Well, the end of 2010 is just around the corner and it feels like a good time for an annual report of sorts on Spot The Cartoonist.
Even though the site is only two and a half months old (which hardly seems possible as I have processed so many spots in that time) it has taken off like a house afire. Who knew there were so many cartoonists out and about doing workshops, presentations and book signings?!
I felt when I started the site that there was a hole in the cartooning world that needed to be filled - while there are a number of good sites out there about the cartooning business - The Daily Cartoonist, The Comics Reporter, Comics DC and others - none of those sites focuses exclusively on cartoonist appearances or has time to maintain a crosslinked archive.
I have worked very hard to keep this site clean, simple and easy to navigate. You can search for appearances by month, by week (using the weekly Hot Spot), by region(using the categories in the sidebar) or by the name of individual cartoonists or organizations. And if you cannot find what you are looking for using those tools, there is always the search window for backup.
A special thanks to all the cartoonists who posted links to this site on their blogs, it really boosts traffic during the time it is running - you are first in line for free advertising here on the site once I get that installed. In the meantime, I can at least link back to you - you guys are the best!!! Paul Gilligan (Pooch Cafe), Sandra Bell Lundy (Between Friends), Norm Feuti, (Retail), Terri Libenson (Pajama Diaries), Hilary Price (Rhymes With Orange), Mike Rhode (Comics DC) and Peter Guren and all the fine folks at The Cartoonist Studio - I hope I haven't missed anyone!
And a thank you to my twitter followers who have retweeted STC postings - especially Tom Racine (Tall Tale Radio), Mike Witmer (Pinkerton), and Jeff Koterba (Inklings and Editorial Cartoons).
Most of the changes I hope to implement in the new year will revolve around getting the word out about the site. The greater the exposure for Spot The Cartoonist, the greater the exposure for every cartoonist hustling to sell their books and meet their public. Social Networking is a big must - if you are a friend of STC on facebook, please try to enslave, ahem, recruit, as many new "friends" as you can. Likewise for twitter - my goal for the year is at least 1000 followers, so the more of my current followers that put the word out, the better. I also hope to include some sort of advertising - both selling ad space here on the site and looking to invest in advertising on other sites. Although, I may have to have ads here first in order to afford to place ads elsewhere - we'll see how it goes.
To all of you who have contacted me with your appearance information, thank you so much! I couldn't run the site without you - after all it is all about you!
Thank you to Frank Pauer who put a lovely piece about Spot The Cartoonist in the latest NCS newsletter, and thank you also to John Read who is running an ad for STC in the next version of Stay Tooned.
And I have to say my biggest thank you for the year has to go to Mike Rhode. Ever since we met at the Festival of Cartoon Art in October, Mike has fed me a steady stream of cartoonist appearances and I cannot tell you how helpful that has been. Those of you who know me know that I work about 5 jobs and time trolling the internet for spotting info is just not possible. (Those who don't know me can read about my hectic life here.)
To sum up, the site is off to a great start and I am so excited and happy about the service it is providing to cartoonists and fans. Thanks to everyone who has helped make the site the terrific place that it is and I look forward to a 2011 jam packed with cartooning appearances!!!
Happy Holidays!!!
P.S. Click here to see all the folks who appeared already in 2010 - it is an amazing list!
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