No time for running away now...

Well, here we are, well and truly ensconced in 2007. Of course, New Year is traditionally a time for looking back on what has gone before, planning for the future and so on, so it would be remiss of me not to do something along those lines.

Personally, I wouldn't say 2006 was the most eventful year ever, but it was certainly a pretty successful one overall. Elite Bastards' readership grew substantially in my first full year at the helm, seeing us reach that critical mass where we actually get pretty decent pickings on the sample front. My 'real' job has been somewhat turbulent for reasons I'll explain in a bit, but in a good way at the end of it all. Oh, and I finally figured out that the ex-wife is a sociopath and pathological liar, which must count for something? It certainly makes me glad to be away from all that hassle. On the flip side of that I've met some awesome people during the year, some of whom will hopefully remain a big part of my life in this coming twelve months.

So, what of 2007? Well, one of my bigger challenges will begin in February as part of my 'real' job - With the contract I'm currently assigned to petering out at the end of January, I'll be moving into a new role, in which I've basically been given my own department (dealing with remote, proactive support) with a free reign to improve and extend it as I see fit. There's going to be a lot to learn, but it sounds like an exciting opportunity to me - I look forward to getting stuck into it.

Then, of course, there's Elite Bastards, which involves the tough job of maintaining the pattern of growth we set for ourselves in 2006. As I write this, I've basically sealed the deal on getting an additional hardware reviewer on board, and am just trying to sort out the kinks to make his life easier hopefully. I also have someone else whose promised to kick out a load of game reviews, so hopefully our editorial output should be even greater this year. Once that has settled down, it may be time to start looking into the dreaded advertising to bring some revenue back to the site. Finally, in the first weeks of the year one of our intrepid reporters (aka Jollemi) is going to be jetting off to CES in Las Vegas, which is a pretty damn good start to proceedings if you ask me.

All in all then, you could say I've set myself some pretty hefty challenges for the year, which is both exciting and a little scary. Wish me luck!