December 15, 2000. That’s when I started blogging. In seven years a lot has happened. The first two years of my blog have disappeared. They might be on a hard drive somewhere, I’m still trying to track them down. Dave Winer first linked to me on December 29th (sent me about 3,000 people, if I remember my stats right).
The term “weblog” is 10 years old on Monday. So lots of blogging birthdays. Jorn Barger, the guy who came up with the name, has some tips for new bloggers to celebrate. It’s good advice and advice I try to listen to. It’s amazing that I was three years behind Jorn but that when I started there was still only a very small community of bloggers (less than 200 that I could find — I did some research since Dori Smith asked me to do a session on blogging at the Internet conference I was helping Dan Shafer plan).
The Internet Archive has some of my posts backed up, but the earliest one they have is from February 2001 and the one they have from 9/11 is totally gone.
When I started I had absolutely no idea I’d have worked at two of the world’s biggest technology companies, at least in part because of my blog (NEC and Microsoft) and that I’d have so many fantastic experiences.
Truth is that this form of communication is still in its infancy. Imagine talking about newspapers just 10 years after they were developed and thinking “this is it, no more to do.” Yeah, right.
2008 is going to bring us live streaming video from our cell phones. What’s beyond that? Who knows, but I’m along for the ride!
Thanks to everyone who has sent me a link, called me an idiot, put up with my questions and laugh, read my posts without saying anything, or just joined me someplace for coffee. There are way too many people who’ve added something to my life to list. Dave Winer certainly is at the head of that list, so I’m glad we got to spend the afternoon together today.
In the past seven years I’ve survived:
1. The bubble bursting.
2. A car wreck.
3. A terrorist attack.
4. A divorce.
5. My grandma dying.
6. My mom dying.
7. A new marriage.
8. Five moves.
9. Five jobs (soon to be six).
10. Three URLS (1 http://scobleizer.manilasites.com 2. http://scoble.weblogs.com 3. http://scobleizer.com ).
11. I don’t know how many social networks I’ve been on (Twitter, Upcoming, Seesmic, Kyte, Flickr, Orkut, MySpace, Google Reader, Facebook, Yelp, Pownce, Jaiku are some of the ones I’m on currently).
12. Successfully getting Patrick into teenage years.
13. Birth of a new son, Milan.
14. Writing a book about corporate blogging with Shel Israel, “Naked Conversations.”
15. A new bubble?
Whew, and that doesn’t include the hundreds of interviews I’ve done (about 500 while at Microsoft and about 300 since then) or all the Google Reader shared items (about 8,000 — UPDATE: I just passed 8,000) or the posts I’ve done (I have no clue).
One regret? I’ve never gone back and read old items I’ve posted other then the few I’ve linked to here. I really should look back a bit more and see what life was like.
Anyway, I hope I’m here with you all seven years from now celebrating Milan’s seventh birthday. I wonder what’s going to happen in the next seven years?
Let’s take that ride together, shall we?
Congrats! Robert .. saw your Twit before I read your blog
Congrats to your great and insightful blog!
Congrats to your great and insightful blog!
Congratulations! Keep up the prolificness (new word?) Your information keeps so many people on the bleeding edge, we all appreciate it (no matter how often we don’t email you a thank you).
Thank You (see, there’s one:)
Congratulations! Keep up the prolificness (new word?) Your information keeps so many people on the bleeding edge, we all appreciate it (no matter how often we don’t email you a thank you).
Thank You (see, there’s one:)
Congratulations Robert!
An idea: It would be interesting to make some predictions of what will happen in the coming years. Then, on December 2014, we’ll check how good we were on forecasting the future…
Congratulations Robert!
An idea: It would be interesting to make some predictions of what will happen in the coming years. Then, on December 2014, we’ll check how good we were on forecasting the future…
My sincere congratulations! May your next seven years be even better.
My sincere congratulations! May your next seven years be even better.
Congratulations Robert – life is some journey isn’t it?
Congratulations Robert – life is some journey isn’t it?
[...] Happy Anniversary, Robert – I can’t believe it’s been seven years already. It’s fun to be linkblogging with you. [...]
[...] Scoble wrote on his blog he has been writing blogs for seven years now, but I would have expected that from him. He is , it seems to this outsider very prolific in all he does. He wrote also about where the term came from,who coined the term, one Jorn Barger, of Robot Wisdom and Mr. S. stated that the advice that Jorn has for those of us who blog is good advice that he himself follows. [...]
Posted on this – and it was nice meeting you at LeWeb3 this week – good fortune on the new job – wherever it ends up being (I guess we’ll find out on January 15th, though I get TechCrunch and OmMalik will leak it earlier).
Thanks again,
marshall
Posted on this – and it was nice meeting you at LeWeb3 this week – good fortune on the new job – wherever it ends up being (I guess we’ll find out on January 15th, though I get TechCrunch and OmMalik will leak it earlier).
Thanks again,
marshall
congratulations robert! it HAS been a great ride. the future seems so bright. thanks for all your great insights, and for the not great ones too. :>)
it’s a process, and it’s fun.
congratulations robert! it HAS been a great ride. the future seems so bright. thanks for all your great insights, and for the not great ones too. :>)
it’s a process, and it’s fun.
