went from a casual cursory reader, to an every day visitor in less than a month. Keep up the great work!
@ James Floyd Kelly, josefk, and Pablo Moreno
ReplyDeleteMy sincere thanks, guys.
@ ethical
I wanted to give you a particular thanks because of what you said about starting your own projects. That's just about the coolest thing anyone could possibly say.
Oh, and don't forget to send pictures when you get your patches!
Your site is on my list of five places I visit almost daily. I think you are doing a great job with the site, and I think your prop items are top notch. I have one of all three of the patch sets and I love them. I am still hoping to do a patch and pin set of my own when I can afford it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your site is still the #2 referrer to my blog (right behind Google Images), so I have to thank you for that. Closing in on the end of my first year, I am now averaging about 35 visitors a day.
Keep it up.
Thank you for a wonderful year of posts, I wish you the best in 2010!
ReplyDeleteYour innovation and knack for making superb artifacts and items is truly fascinating.
I visit your site everyday and is really a source of inspiration and and my cool pause in my day work when I read new and old articles. Well I cannot imagine 2010 without Propnomicon ;0)
ReplyDeleteAlban