At some point earlier this summer, my webmaster and I were trying to figure out when we actually started this blog. Andrewsullivan.com went live in November 1999, but it wasn’t till the following spring that we brainstormed and figured out we needed live updates to keep the thing fresh. Then we found Blogger; and the first blogged posts as such began (we think) in early July 2000. We’re not sure exactly when, and maybe someone out there with more time on their hands could tell us. But I remember writing immediate responses to the conventions that year; and so, in semi-arbitrary fashion, we’ve designated this month as our fifth blogiversary. In blog years, that’s a long time. As many of you know, I tried to put you all out of your misery last February but couldn’t stop myself. And so here we are. I say “we” not simply because without Robert taking care of everything technical, financial and mind-numbing, this wouldn’t have happened; but also because, this is a group phenomenon and some of you have been with me from the very beginning. It’s you, the readers who have provided me with many of my best links, tips, ideas, facts and arguments. I’d like to say thank you again.
LOOKING BACK: In 2000, the word ‘blog’ barely existed in common discourse; and I had to beg TV producers to cite it under my name. Those were the Clinton years, believe it or not. And the last five years have contained as much news and drama as most decades. But looking back, I can honestly say I have not been taken completely by surprise by the blogosphere’s amazing success. It seemed clear to me from the very start that once you allowed publishing independently of editors or publishers, a revolution was imminent. In the early days, I played a part in pioneering some blog tropes: media micro-criticism, instant news judgment, phony awards, political mini-campaigns (against Lott, Raines or torture), money quotes, etc. These are now staples of the genre. I also hoped that one day, a lone writer could finance himself this way – and so really break the MSM monopoly. It took a while, but advertising now pays most of the bills, and the expenses themselves have come down a lot since the early days. Five years is an infinity in technology. The site now looks dated (and is way more expensive than it need be), which is why we’re in the middle of a sleaker, cheaper-to-run redesign, which we hope to unveil in September. But my main gain as a writer has been the ability to be part of pioneering a new way of writing provisionally and instantly, of thinking out loud, of changing my mind, of engaging in what amounts to a conversation rather than a monologue. That would not have been possible without you and so I consider this a joint anniversary as much as anything. We don’t rely solely on pledge drives to sustain ourselves any more (and haven’t had one in a long while), but if you feel like throwing a contribution in the tip jar at this point, feel free. After five years of daily blogging, donations from our loyal readers are still very much appreciated.
The Dish 