Do you remember the first ever Heartland blog?
Were you there when it all started?
While we are waiting for news about a potential season 15, I want to start off this week's blog by quickly addressing the rumours going around about the future of Heartland. As you may (or may not) know, between seasons, production companies enter into the planning stages for the production year even before the final details are known, so they are ready to hit the ground running. And, while I don't have those final details for you just yet, I can tell you that there will be more news for you very soon. Promise.
• Watch Heartland on CBC Gem for Free
The First Heartland Blog
You know I love to do Heartland throwbacks! And I thought of a good one while we are waiting for news. Last week, we talked about what was happening in the world when Heartland first came out. This week, I want to cover some of the firsts for the series on the Internet. Now, this blog has been around since Heartland first aired on CBC in Canada. And (almost) never missed a Thursday. When the show first premiered on October 14, 2007, this blog's first entry was posted on the same day. Take a look.
Yes, the pictures are a little grainy and the entries were a little shorter back then, but it set the stage for the blog going forward for the series. But wait, the first "Thursday" blog was not on a Thursday, you say? Well, back then we didn't have the schedule locked in yet. That came later. So technically the first "Thursday" blog was a few days later.
• Here's how the Heartland blog looks today
Heartland on Facebook
On Facebook, Heartland didn't get going right away with the beginning of the first season. Well, it sort of did, but I'll fill you in on that later. The first Facebook post on the page you still visit today was this:
This gallery of the first episode didn't appear on Facebook until April of 2008. But did you know that, before the Official Heartland on CBC Facebook page came out, there was another Facebook "group"?
The digital team at CBC and the Heartland production created this group and, along with a few dedicated fans, took care of it from the beginning. The Facebook group was semi-active until just a few years ago. It didn't make sense to run both a page and a group on the same platform. That said, the group still exists and you can browse old posts if you want to see what fans said on it in years past. I took a look today and I've noticed many familiar names from fans who are still very active on other platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
If you look closely at some of the really old entries on the group, you may be able to figure out who the very first blog contributor was and who started all of the Heartland accounts way back then. In some ways, you could say that the "Blog Whisperer" was/is very much like the Dread Pirate Roberts. But, you know, not so pirate-y. (if you know, you know)
Heartland on Twitter
Heartland jumped on to Twitter a couple of years after Facebook and officially entered the tweeting game in October of 2009. Twitter was still a little wild-west back then and the etiquette of the platform had not yet fully formed. So our fist tweet was pretty basic:
http://www.cbc.ca/heartland
—@HeartlandOnCBCAnd, if my research is correct, the very first use of the hashtag "#iloveheartland" was back in 2011 by a user named "Dreamer" Does anyone know of an earlier use of the hashtag than this? Are you still out there Dreamer?
<a href="https://twitter.com/HeartlandOnCBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HeartlandOnCBC</a> dont know if you can help but why isn't seasons 3&4 not up on iTunes in the uk yet?!?! I want them!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/iloveHeartland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#iloveHeartland</a>
—@ILoveHeartland7Fun Fact: There was also a Twitter account created for Mallory to tweet her thoughts from. Do you remember? These tweets came from fan suggestions!
Heartland on Instagram
Instagram has become very popular with fans over the past few years. And, in terms of the amount of time Heartland social media accounts have been around, Instagram is a youngster. The first Heartland post on Instagram was on September 11, 2015.
The first video posted to Instagram:
I had to share this one as well because I cracked up when Amber cracked in this old video. Just let it loop.
Oh one more thing about Instagram before I end this blog for today. I can't talk about Instagram firsts and Heartland without mentioning "Georgie Rants". Originally conceived of as a way for Georgie to vent her teen frustrations, it later turned into a playful Instagram account where we could show a more fullsome look at Georgie's life beyond the story playing out on TV. She has a considerable following, I might add! Will she post again?
That's all for today. I hope you liked this look back at some of Heartland's Internet firsts. Have a great weekend!