When I first started the Ghacks Technology News blog back in October of 2005, I did not really have any expectations whatsoever. If it would be there after a year, that would be fine. If not, nothing was lost. I also did not really think about making money with the site, or even -gasp- quit my regular job to become a full time blogger. Well, everything changed when the site became popular.
In the beginning I worked two jobs, Ghacks and my regular one. This was a pretty hard time as I had to work before I went to work and after I went home on the site. I was lucky back then that I never experienced any serious down times when I was at work. I’d probably would have taken a sick day or day off then to be able to fix the site.
When the site started, it was all about a tool that a friend of mine had created to make advanced Google searches from the program. It was very handy at that time, but it somehow got dropped along the way. That’s actually where the name Ghacks comes from, Google Hacks.
The day that changed it all was when the guide Using Google To find Movies made it on the homepage of the then popular service Digg. The site, only active for about a week, received tens of thousand of visitors from that exposure. I was lucky enough that I added Adsense some time before to the site. When I found out that the site made more than $100 on that day it made click and the idea was born to make this more than a hobby. Without that, Ghacks may have never become what it is today.
It has been six years now and Ghacks is still more or less a one-man show. Sure, I hired some authors to add different perspectives to the site, but it is me who administrates the site, watches over its financials and contributes to the site on a daily basis. It is a full-time job. Surprisingly though I’m still motivated and do not have that nagging feeling that I do not want to “go” to work because work sucks. I love it.
Now that the site has turned six, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for being a visitor, reader, guest, contributor or whatever it is you are to the site. Without your help, Ghacks would not be where it was today, and more importantly, I would still work my 9 to 5 job.
To celebrate the event, I’d like to provide you with the opportunity to win one of ten Ghacks t-shirts. You can take a look at both available shirt designs here:
The shirts are of high quality. I still have the first shirts I ordered a few years ago when I started offering merchandise.
All you need to do to win a shirt is to comment here on this thread, or mention the birthday on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus or any other site on the Internet (that you are allowed to post on and where it is appropriate).
I pick the winners and contact them asking for their shipping address, t-shirt they want and size. Please note that some black shirt sizes are currently out of stock. It may take some time before they become available again. Good luck everyone.
Update: The winners of the shirts have been notified by email, they are: Paul(us), Ivan K., JFP, JimT, Tinwheeler, Kalmly, Mouser, Midnight, Johan Gustavsson and Matias.
Thanks to everyone for all the great wishes and praise, that was really nice for a change ;)
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Congratulations Martin and thanks for all the good info over the years!
But NO, I do not want another ghacks t-shirt (unless you get some long sleeve ones).
Time flies better with Ghacks (International Weblines) :)
I happen to be one of the many regular Ghacks readers, and also I often notice the site refereed to on several web pages. What I appreciate is the multiplicity of topics, always affordable for newbies even when the matter is sophisticated, hence an incentive to know more and better.
Happy birthday Ghacks, and congratulations Martin.
If you are ready to ship to INDIA. then i am in.
I ship world-wide.
The T-shirts designs are awesome. My preference is the Black one!
Great job on the designer’s part! :)
Happy Birthday GHacks!
Have enjoyed reading the blog for a few years now. Appreciate all the hard work that goes into it. :)
Happy Birthday GHacks!
One of my “everyday sites”, really enjoy your articles!
Keep on!
happy birthday, ghacks!
Martin, congratulations! ghacks has provided me lots of useful information :)
hope to continue reading for the next few years.
2011 – 2006 = 5
As a computer user, I start with 0 :)
I have been following Ghacks since 3 years now. Its been there in the middle of my speed-dial page in firefox ever since. I check for the Firefox, Chrome and Linux tags almost daily. I really appreciate Martin for all the good work he has done. Happy Birthday Ghacks! Way to go…
Happy birthday number six and many happy – and healthy returns. Hopefully for you and us you are succeeding the impossible and improve your website even further.
P.s. i published on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002927792676&viewas=100000686899395&returnto=profile
Happy anniversary !
Congratulations to the creator (Martin), his vision, and the wonderful fruit; that is healthy and growing well.
