2011 – Social Media Retrospective

While there was a big focus on fitness and food on the blog in 2011, the social media aspect of it continued evolving as well.

In an effort to generate more content and take a young and hungry blogger under my wing, late in 2010, I enlisted the service of Xprotege, a mysterious individual I handpicked to be my student. Things didn’t work out for them in 2011. Trying to learn from this, I enlisted the service of dyscipleX, another mysterious individual who would be filling a similar role. I didn’t appreciate the tone this person took toward me in the posts that went up on the blog, so I squashed it. I pretty much have learned my lesson that it’s impossible to trust someone enough to publish material; I also learned that it wasn’t really necessary.

Things were picking up steam, and, as I started documenting more and more of my dining experiences, and started posting some of my own cooking endeavors, I started seeing more and more real traffic.

When I put together a “1 year of derryX” party, and many people actually came, I was floored. Shortly after that, I moved across town and said goodbye to a big part of my past.

After that, I participated in the All Over Albany Tournament of Pizza as a judge, which was a big deal for me because, when I started doing this, I never really intended to have my opinion taken that seriously on such a widely read platform (It was also a big deal because I begged a few times).

After that, I’ve been riding the wave. Everyday, I’m getting introduced electronically to like-minded people who have been out there on a journey similar to mine, and that’s really the best part of this. Interacting with new people who bring new experiences and perspectives to things.

Sure, I could go day-by-day doing what I want to do, but even I know that would get boring quickly. Knowing that there are people out there who are interested in what I have to say about a new experience makes it that much more interesting to me.

So anyway, I missed a lot of major events in this post, but my main intent was to look back and see how the events of the last year are ingrained in my head now.

Here are a few top 5 lists for you:

Top 5 “derryX Dines” Posts

1. Dinosaur BBQ part 1
2. Central Steak
3. Wagon Train BBQ
4. Sushi X
5. Bombers Schenectady

Top 5 Fun Posts

1. The Undertaker with a Mask
2. The Graveyard Challenge
3. derryX: In the Present Tense (Schewe Interview) – A personal favorite
4. The Man with No Face
5. Origin/Pronunciation of “derryX”