If you know Latin (or watch the X-Files like a hawk) you may have heard the title before, and it means time flies. One thing is very certain - it really does fly, especially when you're having fun!
Today, September 28th, is the one year anniversary of the official change of the guard here at RTM. As hard as that may be to believe (especially for us) it has been an entire year, so we wanted to reflect for a second and look ahead.
Last September, we were in negotiations to take over the site and as we worked on finalizing the deal we were moving the site to a new server. Once everything had been transferred, and all the t's were crossed and lower case j's dotted we were able to officially announce our presence. We could have announced it earlier, but we picked a date and with a slight theatrical flourish we spilled the beans, hoping an angry mob wouldn't stone us!
Since then people have been overwhelmingly positive about the site, and we really appreciate the support. We haven't accomplished everything we planned from the start, but it has been more from being busy with other things. We do hope we'll be able to finish some of the things we've planned during the second year!
Running RTM has been a lot more work than we had expected, but also more rewarding in some ways. Prior to taking over here, Bobbi spent many years working on another general action figure website (and I helped here and there) so we had an idea of what it takes to run something like RTM. Even that experience doesn't prepare you for all the things that come up, but thankfully we've adapted and things are running smoothly.
Lots of things can happen in a year, and certainly many have. A year ago the Lord of the Rings figures were still in the future, Star Wars was the sure thing for summer 2002 and no one had seen the Muppets (except those Palisades guys, who kept it secret until Toy Fair).
Just over a year ago, last May, there were rumors floating around that RTM was closing down. Clearly just rumors, but one thing about the internet is that when people get an idea about something it gets around! RTM is still here, despite the rumors of some (and perhaps the hopes of others). And the nay-sayers of a year ago have had their say, and they've been wrong.
In the last year the site has been renewed, and there are more people reading the site now than last year. There are more people reading now than ever before in the site's history, and we've even had to upgrade our hosting plan for more bandwidth. The Toy Buzz is always busy, and it isn't full of trolls or ads. The content is regular and we've got plenty more on the way, and the goodwill of the readers is wonderful.
Now that it has been a year, we want some feedback from you! What have we done right over the last year, and what could we do better? What haven't we done that we should, and what changes would you like to see for the site? We want your suggestions either on the Buzz or through e-mail so we can continue to improve the site.
Today we have an RTM Spotlight on the Muppet Labs playset, which is sort of a bookend for the two Spotlights we did on our opening night last year with Space Channel 5 and Resident Evil. Palisades has always held a special place in our hearts because they were the first company we saw at Toy Fair, and that's why we started out with their toys when we kicked off the re-launch of RTM.
Over the last year we wouldn't have been able to keep things going without the help of some people, including (in no particular order) Jason Geyer, Jim McCaslin, Ray H, Mike Fichera and Eric Myers. We'd like to thank our advertisers because they have helped keep the site free for readers and eased the financial burden on us.
Most of all, we want to thank you, the readers. Without readers a site is just a glorified vanity page, and the loyalty, care and love you've shared here makes this job worth it.
Thanks, and we're looking forward to the next year! And we're not the 'new people' any more!
- Raving Rob
