The Trolley Dodger blog started exactly three months ago today, so I thought it would be a good idea to take stock of what we have accomplished. When we hung up our shingle, so to speak, we really had no firm idea what might happen.

90 days in the workplace is generally considered a probationary period. If you can do the job for that long, or so the thinking goes, maybe you have earned the right to keep your job on a more permanent basis.

In our first 90 days, we have made 26 posts on a variety of different transit-related topics. To date, we have received 20,000 page views for those posts, which include hundreds of photographs and several videos.

We have made our fair share of mistakes in life, but to get that kind of response, we must be doing something right.

But what’s most gratifying to me is how much participation we are getting from our readers. So far, there are 187 comments on those 26 posts.

The old type of web page is static. It is mostly text-based, and does not encourage the interaction or participation of its readers. Now we have this thing called “social networking.”

A blog is more like a magazine, with short articles that encourage readers to express their opinions. We like the idea of using pictures to tell stories, and we now have many devoted readers who want to take part in that conversation.

I would like to think I learn as much from our readers as they are likely to learn from me. It is a collaborative effort, and I believe this blog is ultimately only as good as the people who read it.

Little by little, with each new post, we are creating a body of reference work, with original research that more and more people can find in the future. We have now also started an online store, where our readers can help support this blog and our research efforts by purchasing the products we sell. You can also make a donation.

We will continue to update and expand the range of our offerings, in the hope that this venture can become a self-sustaining enterprise. If you have not already done so, we encourage you to check it out. We have many exciting things planned for the future.

Time is a precious commodity. Thanks for sharing some of it with us. It helps bring us all together, and by enlarging our horizons, makes the world a smaller place.

All in all, I’d say that The Trolley Dodger has turned the corner and is off to a good start. We will do our best to keep it going.

-David Sadowski