[...] Robert Scoble has started a fun trip down memory lane for all of us with his post “Celebrating Seven Years of Blogging.” [...]
Congratulations! It will be exciting to see where we go from here! Good Luck!
Congratulations! It will be exciting to see where we go from here! Good Luck!
Hi Robert, Happy next 7 years from Amsterdam Holland!
Hi Robert, Happy next 7 years from Amsterdam Holland!
Congratulations, especially on the sheer quantity (and quality) of the interviews. There’s a lot of value in those alone. Isn’t it a blast to review a lengthy period of time and collectively see everything that you survived and went through just to be where you are today?
Congratulations, especially on the sheer quantity (and quality) of the interviews. There’s a lot of value in those alone. Isn’t it a blast to review a lengthy period of time and collectively see everything that you survived and went through just to be where you are today?
[...] was reading Scoble’s post about his 7th year of blogging and some of the issues he’s had locating his old post that have gotten lost for several [...]
Hey Robert,
Congratulations. Your post prompted me to take a look for my old posts from 1997 and it’s funny, but they are still up on some old AOL pages of mine.
http://offonatangent.blogspot.com/2007/12/behind-scenes-blog.html
–Steve
Hey Robert,
Congratulations. Your post prompted me to take a look for my old posts from 1997 and it’s funny, but they are still up on some old AOL pages of mine.
http://offonatangent.blogspot.com/2007/12/behind-scenes-blog.html
–Steve
Well done! I started in july, 2005.
Well done! I started in july, 2005.
” Seven Years of Blogging
In the past seven years I’ve survived:
…
4. A divorce.”
Mmmnn. Wonder if the two are related?
Very true what you say about regretting not going back and looking at old blogs. I did that with a hardcopy journal I used to keep and learned a lot; mostly about how the same themes kept cropping up.
” Seven Years of Blogging
In the past seven years I’ve survived:
…
4. A divorce.”
Mmmnn. Wonder if the two are related?
Very true what you say about regretting not going back and looking at old blogs. I did that with a hardcopy journal I used to keep and learned a lot; mostly about how the same themes kept cropping up.
Kubla: they probably are related, actually. Blogging helps you learn yourself better. After 9/11 and my car wreck, though, I decided to live every day like it was my last. That accelerated everything a lot more.
Kubla: they probably are related, actually. Blogging helps you learn yourself better. After 9/11 and my car wreck, though, I decided to live every day like it was my last. That accelerated everything a lot more.
Yay! Happy birthday, scobelizer!!
Yay! Happy birthday, scobelizer!!
7 years. That’s quite a while.
7 years. That’s quite a while.
A long way from the days at Fawcette. No?
Congrats on hanging in there for seven years.
–rj
A long way from the days at Fawcette. No?
Congrats on hanging in there for seven years.
–rj
Seven years is a pretty long time. And when did I just start blogging again? *scratches head* Those seven years of yours, as you have so deftly summarized, have seen a lot of action. It makes me think about how much we don’t know about our future. We can make lots of plans and some of them might push through… But we will never be certain of what really awaits us. Like being involved in two really big companies as you say… Being able to reflect on what has happened is a really grand way of appreciating life.
Seven years is a pretty long time. And when did I just start blogging again? *scratches head* Those seven years of yours, as you have so deftly summarized, have seen a lot of action. It makes me think about how much we don’t know about our future. We can make lots of plans and some of them might push through… But we will never be certain of what really awaits us. Like being involved in two really big companies as you say… Being able to reflect on what has happened is a really grand way of appreciating life.
What makes me thinking is that you survived a lot in 7 years of your life but your blog posts didn’t survive 7 years of technological updates. I think many people have this experience about their digital data. I use computers since the early 80′s and most of my stuff can’t be accessed anymore. As I wrote in my article http://www.indranet.org/technological-updates-and-the-right-to-silence/ my grandmom paper pictures are still there and will be there for a further long time, but I doubt my digital ones will be available to my grandchildren.
What makes me thinking is that you survived a lot in 7 years of your life but your blog posts didn’t survive 7 years of technological updates. I think many people have this experience about their digital data. I use computers since the early 80′s and most of my stuff can’t be accessed anymore. As I wrote in my article http://www.indranet.org/technological-updates-and-the-right-to-silence/ my grandmom paper pictures are still there and will be there for a further long time, but I doubt my digital ones will be available to my grandchildren.
Complete congrats…. And of course, the best is yet to come!
Cheers to you and your family,
Betsy
Complete congrats…. And of course, the best is yet to come!
Cheers to you and your family,
Betsy
Congrats and respect. You’re a survivor!
Congrats and respect. You’re a survivor!
Well done and congratulations. Thank you for sharing. It would be interesting to find out what it will be like seven years from now. Where and far the internet progress. Blessings
Well done and congratulations. Thank you for sharing. It would be interesting to find out what it will be like seven years from now. Where and far the internet progress. Blessings
great read
including the comments