Today is the first anniversary of Tim taking over Saabsunited. It has been a pretty turbulent year to say the least. Whilst Tim was setting up the new team the production “hiccups” in Trollhättan started so the new SU team had to deal with difficult news right away. As we know this did not resolve so the struggle to filter the right information from all those rumors continues until today.
For us the highlight of the past year was certainly the SaabsUnited Octoberfest where we set up an enjoyable event that was held at several places around the world. A very positive event at a time when it really looked like a solution for Saab was just a matter of days. The ultimate low was of course Saab’s declaration of bankruptcy. In between those extremes there were many, many great things I can think of. Despite it’s sometimes exhausting to conquer reliable information it is mostly enjoyable to do that for such a great readership. Having between 150.000 and 200.000 unique visitors and more than one million page views each month is a great reward for us.
At the same time we have of course been criticized for some things we did and the way we reported. Especially when it comes to opinion stuff this is quite natural and we can deal with that as long as it is expressed in a civilized way. Discussion is one of the things this site is meant for. But one thing we can’t deliver: we are not Swade. He had and has his own unique way of writing and judging things. But would you expect a restaurant to stay exactly the same if it changes owner? Probably not. Same here, we had to find our own way to handle things. And looking at it today I feel we are on the right track.
The site itself has also grown for example through the forum, messaging system and additional content like the photo archive. This is not the end, we already have plans to make the site even more interactive.
What’s left for me now is to say thank you to the SU team, our advertisers, the djup strupes and most of all to you, our readers. You make SaabsUnited such a vivid place for the community. Without you this would just be a bunch of bits and bytes. Thank you.
congratulations for the first year and i can say, that you are all on the very right way.
swade will be swade and all of you have their own style of writing.
so i find it perfect, because we all have different thoughts and only on this way, we can learn from each other and perhaps change a wrong opinion.
and now in german:
weiter so, es macht sehr viel freude hier täglich zu lesen!
( go on this way, i like it very much to read here daily)
best wishes
marcus
Conratulations!! It’s been a tough ride and overall I think you guys have done a grand job! Always difficult to follow in the footsteps of someone as talented in writing as Swade, but your mix of styles within the team has worked.
Hopefully, you’ll all be able to write some good news in the future!
Anyway, well done for all you have done so far!
I couldn’t agree more. It’s been a strange year, and you all have done a terrific job at keeping us as updated and informed as possible. It’s a testament to your work ethic that so many readers around the world check SU every day (and often throughout the day). Thanks for your hard work, and here’s to another year!
Congrats guys! You’ve done terrific job!
Today it’s also been a year since I signed a new contract with the new employer and resigned from my old job. And lost SAAB 9-3SC as a company car 🙁 When I started a new career and was about to order MY2011 9-3SC, then the production was stopped, company’s car policy was changed and I had to order a Skoda SuperB Estate 🙁
Let’s keep the thumbs up that our small & beloved car company can start the production ASAP with its new owner, whoever that might be!
Indeed, Swade’s unique style cannot be duplicated, but you’ve done an admirable job so far. Thank you for that, and let’s hope you will be reporting on much happier news in the near future.
I saw a little influence when reading “whilst” in the first sentence. I know it’s perfectly OK to use instead of “while”, but it was in Swade’s writings where I saw it first.
I agree with the others. I truly appreciate what the SU team has done to keep this site going and improve it. Sure, there have been a few issues, but it has been a chaotic year for Saab and Saab fans and a site run by a team of people is going to be a little different than a site run by a single individual. It is the difference between a single voice and a team of individuals trying to maintain a common voice. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. All of us knew what a strain it was on Swade to maintain the quality on this site by himself (even with some help), so a team structure was inevitable if it were to survive.
I, for one, am very happy that SU continues as a source of information, news, and opinion about Saab and the community of Saab fans. My thanks to Tim and whole SU team!
You have been doing a great job, and I hope that it will continue! I enjoy visiting SaabsUnited and it is my primary source for Saab-related news. Let’s hope for better news in 2012 than in 2011! Thank you very much to Tim and Till as well as everyone else in the SaabsUnited Crew. 🙂
It has been a tough year, nobody knows what lies ahead and we all hope for the best. Every day I start opening SU wishing to the see the GOOD NEWS, which we all hope will come soon. Nevertheless I say to myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
However, I can assure you that I connect myself to SU every day and by several means, either by computer, by mobile phone, by i-Pad or laptop at home. It has become part of my daily life. I must say that my wife visits the site quite often. I guess she also has got the SAAB bug.
Thanks for an extraordinary job.
Also from my side a warm CONGRATULATION and THANK YOU! I like the way you handle this site and you do it in your own way that is good. I visit you every day and, indeed, you are my first site for getting Saab-related news. Hm, what I can say….perhaps that you deserve that you may provide us one the news we all are waiting for such a long time: Saab is saved by…..
Keep on going and never mind on criticism, its part of the game and after all, we all are Sabbaholics 😉
By the time I found SU, my familiarity with Swade was on Saab’s site—-I didn’t even know he used to be involved with this site. I’m a newbie. I loved his commentary on the Saab corporate site. As for Saabs United, it’s wonderful just as it is. Great community and great website.
