Quite the Year

Yup. It’s time for another year-end review here at Section 36! I know it’s a couple days earlier than usual, but I’m sure the anticipation was really getting to you and waiting any longer would just be too much. Besides, the Red Sox are doing NOTHING these days, so my list of topics to write about is just about all crossed off. So, it seemed like the perfect time to reflect on Section 36’s 2017. 

Boy was it quite the year.

This will be my 174th (and most likely final) post of 2017. That’s more than I posted last year, and is right around my goal of posting about every other day. That seems like a sustainable output level to me where I can balance quality and quantity. Hopefully that’s been enough to keep your interest throughout the year.  

Even more exciting than the number of posts is the growth of Section 36’s little corner of the World Wide Web. The Section 36 twitter account has added followers this year. The Section 36 Facebook page has about 10% more “likes” than this time last year. The Section 36 Instagram account had done about twice that well, increasing its number of followers by about 20% in the last year. More people are adding Section 36 on snapchat all the time, and even Section 36 Pinterest is seeing some activity. All of those numbers mean that more and more people are enjoying what Section 36 has to offer, which is just thrilling.

Last year at this time I pointed out that the world of Section 36 had expanded to other sports as well. Those individual blogs, while still lagging well behind this one, have seen growth as well. The Section 36 Sports conglomerate is reaching people though those blogs, its own Facebook page, and its own twitter account. It’s so exciting to have that much interaction with fans of all Boston sports.

The biggest news on the expansion front is due to my amazing visitors. In last year’s review, I was beyond thrilled that four titleholders from within the Miss America Organization had visited Section 36 in 2016. I was really hoping that would continue. Well, in 2017, Section 36 had the honor of hosting visits from an incredible 25 titleholders! That’s right. Twenty-five visitors, representing seven different states. I never would have dreamed of having a visitor almost every other week. They have been fascinating interviews, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed having them. In fact, the sheer number has led to even more expansion in the Section 36 family. You’ve probably noticed the “Miss America” tab on the top of the screen. There were so many visits, the sidebar couldn’t hold them anymore. They needed their own page. Then, when the visits still kept coming, I went even further. In September, I created Section 36 Pageants. That’s right. An entire new blog solely to celebrate the amazing women who have visited with us. This gave me the chance to not only organize the visits better, but to host them in an a more appropriate setting.  But wait, there’s more! Just a couple weeks ago, the Section 36 Pageants family added their own Facebook page and Instagram account! That gives a couple more places to share pictures and highlights of the incredible titleholder visitors. They’re so very new, and growing their audience all the time! Feel free to go follow them yourself!

Last year at this time, I was also excited about having sold a few more blog tank tops in 2016. I was hoping to be able to make another order to sell in 2017. Well, once again, that good news from last year has expanded to great news this year. In June of 2017, I opened a full-time Section 36 store! There you can not only buy the very popular tank tops, but t-shirts, hoodies, and other clothing items too. You can even get mugs and stickers and other household items! It really allows me to offer a wider selection than I ever thought possible. I’ve been so excited every time a sale goes through, which has happened a lot more than I ever dreamed. You may even see a titleholder visitor or two wearing a shirt around town. How amazing is that!

Yes, 2017 has been another year of incredible growth here at Section 36! The family now includes six different blogs, a store, and a much wider social media presence than ever before. It can really touch on any number of things that can interest you. It’s been beyond my wildest dreams.

Hopefully you’ve continued to enjoy Section 36 through all this expansion. I’ve tried hard to stay true to myself, and what I want out of Section 36. If I’m failing at that, please call me out on it.

After everything that happened in 2017, I can’t wait to see what 2018 brings!

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.