I know that George hates ticker-tape parades, but it is time to celebrate around here! As of today Meet the Beatles...for Real has been around for 7 years!!!
I get asked frequently about how I started the blog so now is a good time to repeat the story. Just skip ahead if you have already heard it. Back in 2009 I was going through a difficult time in life. I had gotten divorced very suddenly and unexpectedly in July of 2008. By March of 2009, the dust had settled and I found myself feeling very lonely and sorry for myself. So I decided that I needed to find a hobby. I had been collecting Beatles photographs for many years and I actually had a blog on my Myspace page where I shared Beatles photos and did reviews of Beatles books. The photos that I always liked the most were the ones taken by the fans. So on March 9, 2009 I decided on just a spur of the moment thing to start up a blogger account and share some of the photos I had in my files of photos of the Beatles that were taken by fans. I enjoyed seeing the photos all together on the site and I thought my Beatle friends would enjoy it as well. And that was the humble beginnings of the blog.
Today I have close to 3 million hits on the blog. I average about 1,500 hits a day. People from the United States, Canada, England, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Israel, Argentina, Netherlands, Spain, India and Mexico (and I am sure there are others) have visited over the past 7 years. Most people have found the blog through a google search where they have looked for things such as "Meet the Beatles for Real," "Beatles Photo Blog," "Friar Park" "Julian Lennon's birthday," "Paul McCartney wedding," "Beatles in concert," "Kyoko Ono Cox," and many, many other searches. Other of you have found it through facebook or Miss Tammy's Beatles Photo Blog.
Back in 2009 most people used Firefox and now I see a switch to Chrome. The most popular post remains the one about Paul Goresh with the ones about Beatle fans peeing their pants in concert in 2nd place. I knew that every year whenever Paul McCartney tours, the post I did on what to expect at a Paul McCartney sound check is going to spike in numbers. I also know that whenever someone in the Beatles family passes away, the numbers sadly go up.
Through this blog friends have been reunited, families have found long lost photos, and people have been able to share and remember things that have long been forgotten. Bad things have also happened over the years. I have been made fun of, been called a liar and had someone spread some very unkind things about me on another site. I also have been threatened with two law suits over the years. But over all things have been amazing.
I just have to say a big thank you to each of you that visit this blog. While I never claim to do it for anyone but myself, it is nice to share the experience with each and every one of you. As a thank you and in celebration of the 7th anniversary, I am having a contest for 3 prize packages:
Package 1: Copy of the book Shoulda Been There by Jude Southernland Kessler---autographed by the author. A tye-dyed coaster from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. $10 Gift card to Amazon.com
Package 2: Copy of the book "Recording Sgt. Pepper" by Tracks (lots of amazing photos in the book!). A purple bracelet from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. $10 Gift card to Amazon.com
Package 3: Teen Life Magazine (September 1967), Teen Screen Magazine (Nov. 1965). $10 Gift Card from Amazon.
I might find other goodies to include in these packages. You never know!
To enter this contest all you have to do is send an email to meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com and say that you want to enter the contest Between now and April 4, 2016. I will assign everyone that enters a number and will use a random internet number generator to pick the three winners.
This contest will end on April 4, 2016 at 8:00pm (Central Time) when the winners names will be announced on this blog. The winner has five (5) days to contact me with his/her mailing address. If I do not hear from the winner after the 5th day, the prize is forfeited . Please note that I can only receive emails from the above address, but I cannot send emails from it. You will not hear from me. Only one entry per household. This contest is open to anyone anywhere.
Good luck!