2018 Wrap Up!
Greetings to my wonderful readers! Its been quite a fantastic inaugural year here at FTW! Blog. I started this journey at the end of April, hoping to create an outlet for my passions. The first, is my profession and helping people through chiropractic care. The other is the video game world, whether it is playing video games, watching Esports, or reading the latest news in the industry.
I wanted to share some of the highlights of my journey thus far. Thank you all for reading and supporting me through this journey. I hope 2019 continues to snowball this blog as 2018 did. If you have any topics you want me to cover ----> email me or leave a comment below.
Highlights and Fun Facts 2018
Word Press is What?
I had no clue what Wordpress even was when I first started. I assumed it was the machine Gutenberg first used to invent typed print. Alas, it was a blogging program on something called “The Internet.”
I learned how to tweak the site, change themes, and perform a bunch of backend work for the website. There were times where I had no clue what I was doing and then YouTube came to the rescue (as always).
Throughout this year I was amazed at how little I knew about website design or computer work in general. This was uncharted territory for me, but wow was it fun seeing my progression from caveman to capable 21st-century human.
Podcast Appearances
Ahhh Podcasts, the best invention to fix the annoying morning radio show epidemic. December saw me featured on not one but two podcasts.
The first was with the University of Iowa Esports director Robert “Chase” Sommer. This was my first podcast ever and therefore, I was a little nervous prior to starting. As we continued through the episode, I became more comfortable. The episode turned out well for my podcast debut. I can’t wait to see how the Iowa Esports community takes off with this guy at the helm.
You can listen to the podcast here: Still awaiting the final upload
The second feature was with James O’Hagan, the founder of the Academy of Esports.
I’ve linked the Academy of Esports conversation below from Youtube.
Blogs to Watch Feature
This December I was chosen as one of the Top 25 Fitness Experts/Blogs to follow in 2019 from Up Journey. I was thrilled to be selected for this honor and wanted to thank Up Journey once again. Check out the link below and take a look at this snazzy badge.
Continuing Growth
Building your “Brand” and creating traction in the sea of information available out there is tough. Starting this experience I’ve learned a wealth of information on social media and how to navigate the waters. I’m continuing to learn the various platforms from various content creators and by mistakes I've made along the way.
I’ve begun to focus most of my efforts on Instagram and
I’m hoping to continue my growth on these platforms to increase my voice and reach within the community, but more importantly to network with the amazing people in the Esports/Wellness community.
My goal for the upcoming year is to continue the upward trend of traffic on FTW! Blog. The first couple months I would typically see 5-10 visits a day on non-posting days. Now I’m seeing numbers in the 20-40 a day range. Granted it’s not insane traffic compared to most popular sites, but increasing 4x in a couple of months is a win in my book.
Upcoming Projects
In 2019 I’m hoping to continue growth on my site and increase my followers on my social media platforms. I’m hoping to start doing some collaborations with companies in the industry or feature posts on some larger websites as well.
I'm hoping to do more podcasts/video podcasts this year. I had a blast doing my first two and would love to do more of them in the future.
Finally, I’m looking to take on another side project in the realm of ergonomics. Although it is in the infancy phase of now, I’m so anxious to get the ball rolling. I’m not going to give any details out now, but I will let you all know when it launches most likely early spring of this year.
Be on the lookout for Dr. Drew coming to a workplace near you.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you again to all my readers and everyone I’ve met along this journey. I hope 2019 continues to grow the FTW! Blog community as late 2018 has.