It’s been one year since I brought on the two new servants writers, 3 and a half years since I migrated to my own domain at The Cart Driver Dawt Cawm, and 5 years since I started writing about anime on the internet with the expectation that people out there would actually want to read what I write. But at this anniversary I’m not feeling particularly nostalgic. Instead let’s talk about the future.
I’m always trying to grow the site. I find it helpful to have the goal of always trying to grow the readerbase, refine and expand what it is I do. A news feed has been something I’ve been considering for a while. Redesign the site with a separate feed for news vs opinions pieces. That would involve bringing other people on board, since I don’t read Japanese and therefore aren’t qualified to do such a thing. When I brought on Shinmaru and Inushinde, I did so because they had already been blogging for a while and I knew I could trust them to keep doing their thang. I know people who could do news, but even if they did agree to do it for Cart Driver, they don’t do it in any official regular capacity at the moment and I don’t want to redesign the site only to have them bail 6 months later.
Another thing I’ve been thinking is how to earn some money. I know, right!?! Someone on the internet trying to earn money, how dare he! I’m out of education now and actively looking for full-time work, so I’m sure that will damage the amount of time I can devote to this hobby. However if I somehow (getting to some pie-in-the-sky dreams here) get a big enough audience to start earning proper money from this site, I would gladly throw away everything and write about anime non-stop. I’d like to try methods other than advertising, but I’m not really sure what kind of stuff I could sell. Premium members content of the writers watching Popee the Performer? T-shirts with “Yuji Everylead the Bland” or a stencilled outline of Hisoka’s glowing crotch? A plushie of chibi Scamp from the terribad videos? I doubt the audience is there for that sort of nonsense. Besides, selling pictures of Hisoka’s glowing crotch falls under copyright infringement.
While this post sounds like I’m being very businessy and all that, it’s all in aid of continuing to be able to do the thing I love doing. A lot of bloggers say they happily fall into a routine and keeping the same output, but I would get bored and restless if I stopped trying to grow the site. It’s part of what makes this enjoyable for me. Don’t worry, there’s not going to be big changes in the very near future. This won’t be a repeat of last year where I dropped two new writer bombs on your heads. This is just a sort of philosophical outline of what I’m trying to do with the site. And since the audience size is always growing and I’m still enjoying writing about anime 5 years later, I guess whatever I’ve done so far must have worked.
The Cart Driver 
I would buy every. one. of those things.
Including Hisoka’s glowing penis?
ESPECIALLY Hisoka’s glowing penis.
Same as Shinmaru with the addition of paying for the shipping taxes as well (since I live in the SEA region, where barely anything happens).
Congrats! I feel so bad about not commenting often, but I read your blog on my feed when it shows up haha.
It’s crazy to think that I was beginning high school when I started reading your blogs. Now nearing the end of college, it’s crazy to think about how much time has passed since your blogging caught my eye. Here’s to another 5+ years!! :3
You are definitely one of the commenters I remember being around the longest. That avatar is from the Durarara days, and I’m pretty sure I remember seeing you around before that too
I was searching for anime blogs about half a year ago and TheCartDriver is the only one that I stuck with. I like your opinionated / sarcastic / no BS attitude. You guys get straight to the point and aren’t afraid to rip an anime to shreds like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves. Though I don’t always agree with your opinions, I still find it interesting and immensely entertaining to listen to what you have to say. Thanks to all of you for making my anime experience much more enjoyable.
Why thank you! I have actually been trying to be more positive recently (although quite difficult with this year’s anime being kinda sucky) but people always seem to enjoy the negative posts most so eh. Shinmaru, on the other hand, is fairly relentlessly positive, although that’s because he’s gotten to cover Jojo’s for the past year
As long as I have JoJo, everything else is gravy. I love life!!!11!11!11
Okay, this may be TMI, but you asked for it…
How about adding a donation link to your page? It’s unobtrusive and totally optional so no serious pressure to your readers. Crowdfunding sites like Pitchin or GoFundMe are a good place to start.
