Happy 1st Birthday Hummie's World!

Today, January 1, 2009, is the official birthday of Hummie's World!



The upgrade of this site beginning with the transfer of hosting services began in October of 2007. There was much for me to learn in order to set the new site up, learning many new software programs.

The forum was first opened on November 13, 2007, but it was only merely installed. However, on that date, there was still so much to do to set up the Subscriber Area, record initial videos, install a gallery, work through technical matters, etc. It was not until January 1, 2008, that I made an official announcement that the site was complete and open for business. The very first subscription happened very soon after.

I cannot believe it has been an entire year already. There are now 188 videos which I have recorded during this year in the Subscriber Area and 125 downloadable folders in the Subscriber Area. Wow, it has come so far and yet I still have so much more I want to do.

Someone asked me recently in the Pingbox how long it had taken me to write all of the tutorials and videos on this site. I believe that I started writing them in the summer of 2005 and, therefore, it has taken me 3 1/2 years to come this far. My visions and ideas have a long way yet to go.

The number of hours I have put into all of the tutorials and videos is countless. I am recalling the time spent and cannot find the words to tell you what a commitment it has been. I remember a few of the written tutorials taking me 22 hours or so to write. That is just one written tutorial.

Although the videos are for the most part no longer than 30 minutes, many took several attempts to record (yes, my men and my dog will not be quiet!),the processing of the videos is lengthy, time spent uploading is lengthy, and posting, linking, and indexing them is time consuming.

I started out with a store and made a choice to close it. It was a good choice. I have had to make so many decisions in the past year to tweak things.

When I made the choice to go forward in upgrading the site to what it is today, my main goal was to simply reimburse my start-up costs which were considerable. I had to take out a considerable loan to make it happen. I was not concerned with making money for myself or with being paid for all of my time spent into the site, but merely that it would pay for itself and enable others to learn.

I am happy to say that sometime late in 2008 the site finally paid for itself, just in time for me to put forth more funds to keep it going for a second year. However, the annual costs were considerably less than the initial start-up costs and, therefore, I may be able to actual make a little money towards all of my time spent sometime later this year. It sure is a lesson of patience in risk-taking.

I see other sites having great "parties" for their site birthdays. I sure wish I could have done the same here for my site, but I am only one person and I just could not find the time to put anything together, not even a freebie.

Instead, I just want to take this time to personally thank everyone who has supported this site, whether as a Subscriber who financially supports the site or as someone who contributes in the forum making it a pleasant, welcoming, and inspirational place to be.

I want to especially thank the Subscribers who are making this happen for all. As I review the books, I am surprised that the majority of the Subscribers have remained subscribed month and month. Please know that I recognize this. Many of the Subscribers have never even made one post in the forum and yet I do recognize that you are financially supporting the site even if I have never been able to know you. I do know many are not comfortable talking online or sharing layouts online and that is okay. I do notice you there and appreciate you.

I sit here today and it all seems so surreal. I am still in the dream of making this site happen and not able to shake myself to reality that it has actually happened. My imagination wanders as I wonder what the next year will hold for this site. What will I be looking back on and being thankful for a year from now.

There are amazingly 754 readers subscibed to my blog and 2,623 registered users in the forum. Each and every one of these people have a special place in a corner of my heart.

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.