Three Years of BlogsNH

We're three years old! Okay, so we're three years and a few months old. But I think it's time to reflect a bit on where we came from and where we're going.

In May 2006, we began BlogsNH. The site began when Mark Travis (formerly the director of product development at the Monitor, now the publisher of the Valley News) asked me to help start a community blogging site. I'd blogged on my own since 2002, so I was excited to bring that knowledge to the paper.

BlogsNH broke ground in many areas for the Monitor. It was our first site to feature reader comments. Those have since grown to play a big role on concordmonitor.com. It was our first site built with Drupal, an open-source web development platform. We've used Drupal on several projects subsequently. And overall, it helped define a vision of community produced and oriented content that we continue to build upon.

I can't take credit for this. Mark was the person who actually made the site happen. Former editor Mike Pride was the first Monitor staffer to seriously blog (and his work predated BlogsNH by a year). Monitor online staff, including Margo Bowie and Todd Perkins, have handled the technical aspects brilliantly. And I can't forget Publisher Geordie Wilson, who has been an erstwhile supporter.

But I have been given the privilege to watch the site grow and develop, to screen new bloggers, and to encourage folks in this ever-changing medium. It's been a blast -- and a constant surprise.

We're likely nearing the end of this incarnation of BlogsNH. The platform hasn't been updated for a while, and many bells and whistles could be added. I don't have any specific announcements quite yet, but watch this space. The good stuff is just beginning.