Nice, I read your blog every day for the past months or so. Really interesting and useful articles most of the time.
Congrats and Happy 6th Birthday Ghacks !!! Wishing you very prosperous future and may all of your wishes come true. Is it so great to see someone with so much determination and focus to succeed and fulfill his dream. For some reason, while I was reading the article, this so much reminded me of myself. Regular job+My blog+GeekTech Solutions it is a handful at times and I had so many late nights it is not funny.
Martin, you are a true inspiration! I wish you all the best in the future.
Regards,
Ivan K.
I didnt know about the story behind the site. Really good to know. :)
Congratulations and Happy birthday to gHacks. :)
Congratulations Martin! I suspect you’re one of the hardest working bloggers out there and I guess it’s not easy blogging in a language which isn’t your native tongue.
As a (part-time) blogger myself I know how much time goes into just one post, but you have a phenomenal output 7 days a week.
I wonder if you could give us an idea, on average, how many hours a week you spend blogging? Do you have much time off? I suspect not!
I also have a tee-shirt already so count me out on that one.
I’m probably spending about between four and eight hours per day working, which can shoot up to 16 hours when something goes wrong with the server or advertisement ;) I try to reduce the output on weekends to a few hours though to get some off-time.
Great effort on your behalf, Martin.
Take some time to chill and relax! :)
And still time to read and respond to comments. A model blogger!
Wow, has it really been 6 years…?
Congratulations, Martin! I’ve found a lot of useful information on your site, and I’m grateful four it.
Many Congrats Martin. That’s indeed a big journey you’ve covered considering blogging is not a piece cake. I really appreciate your hard work and dedication towards Ghacks. I wish you all the best for future. Keep rocking! :)
Great knowing the background story of one of my favourite website.
Happy Birthday GHacks and congratulations Martin. :)
Felicitations to gHacks et. al. And congratulations to your success Martin.
It’s great how ghacks evolved from its simple beginnings. I’d even dare say Ghacks’ story is one of those rags-to-riches story of fame. Who wulda thunk a mere, and from its early days obscure, Google hacks site turn out to become a wealth of technology news blog, and among the popular ones at that? ^_^
/m
Hello Martin,
Thanks for this great work, wish gHacks many more returns of the day. I think you are ready to write your own book (if you have not ventured one already).
Good Luck!!!
I’m following ghacks for about a 2 years now and i really like it.
Their is such a variety of subject that matter and show us more of what we love.
Thanks for this and long live to ghacks.
HBD gHacks (I always had the curiosity to know the reason behind this name)! According to my Google Reader trends gHacks is one of the top sites in my reading list. I hope the site will go a long way and remain a great source for tech tips and reviews in the years to come.
মার্টিন এবং অন্যান্য লেখকদের অভিনন্দন।
“hoppy birdy, two ewes,
hoppy birdy, two ewes”
Congrats, 6 years is a long time in the IT world. Hope there are many more to come!
Congrats and all the best sir, Ghacks is one of the popular blogs with easy-to-understand articles for novice users, happy to see you and your blog in this great position, hard work always rewarded.
Martin, your selflessness, devotion & caring are some of the things that have made Ghacks the top tech blog on the net. Congratulations to you & thank you for giving me Ghacks everyday. May you have a long & rewarding life in your service to others. AND HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GHACKS!
Happy bday Ghacks
But just asking, why does it say in the “About the Author ” section, that this site was founded in 2005. (btw that would make it the 6th birthday ;-) )
Whatever it may be, continue with the good work Martin. Wish you the best for the future
Haha, well spotted. I got it wrong with the 2006 data in the article, have changed it to 2005. Now it makes more sense ;)
Congrats GHacks!
Thank you for your very useful notes/tips.
Keep going/growing for a long time.
From Argentina, best wishes…
Diego
Congratulations! Thanks for all the great news, reviews and tips. Ghacks is an excellent site and I hope you enjoy writing it for a long time.
happy birthday ghacks.
Hi Martin and congratulations,
I think everything is been said already. Great Site, great News and great Work. Keep up the great Work and good luck.