Commentary: A Look Back at 2022
However, I’m happy to report that V&R remained strong through most of this year.
In the midst of the Holidays, I want to take stock on what transpired this year.
It has been a year of transition. A new “day job,” a new home, health challenges, accomplishments, and everything else I will not mention in this article for the sake of one’s emotional health.
However, I’m happy to report that V&R remained strong through most of this year.
Website traffic is up from last year. We had some spikes during the summer, which helped in keeping the site going. Although our content production is down and a bit more calculated than before, you still read the site. With that, we say “thank you.”
Our YouTube presence has grown, as well. George Torline’s creative drive certainly framed how you look at us visually. Some videos returned better views and engagement than others. However, you responded to the work that we’ve done in both long-form reviews and the YouTube Shorts. With that, we say “thank you.”
Our social media has picked up slightly. We always wish for more, but it is what it is. Maybe, we’ll get the engagement everyone else gets. For those who supported our social media efforts, we also say “thank you.”
We also tried some things that did not work out. In the end, I can say that I’m not a fan of TikTok. I won’t get into why, except it can be a cesspool of content that attracts some folks to it. Lesson learned there…
These are just the mechanics of V&R. To make these mechanics work, you have the experiences. We certainly had our share of them.
I was glad to see George work his first Midwest Automotive Media Association Rally in May at Road America. He yielded a lot of content between the write-up and videos of the vehicles he drove. That certainly added to the YouTube channel’s traffic and engagement – which was much needed at the time.
Earlier that month, I went to Las Vegas to drive the 2023 Nissan Z. It would be the only media drive event I would attend – and it was worth it!
The biggest evolution in this work was the arrival of battery-electric vehicles on a regular rotation. What started with requests for a couple of vehicles, we ended up working with seven of them this year. We know it’s the future, and now we know what to expect from future EV subjects in the years to come.
In fact, an EV won #VOTY2022. The first time for a vehicle solely "fueled" by electrons. Not to mention, it is the first pickup truck to win, too!
Still, this website entertained a lot more than EVs. We had a Recreational Vehicle in the mix. Who would’ve thought we would feature an RV on this site? It became part of a few Travelogues this website published this year.
One of the benefits V&R enjoys is my work as the Managing Editor at Lavender Magazine. That included a couple of Travelogues and some of the vehicles featured on this site. Between the two publications, the mutual benefit of this work came through with some interesting content for you to read.
To wrap up this year, George and I want to thank you (again) for reading, watching, following, and engaging with us on all platforms. It has been quite the year. Without you, we wouldn’t have done all of this!
Happy Holidays and see you in 2023!
All photos by Randy Stern