A year ago today, on May 20, 2008, Feltbeats.com was born.
I created this site not because I wanted to run a Tom Felton fan site or because I thought the world needed another site about Tom; on the contrary, there has never been a particular shortage of Tom sites out there. But I considered myself more a fan of Tom’s MUSIC, and I wanted to know everything about it, and I just couldn’t seem to find enough information!
So, one day I was hunting through domain names, and there it was – Feltbeats.com, available to be registered. I grabbed it on the spot!
Interestingly, I learned later that Tom Felton himself had tried to register the domain a few weeks before, but it was not available at that time. I think it is funny that I basically snatched it right when I did! It was fate.
After setting up the site, however, I quickly learned that I couldn’t run the site alone. So, I scoured the internet for the best and brightest Tom Felton fans I could find anywhere, and invited them to help me as Feltbeats Admins. When they refused, I later asked bserlori, lumalfoy, cazilla, Mystik Rose, and Tick Tock (just kidding of course – these girls are the BEST!). Later, we added LexaM, Becka and Lilyginny27 to the team as our site grew even bigger!
So, I’d really like to thank these girls for their dedication, commitment, creativity and time. Tom actually asked me once if I paid the site admins for their work. LOL. I think that’s an excellent tribute to the professionalism of our administration team! And, over the last year, I can honestly say we’ve become close friends, and I love each and everyone one of you!
Secondly, I want to thank the Feltbeats fans out there who make this site what it is. So many of you have left a nice comment on the site, joined our forum or our Feltbeats Army, or e-mailed us about new news or photos. We love you, and thank you! For those of you who have not yet interacted with the site and just come for the Tom news – I’d encourage you to get involved! Sign up, leave a comment, join the Feltbeats Army, do something; it’s loads of fun!
And, last but not least, I want to thank Tom and Jade. I am eternally grateful to Tom for his support, and of course there would be no site without him. But there is much more to it than that… over the last year I’ve gotten to know him and am constantly amazed by his kindness, cleverness and amazing talent. He is truly a remarkable young man who deserves the absolute best. 😉 As for Jade… let’s just say none of this is possible without her. She’s amazing – like a bottomless pit! (Haha, sorry.) Tom is a lucky man!
In celebration of our first birthday, I wanted to share with you all a few funny or momentous moments the site has experienced in the last year.
- The first post ever on Feltbeats.com, one year ago today.
- Nine days after the site is launched, I refer to a “loyal” Feltbeats.com reader. Haha – loyal for all of nine days!
- This post, about Tom’s “Applecrumble and Fish” t-shirt, continues to this day to get lots of hits every month! In fact, when you search for “Applecrumble and Fish” on Google, Feltbeats.com is the top link.
- Sometimes in the early days we didn’t have a lot of content, so we had to be a bit creative, such as with this post, where we attempt to analyze objects on Tom Felton’s bookshelf.
- Not only the premiere of The Dark Knight, but also Jade’s “premiere” as well. I love the coverage from The Sun: “Malfoy magics up a hot date.”
- At some point, I actually made contact with Tom and he told me that he was playing in SoccerAid 2008. Unfortunately, I wasn’t 100% sure it was the real Tom Felton at the time, so I posted an update saying it was a “tip” and that we were waiting for confirmation. When ITV.com finally updated their site, I knew my Tom Felton was real! 😉
- FeltPics photo gallery is launched with what seems like a ridiculous number of photos – 1,500!
- Feltbeats.com’s coverage of SoccerAid – we had a live chat, streaming live video and micro-blogging throughout the match! What a day!
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- “Feltsbeati” – I think this is what we call a person on Feltbeats.com. This is how it started.
- “All that!” – Basically, Tom sent an e-mail to Feltbeats.com that said something along the lines of, “I appreciate everything you do, and all that.” Somehow, we turned “all that” into “love” – so now you can use them interchangeably. So, you can say, “I all that you!” It doesn’t make much sense, but if you ever hear someone say it, you won’t think they are insane or something.
- “Feltbeats Army” – It’s all explained pretty well here.
Additionally, here are a few “inside jokes” we have on Feltbeats.com, and their origins: