Raising Industry Eyebrows.. And Saying Thanks!

     Meatshop101, in its infant stages,  is proud and humbled to already have received some very nice acknowledgements from some very nice folks around the industry.  From the outset, no other goal of meatshop101 has been higher than respecting any friendships that might come along as we build and work to grow the site.  Already, a number of new acquaintances have stepped up to extend a hand and offer the sorts of gestures one associates with friendship and, well..  just good folks! 
     It is also one of the goals of any website – and no less true of ours – to attract awareness and to be of benefit to as many visitors as possible.  In that direction,  the gestures made by some of these new friends I mentioned have been most helpful.  They have helped us to get off the ground and put our best foot forward.  Thanks in no small part to the attention they have helped draw to us, since launching the site just over a month ago, meatshop101 has moved from a very humble 17 millionth in global traffic ranking to around 5 million, and well inside the top 1 million of all websites in US traffic rank – all this in less than six weeks!  Had it not been for the kindness of strangers who we now count as friends, however, meatshop101 would almost certainly still be drifting in total obscurity.
     So we figure a couple of things:  one - we must be doing something right to attract this kind of early attention, and two - the least we can do at this stage is to say thanks to those who gave it to us…
     Amanda Nolz, Beef Magazine online’s Editor of the Beef Electronic Daily Newsletter and Beef Daily Blog, saw fit to publish a very complimentary article a couple weeks after we launched.. highlighting the site’s goals, a bit about my history and experience  and inviting all her readers to visit meatshop101.  The impact this article has had for meatshop101 can’t be overstated and speaks volumes about Amanda’s loyal readership at Beef Magazine online.  The article can be viewed here.  Many thanks to Amanda for this gesture and best wishes for her continued success!
     Thanks are in order also to Susan Allen of Aginfo.com for having recently featured meatshop101 and myself in her excellent podcast series Open Range.  This too has brought a wealth of new attention to the site from consumers as well as many in the industry.  Many thanks to you, Susan, for your kind endorsement.. and all the best for your future endeavors!
     I would be remiss if I did not also extend thanks for the kindness of Justin Baker of Mooresville Meat, a North Carolina producer/distributor that services more than 200 great food establishments throughout that region.  Similarly, we are also grateful for honorable mentions by Farmfoody.com, Hollinfarms.com, Ranchers.net, Bestbcbeef.com, Illinoisbeef.com, thebeefueat.com and a number of others.
     So what are the goals of meatshop101 now that we have received this kind of attention from so many great folks around the industry?  The same as they were on day one:  to provide you, the meat consumer, with an easy and enjoyable format to learn virtually anything you want to know about your cut of meat.. and to hopefully make friends with many of you along the way.  I don’t expect these goals to change anytime soon.

                                                                                                                                                 Eric Turner
                                                                                                                                                 Founder – meatshop101