The first articles posted on this blog appeared on 17 January 2015, just a year ago.

If you have been following the blog since then, you will recall that I started this as my response to the sudden closure of MacUser magazine, for which I had written over many years. My second post (after welcoming readers in the first) was a brief obituary for a much-loved magazine, which in its heyday published every fortnight: a ferocious pace of writing for someone who also had a demanding day job.

My most immediate concern was that the technical advice which I had been providing for all those years would be lost, fading quietly in piles of back-issues until sent for recycling. When I discovered that I was able to update and republish much of the material which I had written for MacUser, I gained an even stronger sense of mission. As a result there are now several hundred articles – from short Q&A to in-depth reference material and illustrated workthroughs – covering Macs and related technologies.

As readers of MacUser will recall, I often strayed beyond those strict bounds, and this blog presented an ideal opportunity for me to write about subjects that interest me, from the ageing of oil paint to ham radio, as they pass through my mind.

In those early days, I struggled to get more than a hundred views in a day. Now more than 1200 articles later, more readers have been drawn or thrust in this direction. Only a few days ago, over 1250 articles were viewed in a single day, and dips to less than 300 views are the exception.

This blog is not about popularity, although it is always gratifying and encouraging when your interests coincide with mine. Neither is it about making money: I do not wish you to have to wade through dazzling banners or intrusive promotional videos, trying to pick out the real content. If you want those (does anyone truly want ads?), then there are plenty of other sites which will list five ways you can turn your Mac on to the accompaniment of pulp advertising.

Now, in that year, I have come full circle, and my first Genius Tips section has appeared in MacFormat magazine. This coming, second year of the Eclectic Light Company blog promises to be as interesting and exciting as the first has been. I sincerely hope that you will enjoy it, find it helpful, and stimulating. Because without you, it wouldn’t have lasted a month.

Thank you for making this past year so worthwhile, and I hope to see you back even more in the future.