Somewhere just over the horizon of this summer is the second anniversary of the Smirk New Media adventure.

Seems like a lifetime already, but there have already been so many eras. The this-is-a-crazy-idea era. The barely-making-it era. The terrible-looking-website era. The great-looking-website era. The future”s-so-bright era.

So we come to Spring 2012.

Thanks to the brilliance help from team members Kevin DeShazo, Mona Romero and Allie Carrick, who have been patient, supportive, understanding and great human beings, Smirk New Media has slowly and steadily grown. We”ve forged great partnerships and built some outstanding funnels to bring in business in the months and years to come.

And now comes to the news that our team will be growing by one more in about a month, with the addition of senior strategist Leslie Spears.

As many in the downtown Oklahoma City community know, Leslie has spent a decade as the tremendous communications manager at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. I”ve known Leslie for a while as one of OKC”s Twitterati, those people who have all gotten to know each other over the past few years online.

Leslie and I spoke a few weeks ago about her love for social media and her great ideas for what she wanted to do with her future. I knew how well-respected she was in town and how she had great energy for teaching people and businesses about what digital strategy could do for them. I floated the idea of a potential partnership. We kept talking and I”m thrilled that Leslie has caught on to our vision.

It”s crazy to think that this thing that was once just in my head and at my kitchen table has become a real brand with a great team of some of the most talented people in the city.  We have also managed, through hard, consistent work, to help some great clients, big and small, household names and emerging brands.

There can be a lot of weirdness in the world of digital marketing and social media. We”ll continue to stress that connecting with customers through great content is a critical strategy for all businesses.

And we”ll be doing it with a great team and an ambitious vision.