December 2, 2013

The Dog Farm's First Big Milestone Is Not A Tombstone! Even Better - Movies At Dog Farm 2.0 Is Alive! Alive!!


Lead dog Brandon Early with Movies At Dog Farm's editor
Me and my editor, bathed in the glow of the laptop.
      At the end of its first full year of operation, Movies At Dog Farm is still standing.  It's even reasonably healthy.  When I started the Dog Farm my technical ignorance was exceeded only by my lack of confidence.  I was fortunate that a few  of you chose to pause and inspect the wreckage.  As the old codger hawking wine coolers on television used to say, "Thank you for your support."

      Following are some of the stats illustrating the growth of the Dog Farm over the course of its first twelve months:

* 79 posts

* 21,920 views

* 191 comments

* 77 countries

* 27 followers on Google Connect

* 40 followers in the Google+ Dog Farm Pack circle

* 47 followers on the Movies At Dog Farm Twitter page  
 https://twitter.com/MoviesAtDogFarm

* 30 followers on the Movies At Dog Farm Facebook page 
https://www.facebook.com/MoviesAtDogFarm

* 42 followers on The Incredibly Strange Horror Bloggers Network Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Incredibly-Strange-Horror-Bloggers-Network/169165143236597


     Not bad at all, but I'm anxious to see where the Dog Farm stands at the end of year two.  Of course the real value of this undertaking has been the opportunity to meet so many friendly, like-minded individuals.  Thanks to Carl at The Info Zombie for coming to the aid of the noob in the beginning when I ran afoul of some not-so-friendly "veterans" at Reddit Dreadit.  Thanks to Jeremy at the Horror Blogger Alliance for representing the first association to accept me into its ranks.  Thanks to all the members of The Incredibly Strange Horror Bloggers Network - especially J.D. at Blood Sucking Geek.  J.D. invited me to participate in Blood Sucking Geek's Ultimate Gore-A-Thon, my very first multi-site blogging event. 

     Finally, thanks to every single one of you who's ever visited the Dog Farm.  I know now firsthand how absurdly crowded the blogosphere actually is, and I'm truly appreciative of every single page view.  There's more to come, and it all starts right now . . .

         Welcome, everyone, to the launch of Movies At Dog Farm 2.0

Bringing the creature to life in Young Frankenstein (1974)
Bringing the creature to life - Young Frankenstein (1974)

     This site is a brand-spankin'-new rebuild of the original Dog Farm, which had devolved into an altered, modified, slow loading beast.  I had learned enough from my mistakes on my first go round to spiff things up a little, streamline the experience, and try again.

     First, Movies At Dog Farm is now an honest to goodness custom domain.  The ".blogspot" is gone.  Everything has been ported over from the original site.  Importing all of the posts gave me an opportunity to dig through my archive a bit, and I'll be celebrating our first anniversary by posting links to some of my favorites throughout December.

     Another big update to the new site is the addition of more prominent and easier to use options in the sideboard to follow Movies At Dog Farm.  You can get updates now by email, RSS feed, Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.  You can still follow via Google Friend Connect, too.  Unfortunately, I was unable to migrate my followers to the new site, so if you were previously a member of the Dog Pound, please take a moment to re-up with this site's Google Friend Connect.

     One last note:  Related Posts will return soon.  I ran into some technical difficulties when I switched to the custom domain, and I'd already delayed the site's launch long enough.  I'm at the mercy of customer support for now . . .  

     Thanks again, everyone, for making the Dog Farm's first year a success! 


24 comments:

  1. Looking great Brandon! Keep up the great work, I know I love reading your articles, and I'm damn sure I'm not alone. And basically 90% of Dreadit is "not-so-friendly veterans"...lol, just saying :).

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    1. Thanks, J.D. I met some nice folks on Reddit Dreadit, but it's definitely a little treacherous sometimes. lol

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  2. Hey, congrats on the domain name! The site looks great.

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    1. Thanks, Erin. Do you know anyone who wants to purchase moviesatdogfarm.us? I accidentally bought that domain, too. lol

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  3. Enhorabuena por el estreno de tu nueva casa. Te deseo que te vaya muy bien. Saludos!

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    1. Gracias por su visita, Victor, y gracias por las amables palabras.

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  4. Congratulations Brandon! The site looks great and I'm looking forward to reading your new posts

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Santiago. All new content after the first of the year, "Greatest Hits" for the rest of this one. Working retail in December is brutal.

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  5. Hello, Brandon

    Happy belated Thanksgiving to you. I really enjoy the new look.

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    1. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Don! . . . and thanks!

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  6. Looks great, but more importantly, it's now lovely and quick!
    Great stuff.
    - Steven

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    1. The previous site was very cobbled together as a result of my ignorance about how to properly do a lot of things. Trying to get things sped up was definitely a priority. Thanks for stopping by to check things out.

