Welcome to 2012. We wish all of our readers a very Happy New Year.
We have enjoyed the past 12 months which have brought with it some great achievements and many challenges. The greatest challenge has been maintaining the website as a part-time hobby, while battling the many onslaughts of would be hackers and other low-intelligent life forms who seems to find delight in breaking things. Our other challenge early this year was a result of the Brisbane floods which took out the data centre where all of our host’s computers and servers were housed. Our site, along with many others, was down for several days. Thanks goodness for backups and our sponsor Comstar Internet Services.
On a more positive note we have seen some major upgrades to our software and the websites design which has brought us some very supportive feedback and encouragement. This year we also installed the ability to offer advertising through the site which some have taken advantage of. Some of this is free and other advertisments are paid for. The funds raised from this venture are aimed at supporting the development of the site. A great idea in theory but the results to date have been less than hoped for. Nevertheless we will not be deterred and will continue to be inventive and creative to build a better Internet experience for Australian Bluegrass scene.
We extend our thanks also to the Davidson Brothers who generously sponsored the re-design of our logo and website header and donated several hundred Australian Bluegrass Blog stickers which have been handed out at several festivals this year and now adorn many instrument cases and car bumpers.
We kick off 2012 by welcoming Joe Ross’s contributions. Joe is a freelance writer from the USA and has been writing for over 30 years, and has offered to provide a series of CD reviews over the coming months.
In another new initiative this year we hope to launch our online-store. This store aims to provide a one-stop-shop for Australian bluegrass artists to market their wares. We plan to include, CD’s, DVD’s, Merchandise etc. Stay tuned for the launch date which is somewhat imminent.
We have also reworked our site this week with a new look and feel, to offer easier navigation between Australian news, International news and other stories.
Thank you to all for a great 2011, especially to those who have contributed to the ongoing development of this site. That includes our guest writers and contributors, our advertisers, the artists and their fans and of course to Comstar Internet Services who have been an endless support for us in delivering our website to the world through their generous sponsorship.
Have a happy 2012.
Thank you Greg!
Glad to help out, you do a fantastic job.
Let’s look forward to a big year in Australian Bluegrass. Already we see a huge line-up of US based acts heading our way this year.
Greetings,
I’m looking forward to reading and hearing more about the great bluegrass scene in Australia.
Keep up the good work with the Australian Bluegrass Blog. Thanks for the shout-out, Greg.
Joe