By 
SEO by the Sea was created in the heat of last year’s summer, with a breeze blowing off the Chesapeake Bay, and an idea to try to get a few marketers to join together to share a few stories, a journey out on the Chesapeake, and some good food and drink.
The early days, and early pages of the blog are about the event, and places to see and stay at, and things to do in Northern Maryland. Once the event ended, the web site was probably going to go into hiatus, possibly for another gathering this year.
Posting was slim in the months following a cruise on the Chesapeake, but an occasional post made it on to the site, and as the weather turned colder, a few more started appearing. A post about Google Acquisitions drew some attention from a few thousand people at Digg, and a nomination from Search Engine Journal (thanks, Loren) drew some more readers to the site.
I had been watching out for new patents and patent applications, and whitepapers on search for a while, and it made some sense to start writing about some of those here. The response seems to have been pretty positive, and I was invited by Danny Sullivan to speak at the Search Engine Strategies Conference in New York this past spring, and surprised by him there when he asked me if I would like to write about search patents and search research for Search Engine Watch. I’ll be traveling to San Jose for another SES in August, and I’m looking forward to a visit to the west coast. Thanks for those opportunities, Danny.
Another gathering hasn’t happened this year, though I’d be happy to get together with folks from the area for a chat or a meal or maybe even a boat ride out on the water.
I’d like to thank the many people who have left comments here, and pointed to threads I’ve posted, and provided thoughts about topics discussed.
The many folks whose sites are listed in the blog roll on the right, and many others who are listed in my RSS feed reader have been an inspiration. They’ve shared their thoughts and opinions and news about what’s going on in search, and usability, and many other topics, and have written stories of their work and their lives and experiences. I’m learning from all of them, as I try to add a voice to their orchestra.
I would also like to thank all of the people whom I’ve had the chance to work this past year.
My friends across the web, from places far away and near, your thoughts and words have been much appreciated. To the community at Cre8asite Forums, I want to express my thanks for all that you’ve taught me, and learned with me.
I’m looking forward to another year.
Cheers.
Bill
Great oaks from little acorns grow.
Congratulations, Bill. As usual you’re far too modest. Keep the good stuff coming.
Congratulations! You’ve certainly been an inspiration to me – a post made by you was the singular reason I joined Cre8asite, and I haven’t enough thank you’s to give for all your insights and comments.
Congrats Bill
I think we’ve learnt a lot more from you at Cre8asite! Well done!
I’m looking foward to another fun filled year, and a large part of that has to do with the friends that I’ve met along the way.
Thank you for that, and for the kind words.
Bill, you truly create a great Blog!
Congratulations Bill – we’re looking forward to read more posts.
Thanks, shandyking and Nadir.
I have a couple of posts in the pipeline that I think are pretty interesting. They’re going to keep me busy for part of the weekend.
Happy (late) birthday
Thanks, Sébastien.
Excellent work this year, Bill. You’ve gone from being famous underground in the SEO world to famous in the mainstream, too. Congrats and best wishes for the year ahead!
It’s been an interesting ride so far, Rand.
Thanks for your help and inspiration.
[...] re: Opinión !Parece que estámos todos de cumpleaños! El blog de Bill Slawsky también cumple un año estos días. De paso recomendar su entrada examinando la pregunta sobre si los buscado [...]
Well its 2012 this year and you still seem to be growing and going strong. You have been around a lot longer than even me.
Hi Kevin,
Looking forward to a nice 2012. Thank you, and I hope you have a good year.