We have hit the ground running here with GotZune. As I have stated in the about us page I put together, we are joining the "Social" a tad bit late compared to other sites and blogs.

Why am I even talking about all this? Well, I just want to get some things off my chest before I go on with my fun times. We have gotten some fairly nice traffic for being such a young blog, especially since this blog is focus on one "not as popular as the iPod" product. We just hit 15,000 unique visitors (which I know is small potatoes, but for a new site, not bad at all). I had 20,000 registered users in the forums of Aximsite.com in the 1st month though, so not as quick of a start, but I am happy with this growth thus far.

The mixed welcome title of this blurb (or novel) comes from the fact that I have been welcomed nicely by some of the readers that love Zune and gotten some pretty silly/ugly comments from a couple. Gotta take the good with the bad. This also extends to the fellow webmasters out there too. Some of them were very nice in welcoming GotZune to the "Social", Some ignore our existence, and some (well only one) are pissed off that GotZune is here. So, yeah... I have been reading a few of the sites and blogs about Zune already, but when I decided to go ahead with the site, I researched some more. I built the site, then went out and gathered up all the Zune Site webmaster emails, etc and shot out a "hey, I am Chris. This is my new site. How are you and would you like to trade links" email. Out of 40 emails or so that I sent out, I only got like 4 replies ... ClicZune, Generation Zune (formerly IWAPZ), and Zune Vibe. I will admit that I missed a couple of the sites that I have since found, but still. Just 2 days ago, I got an email reply from one of the original emails I sent out calling me an idiot for starting "another" zune website. "You'll never make any money with other great sites out here already". It pissed me off, but I didn't even reply. Life's too short to argue with people. My other sites make money that allow sites like this one to not even cover the hosting cost. Similar to how Microsoft can fail at something and not lose their shirts. (as some think about Zune... not me though)

Anyhow, something I have learned about webmastering in 10 or so years is that sites can coexist. There is no need to "be in competition" with other sites. Do your thing, let them do theirs. If they say or share something good for the community as a whole, I share it with my readers. If I say something good or useful, I hope for the same. It's a give and take. In the Sports Handicapping business and the Windows Mobile world, this is how we roll. I am seeing hints of this sense of community in the Zune world, but I also see some self serving people out there too. Give and take, that's all I am saying. If anyone has never noticed, tech bloggers form a big cloud with their credit giving and sharing. I do the same. I am going to give credit where credit is due when I make a post.

There are several types of people that put sites online about technology. There are those that truly love a particular sector of technology or a particular device such as the Zune. There are also those that love to share info. There are even some that latch on to an idea purely to hope to profit off the venture. I am a combination of all 3. I do this all as a hobby and love to share my experience with something I either enjoy or don't enjoy. I also love the Zune. I have given ample biased coverage of the Zune on Mobilitysite, but felt I should take some of that to a more focused blog, and here we are with GotZune. Because my servers cost money to run, I normally throw up a minimal amount of ads on the sites I run. It's natural. You will see some sites that are ate up with ads that look like the Las Vegas Strip, you will see some with almost no ads, but most of the better sites you will find will have a nice balance of content and ads. I am not here for a lesson in how to run a site though. :)

A few comments before I get done with chapter 43 of this novel...

  • I am all for the Zune and want to help readers of this blog find the best deals, have the chance to read the good and bad being said about Zune out there, learn from my tips and others tips, and share my(our) opinions on all things Zune.
  • This post was not made with the intention of causing unrest in the Zune Community nor is it intended to get anyone to accept GotZune. If someone doesn't like the blog, simply don't read it. Simple as that.
  • Thanks to Microsoft for getting into this arena with Apple. I am happy to have a strong financial backing behind a good product in this fight. I was gung ho about the Dell DJ back before they quit on us, now I have shifted my support to you! I still have that Dell DJ website, but it's changed names.

Warm Fuzzies make all the difference.
I love warm Fuzzies. I like to have my hard work help and benefit others. They really make people want to do better. 1 warm fuzzy negates 3-5 negative comments or nasty email replies.  One of the neatest comment that I have heard was one reader that mentioned that the reason they bought a Zune in the 1st place was my Video 1st Look at the Zune 30 on launch last year. Now he is an active member of the community and contributes to a major Zune site. (I don't mention his name since I didn't ask permission, he is welcome to share when he reads this)