Then there are sites like Flattr where people can donate to you every time they ‘like’ or ‘favorite’ you. I think it works with Twitter & YouTube, not sure about WordPress.
Setting up banner ads on your site is another way; and yes, that would be annoying, but to keep you guys writing I’d put up with it any day.
You joked about merchandising, but sites like Redbubble actually help sell independent artist designs so you don’t have to create your own web site – and they do all the advertising/secure payment stuff for you. And for the record, I’d buy an official ‘The Cart Driver’ t-shirt in a heartbeat.
Thanks for the recs. What’s holding me back is I don’t want to have that kind of stuff always there, or ask for money too often. I feel it would work better if I made it an ‘event’. About 2 years ago I raised money for charity during Movember through this blog by saying if I raised more than X amount I’d post a picture of myself with the end-of-month moustache. That’s the kind of thing I’d like to do. Not consistent merchandising, but more event style stuff. I think that would work better for a site this size
Been reading your blog, for what, 3 years now? So I guess I’m a veteran, but I comment rarely. Although I once sent you a letter in MAL when I needed help with a presentation.
Anyway what I wanted to say is keep up the good work, I will be always reading and congrats! Like Duelit said: Here’s to another 5+ years!!
Oh yeah I remember that letter. Hope that helped in some capacity, I really wasn’t sure what would help for that.
Woah, already a year since Inushinde and Shinmaru started here? I suddenly feel very uncomfortable about the passage of time.
And for what it’s worth, congrats on 5 years!
I too thought of them as still being quite new here.^^
Just think: There are folks reading the blog that do not know of a time when this site was just me
Geez you’ve been blogging that long stop writing right nowCongrats. I guess I’ve been reading your blog for…2 yrs now I guess? Time flies. I hope you’ll keep doing posts like this every once in a while. You know, in addition to the other stuff here 😀
The Irish Blog Awards 2013 are doing their nomination process right now so hopefully I’ll win this time. Finalist twice, it’s just like my luck at FAL
Howdy!
Long time reader, first time commenter here! In honor of your milestone, I feel it’s high time for me to crawl out from under the rock I’ve been lurking under and say hello.
I’ve been reading your blog regularly since your Hetalia posts on Bokutachi back in the day, and I’ve quite enjoyed the doses of anime-related snarkiness you’ve dished out over the last half-decade. Here’s to another five years!
My word, I wasn’t aware there were still people who stuck around since those Hetalia posts. Glad to see people like yourself are still here!
Also fuck, half a decade. Suddenly my time blogging feels way longer. I feel a bit weirded out now
So I’ve been reading your blog for over 2 years now?
Geez I should get an icon so you’d remember me already.
Also I’d most definitely buy the shirt and the plushie.
I’m rather bland so it would be most fitting.
Tell you what: You can have the avatar from my MAL profile. That will make you stand out!
I’ve been here since the day tv tropes linked me to Inushinde’s thoughts on the “epic” battle with the Skull Reaper, and have since been on an archive binge. I really enjoy it when you guys analyze the events of the episodes and the trends present in anime in general, which I barely ever pay any attention to. If only I could explain things half as good as you guys, I could defend the stuff I like to my friends (someday The Amazing Spiderman, someday…).
So, yeah, congrats and hope you guys keep up the good work.
PS: Oh yeah, I never quite realized how to get myself an avatar. Clearly I am a genius when it comes to the internet -.-
Google gravatar. That’s how you get yourself an avatar. It’s dead easy and once you do it once, you don’t need to think about it again.
There are still some anime out there that I really struggle to explain why I love them. Even lately, try to get me to explain why Jojo’s is so great, I disappear into a sea of “VAMPIRE DUBSTEP SQUIRRELS!!!”
Hey, that’s awesome, thanks for the help. But does it affect the avatar I use on other sites?
Also, I just saw some terribad videos today. You have a lovely voice 😀
As long as you use the email address that’s attached to your Gravatar account, then your avatar will show up on basically any blog you comment on.
I actually meant for facebook and tv tropes, but they aren’t linked to that account anyway, so it’s a moot point I guess.
I would buy a t-shirt with your original design, consisting of nothing but troll anime charts, with Yuji as the male lead for every column. Please don’t include stuff which will actually come true, such as Nisekoi, okay?
🙂
Oh shit, that’s actually a good idea. Unfortunately that falls under copyright so I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it, but a chart full of Light Novel adaptations on a t-shirt would be pretty great
Always been kinda shy about commenting on here, but this seems like an appropriate time to say something. I only just started watching anime this past year,and only discovered this blog a couple months ago. So the only Cart Driver I know is the one with all three of you. It’s been tremendously helpful to me, giving me new shows to watch and just being entertaining in general. I wish you nothing but the best and hope this continues to grow in the future! Thanks a ton.
Awww, I always like seeing people come out like this. It’s like when a friend you always knew was gay finally comes out of the closet…ummm that came out weird…
I think this is probably the first time I’ve commented on your blog, too. I mean, aside from mentally responding to all of the comments…
But I guess I just want to say that everything cobrah said applies to me. (Including the fact that I’ve only started watching anime religiously this past year, and that I’ve been following your blog for a couple of months…Cobrah, are you me?)
All you newbies are so adowabubble~!
I really only comment maybe once every few months, wish I had more to say really, but I’m always here and I’ve read pretty much every post you’ve put out in at least 2 1/2 or so years. It feels like just a few months ago still that I stumbled onto this site looking for the next season charts only to find myself in agreement with almost all of your reviews and opinions. Keep up the fantastic work and know that you have an American brother in opinions over here… also moar terribad videos pls, I can’t get enough of your damn accent.
Realtalk: I stopped doing those terribad videos firstly because they took ages to make and weren’t getting that popular, and secondly because I started to feel a bit guilty for doing such a blatant rip-off of the Zero Punctuation formula and felt I should try do my own thing a bit more. Oh, and finally because I had started to burn out on terrible anime. But there have been people clamouring for those videos to come back, so you never know. Maybe they’ll come back in a different style in the future?
Well regardless of what you do, I’ll still be here absorbing your every word like some dirty dirty dish sponge.
Sell a T-shirt! Do a kickstarter! Start a Popee-themed image dumping tumblr!
Popee themed tumblr sounds like a good idea
Gee, you’ve been around for so long. I’m not sure when I first discovered this blog, but it was over 2 years ago at least. To be perfectly honest I felt you were a bit grumpy at times, but lately you’ve seemed more free-spirited. Perhaps it’s just my imagination, but I feel like pointing it out anyway.
Good luck with The Cart Driver in the future! Amazing that you’ve blogged 5 years about Asian cartoons.
When people say I’m grumpy it’s usually because I don’t like their favourite anime. That said, I have been trying to cut down on negativity and it seems to be working
Keep up the good work. Looking forward to all your future changes.
I also feel I need an icon so I can be remembered. So easy to not register…
Now that I have one, having an icon feels amazing! Trust me, it’s worth the time.
.. but I dont know yet whether its working ohno
Coo, time sure does fly!
I found out about this site ages ago due to the charts at the time through a relink, I think, from chartfag.
Haven’t watched any anime in months (think Steins;Gate over half a year ago was the last), yet I enjoy coming on here now and then to see what’s going on 🙂
Thanks for the years!
You should watch Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Trust me on this =D
What happened to the Celty Dakimura’s?????????
Also conrats. I hope you continue this.
I need to get ahead of the game on those Celty Dakimakuras do ho ho I am so funny
Congratulations 🙂 – You have some good ideas for making money, but you really have to cut your heart out and start actin like a scumbag capigalist if you want real profit. (add a donate link, I admire how humble you seem but you could get lucky with 1 donation that could change your life)
You’re right, but I’m not very good at being a scumbag capitalist 😦
Hey, must’ve been reading your blog for at least 3 or 4 years now and think I’ve only ever lurked, although my memory’s awful. I think I ended up finding the site after seeing a chart posted on /a/ (urgh) years ago.
