Five years ago today we posted our very first images: a re-touched magazine cover featuring Faith Hill and two almost identical Skyy Vodka ads that appeared in Maxim and Cosmo.
While people often congratulate us for coming up with the idea for the blog, we never actually intended the public to read it. We initially started the site as a place for the two of us to share images that we used in teaching. That’s it.
Accordingly, in our earliest posts we didn’t bother to do much explaining. We didn’t think we’d ever have anyone to explain to!
Quickly, though, and we’re not sure why, people began reading. So we started adding more descriptive titles. And more people came! So we started adding text explaining why we were featuring the particular image. Eventually the blog evolved into one aimed at a wide array of readers — that is, not just each other — and it became what it is today.
So, we’d like to conclude by effusively thanking those early readers with whom we reimagined the blog and those of you who read today. Almost 4,500 posts later, you’ve changed our lives and careers in unexpected and delightful ways!
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If you’d like to learn more about SocImages, you can visit our about page, listen to this recent Contexts podcast or read our recent publication, Blogging as Public Sociology (email us at socimages@thesocietypages.org if you’d like a copy).
Comments 7
Yrro Simyarin — July 24, 2012
Thanks for the blog. As much as I like to argue with you, you definitely post some of the coolest and most thought-provoking images on the internet.
myblackfriendsays — July 24, 2012
Happy Birthday! Is it weird that I typed that instead of Happy Anniversary? That's what my brain was thinking.
Anyhoo, happy milestone to your blog and thanks for putting some smart onto the internet--we need more sites like this (:
Tarynehallett — July 24, 2012
It has been a great 5 years, thank you letting the rest of us peek in
Sonia — July 24, 2012
No -- thank YOU! For making me smarter and more aware and better informed. I really appreciate all your hard work and insight. I have this sight bookmarked, and it is a daily read. I work at the headquarters of a very large religion (no, it's not the Vatican), and we are very involved in international hunger and disaster relief, as well as justice issues. Your blog helps me so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Uggen001 — July 24, 2012
Five years is impressive enough, but *4,500* amazing posts? Completely blows my li'l mind...
Fernando — July 24, 2012
I started reading it a few years ago when it came subscribed on an RSS reader I had downloaded, I don't remember which one but I think it was GreatNews.
There were some interesting posts but also a bunch of ones I really disliked, so at first I disliked SocImages. I actually came to read just because of that. But I don't know if it was because I read too much, because the blog improved or because I became more open minded, I began to like it.
There are still some occasional posts I really dislike, I wish you guys were more strict with what you publish, but I check it maybe almost everyday. That's one of the things I really like it, it gets updated pretty often.
Ninetenths — July 25, 2012
Silent observer chipping in -- your blog rocks, keep it up!