Holy City Sinner’s 2013

The past 365 days have been amazing for Holy City Sinner. I have reached many personal milestones and further built the site into something I continue to be proud of.

Thank you so much for supporting HolyCitySinner.com – It is my passion to talk about, promote, experience, and celebrate the city of Charleston. I hope you had as much fun reading this site as I had creating it.

Here’s a look back at the past year…

Milestones

• HCS reached its 2-year anniversary
• Year-over-year the site shattered all previous highs in page views
• The new logo debuted
• I was interviewed by Kinetic Hi-Fi
• For the second year in a row, August was the busiest month
• The busiest day was August 7th.
• I formed new partnerships, did a ton of giveaways, and met some amazing people

Top Story

The top story (as far as page views were concerned) was the post regarding the possibility of The Real World filming in Charleston. That story was published on 8/7/13.

Other Top Stories

• A Large Fire Devastates Businesses on East Bay Street.
• A teaser trailer for Southern Charm surfaced briefly.
  • Just about any other story regarding this show…
  • Or Welcome To Myrtle Manor
• Reckless was picked up by CBS.
• Charleston Ran For Boston.
• A Steak ‘n Shake Opened in North Charleston.
  • The Holy City Pizzeria opened after winning a reality show competition.
• Celebrity Sightings
  • Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Oprah, Michael Bloomberg and others take over Kiawah Island.
  • Sofia Vergara
  • Justin Long and Amanda Seyfried
  • Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
  • Bryant Gumbel, Calvin Klein, & Bette Midler
  • Matthew Stafford
  • Damon and Kim Wayans
  • Kevin Spacey
  • The Lumineers and Roddy White
  • Nastia Liukin
• The Today Show filmed at the Cistern.
• The X-Factor filmed in North Charleston.
• The temporary closing of Jestine’s.
• H&M opens on King Street.
• Alex Rodriguez joined the RiverDogs.
• Charleston was named the Best City in the WORLD.

Some of my favorites from this year  (in no particular order)

• Interview with Boyd Tinsley – My most thrilling moment of the year was being able to interview Tinsley who is one my favorite musicians. He was one of the nicest people I’ve ever spoken with and his passion was inspiring.
• Cook It Raw – An incredible event and experience. There were so many talented chefs in one small area and almost every dish was delicious and creative.
• The Orange Spot Coffeehouse Opened – This was an extremely special story to me because I started following the Orange Spot story back in March of 2012. Watching Julie Simuang and Laura Cannon’s journey from dream to reality was incredible.
• Spring Jam Music Festival – This was the first event Holy City Sinner ever sponsored, which was quite exciting for me. It was surreal to see the HCS devil on posters and advertisements and to hear the website mentioned over the loudspeakers.
• Interview with Elise Testone – I spoke to Testone before her big Valentine’s Day show at the Music Hall. She was really accommodating and fun to talk to. At the time, it was easily the highest profile interview the website had ever had.
• High Wire Distilling Interview – It was a treat to be able to see High Wire Distilling before it opened to the public. Scott and Ann were (and continue to be) very accommodating and kind.
• The Home Team Kitchen Tasting – This was my first visit to The Alley, which has become one of my favorite places to hang out. The food, especially the pork belly sandwich, was delicious.
• The Channing Tatum Hoax – Whether intentional or not, a pair of Tweeters created a buzz around the Holy City when they claimed to actor Channing Tatum was at Rita’s on Folly Beach. A lookalike was found, but not Tatum.
• My first Bill Murray Sighting – The actor and comedian had eluded me until I received a wave back from the legend at the Cook It Raw event.

BIG THANK YOUS

• Angel Postell (Home Team PR)
• Laura Dolloff (InTown.com)
• Crystal Bruce, Rachel Cushing, and @ABCNews4WebGrrl (ABC News 4)
• Andy Paras (Post & Courier)
• Ash the Web Goddess (WRFQ/WEZL)
• Shauna Mackenzie (Mackenzie Image Consulting)
• TJ Phillips and Ric Rush (WEZL)
• Jonah Jeter and The Becket Agency
• Stephanie and Jared (More Caffeine Studio).
• Ryan Nelson (Nelwater Consulting)
• Ashley Caldwell, Jessica Turner and The Modern Connection)
• Jessica Wilson and The Charleston Pour House
• Alan Coker and Melanie Crowley (North Charleston Coliseum & PAC)
• Box and Laura Lee (98 Rock & The Bridge)
• Lorrie Dixson (Eskimo Advertising)
• Philip Weiss (Live 5 News)
• Topher Cassidy and Chris Bersin (No Rules Just Mics)
• English Preston (Charleston With Kids)
• Megan Metcalfe and Kinetic Hi-Fi
• Charles Powell (Foodmancing The Girl)
• “Exposur3” (Charleston Reddit page)
• Ken Hawkins (The Digitel Charleston)
• Jeff Booth (SquidCloud)
• April Adams and Jericho Advisors
• Erin Perkins (Eater Charleston)
• Mike Jones (Charleston Word of Mouth)
• The Reynolds Group
• Obviouslee Marketing
• Hilary Johnson and The Gusto Group
• South City PR
• #CHSTwitter (well, most of you)

…for providing me with info and/or their support via social media and blog postings that have gotten me plenty of views and new followers.

I’m sure I missed plenty of folks, but it has been a busy and incredible year. I apologize for any oversight(s).

And finally, Thank YOU – yes YOU!!! Seriously, thanks to each and every one of you who read my posts, retweeted me, shared an article or just glanced at my website. You rock my socks.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us