I’ve always checked your charts for new seasons, and I generally learnt a bit more about certain studios and crew behind animes from reading your pre-season stuff. I’ve really enjoyed the retrospective stuff you’ve done.
I also took a perverse pleasure from reading as your hopes for an anime were crushed after the first couple of episodes and it spiraled downwards yet you still stuck with it even if I didn’t watch the anime myself.
Good luck with wherever you take the blog, hopefully you find a way to make some money off of it.
ewww you have slash aye cooties
Are you one of those people who squealed with glee at my utter disappointment when Guilty Crown ended up sucking hard. Have fun continuing to laugh at my tears
…i feel old ;_;
the only way i know how to make a decent amount of money on the interwebs is to make videos on youtube. or sell a book once your blog gets popular enough 8D /no help
I have been considering a book, as in a travelogue style book visiting cons, but getting the funds for that requires either the readers to pitch in or to get a publisher to sponsor it. Both are achievable goals, but not at the point I am currently at
Congrats! Happy 1-year to Shinmaru and Inushinde as well. I’ve been reading for a few years now (sadly STILL have not watched Code Geass but that definitely needs change this summer!) and would love to see a Cart Driver t-shirt or schwag of some sort 🙂 A book would be awesome too–does Ireland not have Kickstarter or some crowdsourcing website that could help fund? Good luck and keep us posted on the Irish Blog Awards!
I don’t want to end up with a big pile of Cart Driver t-shirts piled in my room though. Ah fuck it, printing 1000 large t-hirts naow
I’ve been lurking around for about 2-3 years, but didn’t start avidly reading and commenting until right when Inushinde and Shinmaru came aboard. Pure coincidence I think, as all three of you have unique writing styles that I enjoy, which is a mean feat in itself.
Can’t remember how I got here… think I was hoppin’ around on MAL and found your profile, and was grabbed by the gratuitous amount of self-promotion, which I thought was funny. And OMG THE CART DRIVER IS LELOUCH!!!1
Anyway… banner adds, donations, merchandising, events, bake sales… I love this blog, so do whatever you need to do and I’ll do what I can to support it.
Missed the edit. Actually that timing coincides with when I finally started watching shows currently airing. And I meant “no mean feat”… didn’t mean to imply your achievements were incredibly average. I have brought shame upon my house.
The cart driver is not Lelouch! I really need to actually get around to writing that post one day. I feel people think that, because of the name of the site, that I think that the cart driver is Lelouch.
I do love self-promoting on MAL =P
Oooh 5 years…that’s a milestone. Amazing how fast time goes by – I remember you from Bokutachi days even if I was a hardcore lurker back then, and I had been a longtime fan of Shinmaru’s & Inushinde’s blogs before they moved here (having all three of you on the same site is fecking handy – good move!).
Here’s to many more years & the continued growth of The Cart Driver.
Bringing them on is dead handy for me too. Now instead of having to go through all the effort to go to their sites, now I don’t even have to leave my own to read them!
Since all the cool kids are doin’ it, I’ll comment too. Fanboy incoming First off, congrats Joe (or are we not supposed to know your real name?). I would totally buy a Cart Driver shirt. You are my favorite and the first anime blog I ever read. I started following this blog since I saw you’re review of Berserk on MAL on June 28, 2010. I don’t comment much, but I do read all of your blog posts. Occasionally, I read Shinmaru and Inushinde. You introduced me a the animesphere and taught me the usefulness of Google Reader. I love that you keep changing things up and adapting to the times. In my heart, you will always be the king of anime blogs.
I feel genuinely touched. Thanks, I do accept your marriage offer…wait, that wasn’t what you were offering?