chore(blog): add the 2024 annual report

markdown/blog/2024-annual-summary.md

@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+---
+title: "Annual Review: State of AsyncAPI Initiative 2024"
+date: 2025-01-27T06:00:00+01:00
+type: Communication
+tags:
+  - Project Status
+cover: /img/posts/2024-annual-report/blog-banner.webp
+authors:
+  - name: Thulisile Sibanda
+    photo: /img/avatars/thulieblack.webp
+    link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/v-thulisile-sibanda/
+    byline: Community Builder and Open Source Fanatic!
+excerpt: 'State of AsyncAPI 2024 in Numbers'
+featured: true
+---
+
+Happy 2025, AsyncAPI Community💜 !
+
+What better way to start the year than by reflecting on the community's growth over the past year? Let's take a deep dive into the state of our community through data and see how far we have come, where we fell short, and what we can improve in the coming year. Analyzing our metrics is the most effective way to gauge our growth and measure our impact.
+
+If you are curious about our past achievements, [please read the previous Project Status updates](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog?tags=Project+Status).
+
+
+## Slack
+
+We currently have a total of **6,124** members in the AsyncAPI workspace. Slack is our primary communication channel for sharing updates, assisting contributors and adopters who want to understand and use the AsyncAPI specification and toolings.
+
+We welcomed **1,505** new members in 2024.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/new-slack-users.webp"
+  caption="New members joining Slack each year"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+
+Among this year's new joiners, we have our top five members, including our community marketing specialist, who leads the marketing efforts in the community.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/slack-top-five.webp"
+  caption="Top 5 new members on Slack"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+Our weekly activity slightly dropped this year due to changes that affected some of our core maintainers after the layoffs. 
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/weekly-slack-activity.webp"
+  caption="Slack weekly activity over the past years"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+## Social Media 
+Our social media platforms help us communicate community news, share updates, and make announcements.
+Let's dive into the numbers:
+
+### LinkedIn
+We gained **995** followers on LinkedIn in 2024, bringing a total to **3,983** overall followers.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/linkedin-followers.webp"
+  caption="Yearly followers on LinkedIn"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+Compared to 2023, the number of visits from users and new users to [asyncapi.com](https://www.asyncapi.com), referred by LinkedIn, decreased by 40% in 2024. However, on a positive note, we received a significant increase in sessions, which kept users more engaged.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/visits-from-linkedin.webp"
+  caption="Website visits referred by LinkedIn"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+We don't use any premium or paid marketing services!
+
+### X/Twitter
+We gained **309** followers in 2024, reaching a total of **4709** followers overall. Website referrals declined 42% compared to the previous years, but sessions on the website increased significantly.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/visits-from-twitter.webp"
+  caption="Website visits referred by Twitter"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+We don't consider the X/Twitter platform worth investment; it's time to consider another platform like Bluesky to expand our reach.
+
+### YouTube
+Our YouTube channel continues to grow as we gain **269** new subscribers, having **1.72k** subscribers in total. We hosted fewer community live streams in 2024, but also brought back the AsyncAPI Online Conference, increasing the total watch time.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/youtube-stats.webp"
+  caption="YouTube Analytics"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+### Newsletter
+It's been a year since we sent out our first newsletter, and I'm pleased with the growth and impact it has achieved. Many community members often don't have the time to read through the entire article, so having a simple summary delivered straight to your inbox is a convenient way to stay updated on community happenings. The April edition was one of the most popular.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/total-opens-newsletter.webp"
+  caption="Totals Newletter opens per each month"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+Additionally, we've seen some growth in newsletter website referrals, with an increase in users and sessions.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/visits-from-newsletter.webp"
+  caption="Website referral from Newsletter"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+## Google Analytics
+Docs continue to be our main metrics contributor, and blogs have performed quite well this past year. 
+The AsyncAPI website received over 1.1 million page views, while users and sessions have remained consistent.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/google-analytics.webp"
+  caption="Website visits each year"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+## Google Search Console
+Compared to 2023, there has been a slight 15% decrease in website impressions and clicks recorded on Google Search Console.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/google-search-console.webp"
+  caption="Website perfomance from Google Search Console"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+## GitHub
+We continue to see an increase in the number of active contributors who perform tasks such as commits, issues, or pull requests. In 2024, we had over **2,780** contributors overall.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/total-contributors.webp"
+  caption="Total contributors"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+We still do our very best to resolve and close issues. There have been some improvements because of programs such as the AsyncAPI Bounty Program and the Maintainership Program. We are still committed to growing the number of maintainers.
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/issues.webp"
+  caption="Total number of issues closed"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+### NPM
+The most controversial part of the review is the number of downloads from AsyncAPI's top packages, which are hosted under the Node Package Manager. The `asyncapi/specs` package continues to soar, with over **34M** downloads in the past year. 
+
+<Figure
+  src="/img/posts/2024-annual-report/npm-packages.webp"
+  caption="Total downloads of AsyncAPI top packages"
+  className="text-center"
+/>
+
+## Community Achievements
+Despite the challenges, we achieved some milestones, and here are some of the highlights from the AsyncAPI community in 2024!
+
+- We had our second community hire, [Oluwabamikemi Kayode](https://www.linkedin.com/in/atinuke-oluwabamikemi-kayode-5b838b1b7/), to work full-time as the project's Community Marketing Specialist.
+- The [Ambassador Program](https://www.asyncapi.com/community/ambassadors) increased this year from having five ambassadors to ten.
+- The [AsyncAPI Bounty Program](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog/asyncapi-bounty-program-2024) turned 1, and we have [51 issues completed](https://github.com/orgs/asyncapi/projects/36/views/4?filterQuery=-no%3Alevel+status%3ACompleted) so far under the program.
+- [We got accepted into GSoC'24](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog/2024-gsoc-wrap) for the first time as an independent organization.
+- [Published our second case study](https://www.asyncapi.com/casestudies/hdiglobal) from HDI Global.
+- Brought back the [AsyncAPI Online Conference](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbi1gRlP7pijItMBmw9SeeyWxuEa3jLR2&si=pDGcDafTo2umeUHC).
+- [Closed down the AsyncAPI Store](https://www.asyncapi.com/blog/2024-marketing-report).
+
+These are some of the few highlights for 2024, and we have more planned for 2025.
+
+We are starting the year with [an open discussion on establishing our first AsyncAPI Governance Board](https://github.com/asyncapi/community/pull/1634), so please join the conversation.
+
+You can also check out the [2025 AsyncAPI Community Building Goals](https://github.com/asyncapi/community/blob/master/annual-goals/2025_Community_Goals.md) to see what's in store for this year.
+
+
+> Image by Canva

markdown/blog/2024-december-and-paris.md

@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ authors:
     link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/v-thulisile-sibanda/
     byline: Community Builder and Open Source Fanatic!
 excerpt: 'November and December Community Update And Paris Conference Summary'
-featured: true
 ---
 I can't believe we are in the final weeks of the year, and it has been an eventful one. As a community, we have experienced both proud and painful moments, celebrated our victories, and faced challenges and losses. However, in the end, we overcame those difficulties and emerged stronger and better.
 

markdown/blog/2024-marketing-report.md

@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ authors:
     link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atinuke-oluwabamikemi-kayode-5b838b1b7/
     byline: AsyncAPI Community Marketing Specialist
 excerpt: 'A comprehensive review of AsyncAPI Marketing Working Group achievements in 2024, including social media growth, store closure updates, and future initiatives like the Student Ambassador Program'
-featured: true
 ---