Hot Air turns one

posted at 7:46 am on April 24, 2007 by Michelle
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Happy Birthday to us! And thanks to all of you for making the first year of Hot Air a phenomenal success. Here’s the very first post that appeared on our blog–posted at 4:15am after bleary-eyed preparations and an intense team effort to launch the site. And here were my reflections on our six-month anniversary.

This is the very first business I’ve ever run. The experience has deepened my already abiding respect for entrepreneurs small and large. It ain’t easy. Not everyone has the intestinal fortitude to attempt to create something from nothing, if I may say so. It takes a great leap of faith–and I’m grateful to all the members of the Hot Air team who took that leap with me.

The risks are great, but the rewards can be, too. And not just financial rewards. Hot Air is not just a business. It’s a mission. I intentionally brought together an eclectic group of incredibly talented people to bring something new to the blogosphere. One of the things, I think, that makes this site compelling and interesting to read and watch every day is that we have diverse views and diverse personalities here. If you want standard GOP talking points, if you want uniformity of thought, if you want a comfy echo chamber, you know you are in the wrong place.

One of the primary goals in starting this site was to give you content and analysis you can’t get anywhere else on a daily basis–both on the blog and in our original video features. Another chief goal: having fun. The viewers’ choice for favorite Hot Air video, which we’ll feature in the Vent space today, captures that spirit. So do so many of the other irreverent shows and posts that grace this site.

Hot Air wouldn’t be what it is without the active community of commenters and viewers who come to the site throughout the day, every day. Once again, we are opening up comment registration today for a limited time to bring new folks into the fold.

We’d like to hear from you today about improvements you’d like to see, constructive feedback on the video offerings, etc. Love notes are always welcome.

We’ve brought you to Iraq and into my closet and who knows where else in the coming year. I know the rest of the team will join me in raising a virtual toast: Here’s to another year of Hot Air rising.

Update (BP): Comment registration is now closed. Thank you to everyone who registered, and we hope to see you around the Hot Air water cooler in year two!

Update (BP): A great birthday present from Sanctuary:

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