Corn Nation Roll Call Says Thanks To the CN Community

Consider this a "State of the CN Nation" post, coming as a yearly review of where we're at with regards to having built a web site that Husker fans can enjoy whether that enjoyment comes from the content we're creating or in camaraderie with others.

Corn Nation has seen considerable growth over the past six months, particularly in terms of our community. That's particularly surprising to me personally as last June because of a health problem I had to make a decision whether or not to give the site up or try to grow it by finding more contributors. Being of an unsound mind, obviously, I chose the latter. I'm glad I did. My family is probably glad I did as well, as are my neighbors, as they no longer have to endure long bouts of me screaming incoherently about Husker football during the season.

I am happy with the content we're putting out now, happy with the mix of authors we have, and I am particularly happy with the number of comments we're getting on each article. I know that it's easier for these guys when they see people commenting on their work, even though sometimes things can get a little testy.

Our guys at SB Nation recently gave us a new tool that would allow us to take a look at commenting on a granular basis. Below is a sampling of the comments on our game threads from over the past week or so. This does not include Nebraska's bowl game, obviously, so we don't see the larger number of posters (along with trolls, perhaps), but it gives us an idea of who's the most active on the site during game threads.

For The Year

SB Nation also provided us with a review of the community over the past year. The site went through a major upgrade to SB Nation United during football season, something that wasn't easy on anyone. One of the downsides to the upgrade was that it inadvertently de-emphasized fanposts and fanshots.

The recent upgrade has re-emphasized those areas, and I hope that community members will take advantage of that and start taking advantage of the site to create their own content if they feel the need to share, whether it be

Below are the statistics on the year.

Fanshots aren't quite as prominent as fan posts, but they still provide a method for community members to share. I hope that y'all use them more often in the coming months.

I probably should have taken myself out of the comments. Maybe that's a sign I need to pay attention to real life a little more - I'm not sure. Fact is, there's a few of you who have been around a lot this past year. Now everyone else knows who you are.

What's Next

So, what's coming in 2013? If this pace keeps up, more growth obviously. We will continue to grow our presence in social media, but if there's one area I'd like to see us grow further it's in coverage of the remainder of Cornhusker sports.

The hiring of Tim Miles has re-energized the men's basketball program, and we've found some guys who are doing a great job of contributing in that area. I'd still like to see consistent coverage of women's sports, particular basketball and volleyball.

The University of Nebraska fields 24 teams, with the addition of sand volleyball. While football is the king of everything, my feeling is that the remainder of those athletes deserve some attention at least once in a while. I still believe in the concept of the "student athlete", and I believe that being part of a team is one of the most satisfying things anyone can do in life. It'd be great if all of our teams had fans. It'd be a helluva lot more fun for all of us if that were the case, and if University of Nebraska athletics could be seen as something that doesn't always have to feed our egoes as much as it could be just for the pure enjoyment of competition.

Bottom line - I want to thank everyone who's been part of Corn Nation over the past year. You've contributed to our growth, and I hope we'll continue to be a place you can part of for years to come!