It’s been two years since I parlayed my experience writing for (the now defunct) NerdMentality into my own website. The Indie Mine started out of a passion in highlighting the underrepresented work of creative, dedicated teams and individuals for all to see. And even though my life has greatly changed, I remain dedicated to that cause. Some of my colleagues have recently celebrated the anniversaries of their own sites, so I thought I’d get in on the fun.

It wasn’t an easy sophomore year at The Indie Mine. Much of the momentum built heading into Summer 2012 was lost as I stepped further and further away from my role with the site. Planning and holding a wedding took far, far more time than I could ever estimate. The team did an admirable job trying to fill the content gaps, but by November our traffic numbers had dipped to lows we hadn’t seen since a few months after our launch. We kept at it through those hard times, though, and by March we were reaching highs in site visitors that we’d never come close to matching before. I’m so proud that we didn’t just fold, and I have a lot of enthusiastic writers and editors to thank for that.

For those readers who don’t know, we’re entirely a staff of volunteers. No one gets paid to take the time to read, play, watch, and listen to these creative works. Everyone on staff has their own reasons for why they’ve chosen to come write and edit here, but I’m just glad they have. One thing I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to, though, is the turnover. Writers and editors have come and gone and it’s been that way since day one. Some have found that real life takes priority, and others have moved on to other creative projects. It’s tough to see these people go, even though they’re basically strangers on the other end of a computer. There are too many names to point out individuals, but thank you to each and every one of you who has given your time to help keep this site going. Whether you’re currently on staff or have departed, your efforts have always been appreciated.

It’s not just our own staff that deserves some thanks. It’d be a mistake if I failed to give shout outs to some of the journalistic colleagues that inspire me:

• Alan, even though you’re still one of us, I hope you get back to doing more with The Indie Ocean. I know real life calls, but I miss the humorous rants.
• Tim, I love what you’re doing with theXBLIG. I’ve said it before, but I always enjoy seeing that there’s another writer out there who generally shares my opinions on indies, particularly in the Xbox world. I’m not sure what the future of Xbox indies will bring, but I hope you’ll continue to be around in some form or fashion.
• Cathy, you continue to set an unreachable bar for the rest of us. As IndieGamerChick you’ve done so many things (an official seal of approval, an indie bundle) that I didn’t think a blog could do. Seeing you break that new ground is inspiring and a reminder of what’s possible for all of us.
• Kevin, even though you were only able to crank out a handful of music articles in your time here, you laid some serious groundwork for us. Your reviews have ignited our music coverage to the point where we need about three or four more music writers to cover all of the review requests we receive now. Best of luck with the Vinyl Exam podcast over at Planet Arbitrary.

Thank you to all of the developers, musicians, authors, and film makers who have entrusted their work to us. It can’t be easy putting your creative output on the table for judgment. Thank you for taking the time to find us, contact us, and work with us. Sure there’s a lot of junk out there, but there are so many talented people out there just waiting to be discovered and many of them have been a joy to work with.

Of course I need to thank you, our readers, for your continued support. Obviously I want everyone to be coming to the site and reading our articles, but I also appreciate the little things you do. Every retweet helps, and a few of you have become regulars at doing that for us. I’ve also done some surveys in the past year that have helped shape the way the site looks and functions, and I couldn’t have made those improvements without those of you who pitched in with your feedback. Those of you who’ve participated in our forums have made me incredibly happy. The forums are a new addition to the site this year, and I’m hoping that they’ll go a long way towards eventually establishing a community here. Please continue to use it. As with the forums, our e-mail alert system for new articles is something I hope will take off. We’ve had a number of people sign up for that, but I’m hoping the numbers increase a little quicker.

It’s been a crazy year two for us, but we’ve reached new heights in traffic and opened up new avenues in our music coverage. I’m hoping to continue to build on our gaming coverage and find a way to finally handle the majority of the music requests that come in. We’ve been slacking in our books coverage since March, and our movie coverage is almost non-existent, but these are issues I hope to begin attacking this year. Readers, if you know anyone interested in covering any of these areas, we’re always looking for talented, enthusiastic volunteers. My ambitions for this site have not wavered, and I hope we can continue to make leaps in year three.

Thank you all so very much, and I hope you’ll continue to be a part of our growing community.

Regards,

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