Congratulation and THANK YOU for your effort and the quality of the site!!
As I am still a fan of Saabs United as well as a part of the team, from my point of view it has grown incredibly and Tim and Till have both done a great job in bringing the site to a new level. Saabs United has become something that I couldn’t imagine living without, I have made a ton of friends on here and the common love for Saab is something that helps to let me know that none of us are alone in this. I look forward to being able to write about exciting stuff in the future and think that by being a blog we allow this to be a living site and is why we continue to grow because we give people a voice and a place to be heard. Thank you Tim and Till but most importantly, you the reader and commentator that make Saabs United what it is.
In my language they have a saying, vaguely translated going like this: ‘A man’s maturity is thru his writing.’ You folks are almost there. Keep calm and carry on. The writing is not on the wall yet, not yet by a long shot.
Thanks to Tim and the entire SU team. I check the site several time a day; I can’t get through my morning coffee without it! Then I usually check back later in the day to read any new postings. This is my primary and first-checked source for all things SAAB. Keep up the good work and stay positive!
There will always be people who sometimes have an opposite opinion in some questions. You can´t satisfy everybody. However, you do a great jobb and can be proud of SaabsUnited.Congratulation to the anniversery.
I have tried other Saab sites and I have settled with this one because it is the pre-eminent forum for discussion about Saab’s present and its future. I am fascinated by Saab’s history and I love the old models, but I have no desire to live in the past. The discussion here is generally forward-thinking, international in outlook and mostly of a very high standard. I used to read Saabs United regularly when Swade was in charge but never commented on stories. I started doing that after Tim took over, so you guys must be doing somthing right for me…
Bra gjört!
Obs – bra gjort! 🙂
Thank you TimR and everybody else at Su. You do a great job.
I hope you will be able to give us the good news soon. With focus on the word “you” as much as the word “soon”.
One Year after SU
What a year. Very high highs and dreadful lows.
It’s good to see that SU has ploughed on. You guys have done a few things I always wanted to do with SU (some I even attempted and failed with due to lack of time/knowledge). You’ve also done some things I wouldn’t have done. That’s the beauty of independence and ownership – it’s yours to play with as you please.
Congratulations on retaining your sanity after a very stressful 12 months. The circumstances under which you’ve operated SU have been very demanding, much more than your readers will ever know, I’m sure.
Doing something like SU can be like a drug. The news cycle and everything involved with it can make demands that test not only your resources, but also your drive and your integrity. When it comes off, it’s a wonderful thing.
I hope you get some wonderful things in your life this year.
Who said we retained sanity?
But we indeed got to know how it must have been for you in 2009/2010. My respect.
I was being diplomatic. The evidence will speak for itself, of course, and is for your wife/partner to judge only 🙂
It has been a tough ride since late 2009. My respect to the former and current SaabsUnited team.
Wow, it’s only been a year? It feels so much longer…
Swade really seems to have been idolized here, and though I too am a huge Swade-fan, he isn’t infallible–and I feel he is unfairly brought up in criticism of the SU team. Too often the basis of those criticisms are untrue (“Swade would never have done [whatever]”), and I can imagine the sting since the SU team consists of regular commenters during Swade’s ownership of the site.
That being said, the site is a bit different and not exactly run the same–but that’s fine. The integrity of the site is still there, news and opinion both, in my own opinion. I can only imagine the hassle and pressure the crew deal with on a daily basis, especially in times of panic in the comments.
Congrats to the SU team for surviving your one-year anniversary 😀
I would not have enough words to thank you all the SU Team and Tim for the incredible work they have kept doing in such difficult circumstances. Only Saab could attract such strong, smart and brave people like.
Thank you and, please, whatever happens move on. The millions of Saab cars on the road will not disappear soon anyway.
As Saab communication is over for now, we are all here happy to be able to read saabsunited, the only website that is able to give a representation of Saab drivers in the world to the medias. 200.000 unique visitors is incredible. Bravo!
SU is a well run and valuable resource under the current management, and it has a cadre of borderline insane people taking part in forums. What more could a SAAB fan ask for from a site. Great job!
Tim, Till and the entire SU infrastructure:
Congratulations on your first year! To maintain and to grow the site post-swade is no small feat. I say that, not implying that Swade was or is a god or otherwise omnipotent person, but rather because regardless of what “it” may be – in this case “it” is SU and Swade – it is usually very difficult, of not impossible, to carry on after the “original” is gone.
Many times, whether Otis music, movies, books etc, when the “original” that drew in the “fans and followers” is gone, trying to replace or even emulate rarely works.
In the case of SU I think you have been successful because you have not tried to emulate Swade but rather youintrauterine your own thumb print on SU, handled it as you saw fit and paid tribute to Swade as appropriate.
I was a visitor during swades time and still am now. Yes, styles maybe different but the end goal is the same: keep us abreast of what is going on in the world of Saab.
I visit daily and perhaps more times than any sane man should, but who said sanity has any place in the heart of a fan(atic)?
Differences in style and viewpoint are good, healthy even. After all what is more “different” than Saab?
So congratulations on year one, here is to a great year two and looking forward to many more after that.