CC Celebrates Its Fifth Birthday – Thanks To All 2.5 Million Of You For Joining The Party – And A Birthday Wish

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– Posted on February 13, 2016

Paul 2016 bday

Actually, that’s my birthday cake from a couple of weeks ago, which explains why there aren’t five candles on it. But I would like to thank all of the 2.5 million of you who have dropped by at CC during these five years, even if only once. More specifically, I’d like to thank the CC regulars and Editors/Contributors, who are really the ones who keep this party going.  Without you, CC would have probably petered out a long time ago. And I’d have probably gotten more “real” work done; but where’s the fun in that? CC is an endless celebration of our collective passions for vehicles of all sorts and so many other man-made objects, so let’s cut the cake (thinly), pass them around, and contemplate what’s transpired here in five years.

To fully grasp the breadth and scope of all that’s been posted here would be an undertaking in its own right. No less than 8,761 posts have been published here, covering a huge array of automotive and other interests. Everything from architecture, submarines, lawn mowers, trains, planes, tractors, and just about anything to do with automobiles and trucks. And who wrote them? Over 150 Contributors, Authors and Editors; some just a single post and others have written hundreds of them (3,280 with my name on them). And they’re from all across the globe, just like our readers.

These are the folks that really need to be thanked today, because it’s their efforts that have really made it possible for CC to grow and keep going. Seriously; I probably would have given up if it hadn’t been for them, for being willing to take the time to share their knowledge, experiences, and insights. Who wants to read just one person’s perspective anyway? CC isn’t a one-way street; I love reading all the different voices that appear here, and my knowledge and perspective have widened immensely thanks to all of them and their stories. It’s not just “Every Car Has A Story”; it’s also “Every Person Has A Car Story” (and more) to tell. And we love hearing them all.

About those 2.5 million visitors: that’s the total number of visitors that have dropped by at least once. A bit over half of the folks that find their way here do so just once, as a result of a search or a link. Our content tends to rank very high in Google searches, which explains why our most-viewed post ever is Jason Shafer’s “Engine History: The Ford 4.6 Liter V8“. Every day, hundreds of folks find their way to it, as well as other topics that attract lots of searches.

CC has grown to be a medium sized automotive website, presumably the largest one focusing on older cars and their history. Our growth has leveled off some this past year, which is to be expected, given that our more serious take on cars is not exactly designed to reel in the masses with sensationalism and the other hormone-stimulating approaches so common on the web. We’ll just have to leave that to others and content ourselves with a smaller but more knowledgeable community of readers.

It’s this core of CC readers that makes the CC experience unique, satisfying, and enriching, thanks to your comments. I read them all, and the huge diversity of experiences, backgrounds and perspectives has been truly mind-expanding. Thank you all for sharing.

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I have just one wish before I blow out the candles on Stephanie’s Black Forest cake (again): to keep the CC commenting as positive and constructive as possible, and to avoid the petty negativity that is so rampant on the web, and which threatens to infect us from time to time. Please remember that the content our Contributors write is an act of generosity, sharing their precious time and energy with us all. We may not always agree with them (or other commenters), but let’s try to express that in the most civil way possible, as if we were actually sitting around this table together in person. Would you always say what (or how) you do if that were actually the case?

Could we all try to visualize ourselves having a conversation, face-to-face around a big table instead of anonymously? If we could just keep that in mind before we comment, that might go a long way to keeping the CC community going another five years.  So who hasn’t had cake yet?