I started writing on the web in August 2006 with the idea of journaling about the high school sports happenings of my alma mater Lane Tech. I did this through one simple website called LaneTechFan.com. It started with just the website and my passion for high school sports, nothing else. Then as I got more proficient using the web I started incorporating other tools and features on the site. I added a message board and YouTube Channel, as well as continuing to write the best high school sports content I could write regarding Lane Tech sports.
Then in June 2007 (see our archives page), I decided to incorporate this new feature that changed everything...a blog. 2007 is not that long ago, but in the world of social media 2007 may as well be ancient history. At that time, I was one of the only persons in the Chicago area that wrote a high school sports content blog.
I decided at that time and I continue to do so today, to focus on great content. I figure that if I write good content and produce good material, the readership will fall in place. I also knew that I had to keep growing and adapting as my audience grew and as I personally grew.
Around the beginning of 2009, I started to write more and more articles about other CPS schools besides Lane Tech because my interests grew about other schools and I noticed that fans from other schools besides Lane Tech were reading the Lane Tech fan blog.
In the summer of 2009, I decided to start a brand new web site called www.CPSfan.com to meet this ever growing demand for high school sports material. The idea of the site was to focus on CPS sports. Since the summer I added new things like a cpsfan.com fan store, recruited volunteer bloggers, created a shutterfly photo album website, and started using Twitter and Facebook
As the new year starts, my passion to create great content continues. At the same time, I really would like to stay focused. I want to be #1 in a few things and be really good at a few things then be mediocre in lot's of subjects. At the time of this writing, I've decided to focus almost primarily only on a few sports - boys track, boys cross country, football, and boys basketball. I will still write a bit about other sports (wrestling, chess, etc) and I will write some commentaries that are related to the CPS. The commentaries and some of my sports writing will be controversial in the eyes of some. Some readers may not agree with everything I say, but I will promise that it will be real, and it will be focused on my perspective as to what I think will or will not improve the CPS. For those who have read my commentaries, you'll know that I advocate work ethic, motivation, less control by faceless bureaucracies and personal achievement as keys to success in life.
As this new year starts, I've also decided to write much lesser if anything at all on sports or topics that I have little expertise on. This will include boys swimming, baseball, water polo, bowling, and almost all girls sports (including track and cross country). I would rather not do anything at all then do a sub par job. That is how I operate. I'll always keep an eye out on girl sports and those other sports, and I still may write a bit if there is some big news or a really relevant topic, but for the most part, expect to see a dramatic decline in my writings on girls sports and some of those other sports I mentioned.
Like, I said earlier, it is about focus. My focus will be on being number one in CPS boys track, CPS cross country, CPS basketball, CPS football, and CPS commentaries. I am pleased to announce that PageViews on the blog has increased over 5 fold from the same month of December last year. In this new year, I hope to look for an increase in volunteer bloggers and most importantly continue to create great content, make even better videos, take better pictures, do even better interviews, do a better job scouting and evaluating, and to keep things real and create with love and passion.
I hope everyone has a great day, make every day a masterpiece!
- Neil Hernandez
Publisher
www.CPSfan.com
PS In this new year, rembember to keep smiling, they say the positive affects of a smile can last a whole year. It is my hope that in 2010, everyone keeps smiling.
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