🎊 2022 Recap – 29,000 Thank You’s 🎊

Back when this site was first launched, to say that I thought I would be typing this out would be an understatement. We knew the demand was there in Reading for a website that combined everything into one central location but had no idea how significant it would be. Something that could and would cater to a new resident or someone that’s lived here for 50+ years and didn’t require social media to be informed. Something that the community could post events to, where PTOs would still have exposure even after children had graduated, various fundraising opportunities, shopping locally or something as simple as flying a drone up and taking a picture. All of this would not work without you coming back on a daily basis or without the help from our incredible volunteers that donate their time and effort to make a difference in the town we all call home.

Things wouldn’t get off to the right start or so we thought. We originally had plans to officially launch this site at the Fall Street Faire, which took place on September 11th. As you can see in the screenshot above though, that wouldn’t end up being the case. On September 6th into the 7th, I woke up to a text that said, “there’s no such thing as bad press”. The train depot camera that we have, was mentioned on Facebook in a less than stellar way and the rest was history. So officially our sites anniversary date going forward will be September 7th! Which in hind-site, seems like a better day instead. We look forward to the next article or video that we post that will come close to breaking the 1,500 single day record but it really was the springboard that this site needed.

Our Top 3 most viewed pages of 2022: The 1st is our home page for obvious reasons but coming in 2nd is our live train depot camera with 2,175 views but far more unaccounted for on the direct YouTube feed. Coming in 3rd, with little to no advertisement is our free online Police and Fire scanner with 2,086 views. Anytime you hear sirens and want to know what’s going on, head on over there and hit the play button!

Our Top 3 most viewed articles of 2022 are listed below but the gap between 1st and 2nd shows that Reading sure does love….. Powerball winners of all things. You thought I was going to say bagels or Trader Joe’s didn’t you?

In terms of videos, Reading loves turkeys and football. Everything else is second. For me though, the most viewed video on our YouTube channel, happens to be the one I’m most proud of. In re-creating the character of Limpy, our town turkey that got hit by a car years ago, I had my oldest daughter record the voice over for the trailer video. It was brief but she knows how Limpy’s Adventures ends and if you listen carefully, she tells you. She’s seen all the Reading elementary school mascots come to life as his friends in upcoming comics, with Birchie Bear from Birch Meadow and Kristin Koala from Killam already being introduced. Lastly, hearing her younger sister not calling them turkeys but Limpy’s instead is hysterical.

Coming in with 1506 Views, Limpy’s Adventures – 2022 Trailer is our Number 1 video of the year.

When we started this site a couple months ago, I had a great idea for an original video series. I would drone the Friday night home football games this season at Reading Memorial High School. A different kind of view than everyone was used to seeing. That was the easy part. What transpired in getting that accomplished was a far greater task than I anticipated. Subsequent videos beyond the one below were recorded, with different and new angles but couldn’t be edited in time for the next game and we got backlogged. We still have the Fall Street Faire Dunk tank video to release but numerous other projects got in the way. We still have plans to record the 2023 games though.

Coming in with 1304 Views, 4K Friday Night Super Lights Football is our Number 2 video of the year.

Rounding out the top 3 ends up being our drone preview of the new RMHS field prior to the home opener on September 23 vs Danvers. With all of the footage we shot from this past season, we plan on doing a similar but more in-depth kickoff video for the start of the new season later in 2023.

Coming in with 987 Views, Reading Rockets Football – Run This Town is our Number 3 video of the year.

So what else is in store for 2023? More Cafe Conversations videos as we have a bunch of guests already lined up, we just need to coordinate scheduling. Drone footage of the Town Forest and GoPro videos with GPS of all the various trails. More Limpy’s Adventures with introductions to the rest of his friends. A webshop section where you can buy various 01867 inspired clothing designs and prints of our drone photography. We plan on donating a portion of the proceeds from those sales back to the community for events and to keep this site running as well. We have numerous Reading drone panoramic pictures, that have yet to be released, but some were included in the RPS State of the Schools newsletter and the 2023 Town Calendar as well.

So where does this post end? Where it all started of course. Not a day goes by when I do not think of the person that came up to me at the Fall Street Faire, just a few short months ago. I was running the dunk tank for the Reading Rotary and charity, as opposed to my booth. He mentioned that he just spoke with Amanda at the Reading Recap booth, and he loved what we were doing and said this is exactly what Reading needs. He works for the City of Woburn and if we ever wanted to bring something like it there, he’d love to help. That kind of reassurance, on a day when the site was just getting started, especially given the days beforehand, I will never forget. We need more positivity in this world, because that conversation easily could have gone the other direction. I’m glad it didn’t and if you made it to the end of this post, perhaps you are too. -Thank you

Happy New Year Reading! Onward to 2023!