25 Years Ago Today… Techdirt Got Started!
On August 23rd, 1997, I sent out this emailed newsletter - which was then called Up-To-Date - to various business school colleagues. That was exactly 25 years ago, and that began dragging me down the path of what became Techdirt early the following year (when I realized it might be nice to have a website to post the copies of the newsletter on, rather than just sending them out over email).
A lot has changed since then, but... a lot really hasn't.
Even just looking back at that first newsletter there are some fun snippets. I was joking about an effort by some universities to try to reinvent the internet (I referred to it as Internet 3" - somewhat mocking another effort, called Internet2, which somehow apparently still exists). We also wrote about Experian (freshly renamed from TRW, but still with a huge legacy of doing terrible stuff) had enabled people to check their credit info online, only to discover security problems.
Some things just never change.
I also talked about how Snap!, the now-long-forgotten portal" by CNET (which kinda still exists, though is really just a part of CBS's web properties), was destined for failure. Of course, today Snap means Snapchat, the social media site.
Anyway, over the next few weeks, I'm going to try to look back at a few more of those original newsletters. We'll also have a few other anniversary related things going on - culminating in a fun, interactive live (virtual) event on September 9th (details to come soon). That event will be open to anyone subscribed to one of the current ongoing (monthly or yearly) Techdirt Insider packages (Crystal Ball, Watercooler, or Behind the Curtain - or the equivalent levels via our Patreon). If you'd like to attend and are not a subscriber, now would be a good time to join.
It's kind of wild to think that, in some way or another, I've been doing this for 25 years. When I wrote that first newsletter, I wasn't even sure there would ever be a second, let alone 25 years worth of content which now includes almost 80,000 total posts (~51,000 of which are mine). And, I don't plan on slowing down much either. There are still lots of things to talk about, and the things I'm talking about these days seem a lot more important and relevant to a lot more people than joking about random internet things two and a half decades ago...
As always, though, none of this happens without the community here and - especially since we've removed ads from the site - the people who directly support Techdirt and help keep it running. So, a huge thank you goes out to everyone just reading this, and doubly so to those who have supported us one way or another over the years. We literally could not have done it without you.