I started this blog on Saturday 3 March 2007. The first post was on President Ahmadinejad’s comments on Iran’s uranium enrichment program, famously comparing it to a train with no breaks. It feels like ages ago, yet so new!
Back then, I expected to have few readers, perhaps some friends and family. But Internet is a serious business. These days, the blog is visited by more than 500 readers (unique visitors) a day; by no means a big number in the cyberspace, but probably not a bad start for a little blog on Iran written not in Farsi but in English. Yesterday, we had more than 1,500 visitors, and more than 4,000 page loads, with Admiral Mullen’s comments on Iran’s nuclear capabilities and the arrest in Tehran of the journalist Roxna Saberi generating lots of interests, and with Hoffingtonpost.com and CNN.com linking Uskowi on Iran to their coverage of those breaking stories.
The biggest thing that happened to us last year, however, was the arrival of Mark Pyruz on 19 April to become the co-author and the co-administrator of the blog. Mark brings to the table a depth of knowledge on Iran and specifically on Iranian military development that is unparalleled in the field today. His first post, Iran Air Force Photo Gallery, and the subsequent Iranian military photo/video galleries, have become points of reference for the students of Iranian military, and are continually visited by hundreds of readers each day.
Mark acts as our military analyst, and I try to comment on the political implications of the country’s nuclear and military developments and its internal politics, acting as the political analyst if you will. This year we are hoping to have other authors joining us to concentrate on economic and social issues facing Iran, Insha’Allah!
Mark joins me to thank you all for your readership, your comments and your support. It’s great to follow issues facing Iran together with you all. Please post comments or email us on how we can improve this blog going forward.
Mamnoon,
Nader
Congradulations!
ReplyDeleteThis is a neat little blog. I do hope you have the opportunity to grow it even more in the coming years.
Masoud
good blog from the viewpoint of two armchair generals
ReplyDeleteMasoud and Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThanks much for your messages and your support in these two years.
Anonymous, thanks.
nader
Congratulations. It has, of course, been and will continue to be a very useful blog for a wide range of people. Thank you and congratulations once again.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Foad jan. Your compliments mean a lot for us.
ReplyDeleteMer 30,
Nader
Dear Nader,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your significant accomplishment that undoubtedly required knowledge, experience and hard work of a dedicated team.
All the Best
Basimah
Dear Basimah,
ReplyDeleteThank much for your kind words. Your support is so valuable to us.
Nader