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  7. Happy Anniversary, Brandon! Wow! 79 posts in 12 months? I'm a history major, so I avoid math like the Black Plague, but even I know that's a lot. No wonder your editor is glued to the screen....chained perhaps? 191 comments? I hope that boosted your confidence a bit, cause it's obvious your technical skills are going ballistic, in a good way. All in a year. Wow! That even boosts my confidence! Still can't understand why the Dog Farm's editor is a cat. But in the grand scheme of things, it's all about balance, right? I consider it an honor and a privilege to hang at the pound. And when I can get a day off at the prison, I'll put your tips to good use myself, and go the Google+, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for all your help and for hosting a top notch entertaining site that keeps me up far too late! Here's to another 60 Brandon! Until next time....Keep those fires stoked.
    Eternally Yours

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    1. Reddit Dreadit? hhmmm. Never heard of them. Best stay away. hah.

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    2. I feel like 79 posts isn't enough. I'd like to have more time to devote to the Dog Farm, but I suspect next year I'll settle down to a more leisurely 50 or so. Quality over quantity, maybe?

      My editor's name is Georgia. We call her Ho Ho. Truth is, she can't read. I like the notion of her running the Dog Farm. Of course, the irony is wasted on her.

      I think that after a year I've gotten a better idea of what the Dog Farm is and what it can be. This site rebuild has reminded me over and over again that I still have a lot to learn, though.

      Thanks you so much for the kind words.

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    3. Your welcome, Brandon. Ho Ho? So like George and Jorge and thus Georgia and Ho Ho?

      Just learning you have a lot to learn says you've learned a lot. It's the morons that think they know everything, but the really smart ones realize they don't. Good on ya, Brandon.

      79? 50? I never hit one that wasn't quality. But I like once a week, or 50, cause there's just so much to read out there. I might miss something if it's 79 or 80! Even with a feed burner. I mean, there's only so many hours in a day, and well, I expect you have to go to work sometime, and well, as much as I'd like to avoid it, so do I. So, yes, Brandon, I think cutting yourself, and Ho Ho, a little slack and settling down to a more "leisurely 50 or so" is dandy. I'm sure Ho Ho will appreciate it if nothing else. Poor little feline eyes.

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    4. Woke up thinking about the "poor little feline eyes" Honestly, I don't think Ho Ho would rather be anywhere else. Your profile pic is so Stephen Cannell. I never really noticed Ho Ho cause it was so dinky, but since you put a larger image on your Anniversary post, the image got that much better! "Bathing in the glow of the computer......" Love that. And hey if worse comes to worse, you could always get her kitty glasses. Then you guys would really be a pair...no pun intended. Hah. Sheez, gotta get out of her now, or I'm gonna be late....again.!

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    5. I like that pic, but I hadn't made the Stephen J. Cannell association. Sadly, although Ho Ho is still kicking, I don't get to see too much of her anymore. That photo was taken at my house, and I spend most of my time now here with Adrienne and Gunnar. We just moved my mother into my house, though, so at least Ho Ho will have some company. Adrienne (understandably, I think) doesn't want a cat here in the house with the baby. I miss my cats, though. Yes, there are others. My house is really more of a cat house than a dog farm.

      I arrived at the notion of fewer posts for the new year for precisely the reasons you mentioned. I considered what I like with the sites I follow, and more than about one a week actually irks me because I can't keep up with them. I also think that number minimizes the likelihood of me writing something just because it's time. Pointless blather doesn't make converts, and I know three or four posts I'm happy with each month is about what I can maintain consistently. I hope. Maybe. I'm still figuring out a lot of things. lol

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    6. Yes, I'm not sure where that cat thing came up. I don't really even want to write it; it's just too grim, and well, we wanna keep little Gunnar safe! I do have a little dog story. Well, little story..big dog. When I brought my youngest home, Samm, we had a shephard, Bear. I know original, right, well, we lived in the woods, and well, you know....Anywho, she was in the bassinette, and she started to cry, and Bear looked at me, and went over and looked at her, and than came over and looked at me, like, "Fix it." haha. So funny. And yes, I'll bet mom needs Ho Ho just as much as Ho Ho needs her. I'm sure they're bathing in the light of the computer as we speak. I'm sure Ho Ho will show her the ropes.

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    7. My mother wouldn't use a computer unless she could figure out how to open a beer with it. lol Ho Ho does run show, though. Poor Bear. I know how he feels sometimes.

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  8. Go, dood. I'm glad to have played a small part in this thing.

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    1. Luring me out of the house with a "need" for a movie program and then browbeating me about wasting content on the affiliated Facebook group page was a huge part of the genesis of this site. lol I'm a little surprised I've stuck with it, so I must have needed the outlet. Now how about a good, creepy custom photo gallery for the Dog Farm?

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  9. I'm your newest follower, nice blog. I look forward to reading more.

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Jennifurla. I just had a look at your blog Nail Bites, and it's been added to Other Dogs Barking in the sideboard. Is that your for real cat pictured in your sideboard?

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