Eight years of SHECKYmagazine.com!

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on April 1st, 2007

Today is April 1, 2007. Eight years ago to the day, we launched the first issue (back then, this publication was a monthly) of SHECKYmagazine.com, with the help of friends like Bob Zany (our first interview), Jim Myers (our first Question 21) and Brian Whalen (at the time, our only columnist).

It was 1999 and, relatively speaking, there weren’t all that many people (or comedians) hooked up to the internet. We uploaded that first edition and checked the stats incessantly, seeking reassurance that there was some kind of demand for what it was we were cranking out. We vowed that if the traffic were to flatten out or drop off, we would fold the whole thing and move on to other projects.

One other vow was that we would never charge for the content– it would be free to anyone who had a computer and a modem.

Well, eight years later, we had our first million-hit month. So we’re not about to fold the tent just yet. It is apparent from our stats that there’s a demand. We’ve been constantly engaged in efforts to increase the visibility of the mag, promoting it via hits in the mainstream media– in the last year, we’ve been quoted or cited in USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio.

And we are determined to keep the content free. That’s the tricky part. Some of you have noticed that we have some advertisers. And, while that’s brought in some revenue, we’ve yet to turn a profit. And there are some costs involved in providing our readers with the coverage they’ve come to expect from the WWW’s most beloved magazine about standup– Hosting fees, equipment, other operating costs, etc. And we’ve taken gobs of time off over the past eight summers to make the trek– on our own dime– to cover the Festival Just For Laughs. (Last year alone, we covered JFL, the Boston Fest and the NY Underground Fest!)

This past weekend, we were in the car a lot and we found ourselves, on more than one occasion, listening to various local NPR affiliates begging for cash– it must be Pledge Week in Public Broadcasting Land. So we figured that we’d do the same and pass the cyber hat ourselves.

What do we ask? How about $12.00? A buck for each month in the coming year. If you want to give more, feel free! If you can’t give us anything, we totally understand and we thank you for reading and for supporting us in other ways!

Just click on the Make A Donation button on the lefthand column!

Either way, we look forward to another great year and, like we said, if it weren’t for our readers, we would have long ago packed it in! Thanks!

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