UPside of Life: Happy birthday to us!

It's been one heck of a ride for these past two years, hasn't it?

When we first sat down and discussed the idea of creating a weekly virtual publication in the Upper Peninsula we were basically told two things: It's not going to work and you'll never find the support to keep it going past the first year. Being stubborn by nature, we charged ahead anyway.

At first the going was tough. It felt like those initial 12 months were spent explaining time and time again who we were each time we contacted someone. A full year of trying to get people to even go to our website had us wondering if the critics weren't right--the Upper Peninsula just wasn't ready for a strictly online publication.

But then things started to change. We were getting noticed and shared and people started talking. Businesses and readers started contacting us instead of vice versa. Folks would recognize the name of the publication as soon as we brought it up. Readership numbers continued to climb, our popularity continued to grow and, two years after our initial issue, we're proud to say we're doing fine.

We owe it all to you, our readers, especially those who have been with us from the start (you know who you are). You are the reason we've managed to keep the online presses churning and the new stories coming your way. Our readers are why we keep doing this week in and week out.

Readers like you have made UPSW something special. It's not just some typical newspaper with world news filling most of the pages and bad news filling the rest of it. Instead, this publication has focused on the people, the places and the businesses of the Upper Peninsula that help drive us forward. The innovators, the fresh thinkers and the young professionals ranging from the shores of Lake Michigan to the thundering waves of Lake Superior and from the border of Wisconsin to the international boundaries and that Mighty Mac that keeps us connected to the rest of that wonderful state of ours.

So, on our second birthday, we want to take a moment to thank you, readers, for being there for us all the way and helping us find our feet. We're doing well on the beginning steps of this journey, we feel, and we're looking forward to seeing just how far we can take it. The next year will be chock full of new content, new programs and expanded coverage. We're focusing on job growth and business development, all while still telling the story of living life in the U.P.

We here at UPSW love what we're doing and, based on the response from our readership, we have to believe that you love what we're doing as well.

We look forward to spending more birthdays with you and are proud to have you as supporters of this publication. Thank you for all that you do and thank you for taking the time to help us celebrate two wonderful years.

If you'd like, we invite you to join in on the conversation by liking our page on Facebook. We share updates, info we found and just random acts of Yooperness on there. We'd love to have you aboard.

Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of UP Second Wave. He was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula and has been writing about Michigan and the U.P. for over 12 years. He can be reached via email.