Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013



So we have now waved goodbye to 2012 and welcomed in 2013.  Many drams of whisky will have undoubtedly have been consumed last night, so we hope that the hangovers are not too bad.  The new year is always a time for reflection on the previous year and a time for hope for what the new one may bring.  We are no different at Whisky For Everyone, so here we go with our thoughts ...

Without doubt, 2012 has been our best and most successful year to date.  What has contributed to this?  Simple - we have seen our largest ever readership of the blog and website in 2012, in addition to increased attention from the whisky companies, brands and PR agencies.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank anyone who have read or discovered Whisky For Everyone this year, and to those in the whisky industry for the continued support given for what we are trying to achieve.

The increased popularity of Whisky For Everyone is not just reflected in reader numbers, but also in our social media streams.  Our @whisky4everyone Twitter account is fast approaching the 5,000 follower mark, making us one of the most followed whisky related accounts which is not affiliated to a brand.  The fledgling Facebook page, which we launched earlier in the year, continues to grow and currently has 365 followers.  Likewise for our YouTube channel, which although slightly neglected recently (sorry), has over 40 subscribers.

2012 was also significant for other reasons.  The main one was the introduction of two new writers to help with the workload - our good friends Chris Maclean and Matt Tilbury.  We all continue to write content for the blog in our spare time.  Between the four of us we have written over 100 whisky reviews this year and attended more events than ever before. The blog received a facelift last year, which gives a fresher updated look and easier navigation.  Finally, Matt C was delighted to be asked to become a contributor for the UK branch of the Huffington Post - click here to read his whisky musings to date.

So what does 2013 hold in store for us?  Very shortly we will be publishing our annual Top 10 Whiskies of the Year on the blog, including our favourite whisky of last year - this is always one of the most popular posts with readers, so we will be interested to hear your views about our choices.  A longer term project will see a much needed update and revamp of the website, including more information pages.  2013 also sees us celebrate the fifth anniversary of Whisky For Everyone at the end of March, so look out for some exciting things happening around that time.  Wow - five years have gone quickly!

We would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope that 2013 is good to you - Chris, Karen, Matt C and Matt T.


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