I'd love to tell you that I remember the exact moment on Sept. 1, 1998 that "we flipped the switch" and made OnMilwaukee.com live to the public for the first time. But if I did, I'd be less than truthful. It's now part of a general recollection of a exhilarating time in the early chapters of OMC, when the Web was still so young, and at just 24, I guess I was, too.

On that Tuesday, eight years ago today, I do clearly remember the anticipation of unveiling the product that my business partners and I had been developing for months. I recall the gung-ho attitude we had to prove the people wrong who said Milwaukee was too conservative for an online media company, or worse, that the Internet was a passing fad. And I remember watching the site traffic that day. It seemed impressive at the time, though it probably wasn't more than a few hundred people.

Had you told me eight years ago that one million people each month would visit the little Web site we launched from my dining room table, I'm sure I wouldn't have believed you.

Nor would have I believed that someday I would work with 16 of Milwaukee's most talented, hard-working and dedicated employees, all who share my passion for the city, our magazine and our vision.

That company vision is written on a little piece of paper taped to the well next to my desk. One of our investors, Joe Tate, asked my business partner, Jeff Sherman, and I to put it together about two years ago. Here's what we came up with:

"OnMilwaukee.com will rise to the top of a crowded local media market to deliver the most innovative, fun, respected and well-read magazine in Milwaukee."

And Milwaukee, I'm proud to say that we're making that happen every single day.

I look back on the last 12 months, and I can report that it's been an incredible year. Since my last "state of the site" message in 2005, we at OnMilwaukee.com have been in high gear. We've launched a completely new streamlined site, developed new applications including blogs, podcasts and RSS streams, and we've made some key hires that rounded out our already top-notch staff. We're projecting seven figures of revenue in 2006, and we moved into a great new office (and our art director is putting the finishing touches on the bar he built in the lounge). We've continued to deliver better stories and content to our ever-increasing readership and pool of advertises and partners, and we've made the infrastructure enhancements that will ensure a great user experience as we keep on growing.

In short, Jeff and I have never been more excited about the future of OnMilwaukee.com. And more great stuff is on the way. We'll continue to operate with the editorial mantra that you read it here first (see our exclusive report on Latrell Sprewell that we broke on Wednesday -- some six hours before anyone else in town had the story).

But more importantly, we'll continue to focus on the community-building aspect of journalism we espouse at OnMilwaukee.com. What began with our team of "celebrity" bloggers will continue into its next metamorphosis. I won't give it all way right now, here's a metaphor you can chew on: Until now, Milwaukee's media has stood atop a mountain, telling you what's news. We began to change that with our popular (and sometimes controversial) talkbacks. This fall, you'll have an even more powerful way to contribute. Stay tuned.

This I promise you: we will continue to push the envelope -- because swift-moving innovation is what sets us apart from our competition. If I dwelled on every instance in which a TV station or one of the glut of print pubs in town took a story that ran on OnMilwaukee.com, repackaged a little (or not at all), and published it as their own -- well, I'd be a pretty surly guy. But imitation is the highest form of flattery -- and as my favorite cliché goes, the small and the fast still beat the big and the slow.

Of course, it wouldn't be an OMC anniversary without one of our legendary parties. We're still putting together our ideas, and we'll let you know when you can come on out and celebrate this major milestone with us.

So thanks, Milwaukee. Thanks for embracing us as your daily magazine. Thanks for your passionate feedback -- both positive and negative -- through your suggestions we continue to improve. Thanks for putting us on the map as the definitive online resource for quality, engaging and unique content.

You drive our success, Milwaukee, and we're absolutely thrilled to share more of our stories in the years to come.

6 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Recent blogs/briefs by Andy Tarnoff

My Summerfest food lap Wednesday Everyone has his or her own annual Summerfest plan of action. But for the purpose of this ...

A pedestrian South Side morning Saturday I'm waiting for new tires to get installed, so I've spent the last hour wandering around ...

They Might Be Giants toes the line between kid, adult rock June 27, 2008 The last time I saw the harmonizing, nerd rock stylings of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, ...

Video tutorial of OnMilwaukee.com's new features June 25, 2008 Here's a quick screencast that my main programmer Zach Karpinski and I shot this morning.

The "perpetual beta" is fresh for summer June 24, 2008 A long time ago, we used the word "redesign" to describe our frequent changes and upgrades ...