Today, Vancity Buzz turns five years old.
Thank you for five amazing years
On July 22, 2008, Vancity Buzz was created in a South Vancouver basement by childhood friends Karm Sumal and Manny Bahia. They began with writing about topics of interest including developments, sports and politics. Their early mission was to highlight the positives of Vancouver, a world-class city in their minds. Growth was slow the first year, but Sumal and Bahia stayed persistent with consistent and diversified content.
Covering everything from the little guy to major events that shape Vancouver has led Vancity Buzz to where it is today. Beginning as an online publication by just two people, our team is now comprised of 30 (and growing) passionate Vancouverites from very diverse sets of backgrounds and interests.
Our dedication to social media has spurred a loyal Vancouver following and relayed content to the masses. To date, Vancity Buzz has published nearly 8,800 articles, received 54,000+ comments, achieved a regular readership of 1 million page views per month and attained a powerful social media following with 42,000+ Twitter followers and 17,000+ Facebook page likes.
As its most significant change to date, Vancity Buzz re-launched its website on June 24, 2013 given that it had evolved, found its voice and fully outgrown its former blog format.
Where we are today would not be possible without you, our readers. Whether you have been reading Vancity Buzz for years or you are just joining us now, we’re just getting started. This is our promise.
Here’s to another five amazing years, Vancouver!
Our All-Time Favourite Articles
After great debate at Vancity Buzz HQ, we compiled a list of our 5 favourite articles.
1. Vancouver Complex. Living in an expensive city has its consequences. We attempt to break down the perception of why Vancouverites aren’t that social.
2. BIG Tower at Pacific and Howe. We were the first to break the story (a full week before other outlets picked up on it) of a groundbreaking building set to be built in Vancouver. Then weeks later, we got our hands on a handful of images that went viral. Talking about real estate is something we love to do and in the coming months we have a few surprises in store.
3. Around Town with Caley Dimmock. This was the most difficult to choose from, however, it represents something important we do at Vancity Buzz and that is photo editorials. These take a long time to put together and we put out 6 to 8 a month. We are blessed to be working with such great talent. (see also our Men of Vancouver and our new Women of Vancouver features)
4. UBC a City In Itself, In Process of Complete Transformation. We offer varied content, a lot of it is quick and up to the minute information, but once a week, minimum, we push out large editorials that you can take your time reading while enjoying a beverage of your choice.
5. Gastown Named 4th Most Stylish Neighbourhood. In Vancouver, people have a tendancy to complain a lot. Even if we receive an accolade worthy of praise, the eternal pessimists come out swinging, denouncing the validity of any ranking in which Vancouver does well. This article in particular caught many by surprise, however, those that venture to Gastown regularly know what a melting pot of creativity it is.
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