Image courtesy – Theresa Thompson Phew! So one full year of running Guiding Tech. It seems the time just flew by before I could blink and breathe. I started this site on January 1, 2010. And I can assure you that the year has been nothing less than a roller-coaster ride, some of which I talked about in a personal blog post sometime back. Guiding Tech has seen good growth in terms of visitors, subscribers and fans/followers on social sites in the past 365 days. The great thing was that in spite of some serious obstacles, I was able to expand it and turn it into a network of sites (GT Network as I like to say) by launching GT Mobiles, GT Resources and GT Cool Stuff. So it’s not one, but 4 sites in total now. One very significant event that took place this year was an extremely tempting offer I got from someone to sell off the site. Although the offer was a part of a larger deal, the price I was fetching for the site alone was eye-popping. But, I decided to reject the offer, and looking back at the way the site has performed in the last 3 months, I can safely say that I did the right thing. So, as I said in our best of 2010 post, it’s been one hell of a ride which I’ve enjoyed to the fullest! But, it couldn’t have been possible without the support and well wishes of a number of people who’ve helped me in this journey. It’s time to thank them publicly. My Family – If not for the support and encouragement of my Mom and younger brother, I would have been stuck in a thankless job, leading a life full of frustration and dissatisfaction. Two years back, when I decided to take the plunge into self-employment, I was not completely sure if the risk was worth it. But, my family stood by me. They didn’t understand what the heck this blogging thing was, and they didn’t know if I could money out of it. But they believed in me and my decision. And that’s what helped me start the wheel and go on. Writers – I have had the opportunity to work with a number of writers, both paid and guest, in the last one year on Guiding Tech Network. I’d like to thank all of them for putting up great content on the site. And special thanks to Amit Banerjee for his consistent discoveries for GT Cool Stuff. Amit, if you are reading this, I’d like to say…..exams are over, get back to submitting! 😉 Blogger buddies – I’d like to thank all my blogger friends, both in India and abroad, who’ve helped me with their suggestions and social media support. Thanks guys for answering my emails, talking to me when I needed you, linking to Guiding Tech’s articles and helping to spread the word on social sites. Special thanks to Lowell aka The How-to Geek, Kaly and Aibek (MakeUseOf founders) for advising me at crucial stages and helping me take decisions. And to Ashutosh and Gouthaman who, apart from contributing content to the site in the past, have been really active in keeping track of our articles, commenting on them and tweeting them. Designers – Thanks Honey Singh, Himanshu Khanna, Mayank Gupta and Kristarella for helping me with various design related aspects of the site. Friends in Social Media – Huge thanks to all my buddies in the social media space. If you’ve ever dugg, stumbled, upvoted, tweeted or shared Guiding Tech’s articles on any other such sites, I owe you a big thank you. Special thanks to Sandrina and Keith for going out of their way to spread the word about the site. Love you guys! And finally, I’d like thank YOU – the reader. I’d like to thank you for reading our posts, commenting on them, sharing your knowledge with us through comments and emails, sending us tips, giving us feedback, criticizing the posts when you didn’t like them, appreciating them when you find them useful….in short, it’s you who motivates me and my team. You are the reason why this site is alive and kicking! I hope you keep supporting the sites of GT Network in 2011 like you’ve done last year. Here’s starting a new year with greater enthusiasm, and hoping the sites reach new milestones in 2011 and in the years ahead. 🙂 Cheers, Abhijeet The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
