This Is My 50,000th Techdirt Post, And I'm Busy Working On 50,001

from the milestones dept

So here's a bit of a fun milestone. This blog post will be my 50,000th blog post on Techdirt, which is kind of insane when you think about it. I noticed last year that I was approaching that number and have checked back periodically to see where I was. Last month I realized I was 100 posts away, and have been watching the counter move along until now, the 50,000th post on the site.

For what it's worth, the Guinness World Records folks still claim that the world record for "most prolific professional blogger" was Darren Murph and his measly 17,212 posts for Engadget in 2010. By that time I already had over 30,000 posts, but apparently Guinness is not too concerned about accuracy. In 2014, I had reached out to Guinness just to suggest that their record there was wrong, but rather than investigating the matter themselves, they sent me a huge form to apply for my own record, which would involve a ton of work to "document" all my posts, and, honestly, who the hell has time for that, when there are more blog posts to write.

Anyway, just for fun, I thought I'd link back to some other "milestone" posts, starting with my very first post, which was actually a copy of an email newsletter I sent out in August of 1997. For the first few years, it really was mostly just a newsletter, and I'd take the emails and post them to the website as well. The first "real" blog post to the site came on March 12, 1999, and was about E*Trade launching a corporate venture fund. Exciting stuff, I know. The 10,000th post came on January 2nd of 2003, discussing how American kids weren't texting as much as kids elsewhere (of course, back then we called it "wireless messaging" because "texting" hadn't been invented yet in the old times). The reasoning? More use of instant messaging on computers at home as compared to in other countries (and less use of public transportation). I'd imagine crappy phones had a role as well.

The 25,000th post was in November of 2006 and was about banks acting surprised that insiders were a big data breach threat -- again, not the most exciting of Techdirt fare, but I don't make the rules. I just write the posts. Anyway, given that I got to 25,000 posts by 2006, it's pretty clear that my prolific nature has slowed quite a bit in my later years. Those first 25,000 or so came in about 7 years, and it took another 14 to get the next 25,000 posts. I'm going to have to pick up the pace to get to 100,000 posts.

At least I know I have more than 17,212.

Anyway, a special thanks to everyone who has visited Techdirt over the years, whether you've read all 50,000 of my posts, or this is your first one. It's been quite a journey, and it wouldn't have happened if no one ever read anything I wrote...

Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: 50000, posts, records, techdirt


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. icon
    Samuel Abram (profile), 27 Apr 2020 @ 2:08pm

    Congrats!

    Conglaturation! Thanks for making this website the place to which I keep coming back, and even give money (as my "insider" label attests)!

    Thanks for everything you did to get this far!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Stephen T. Stone (profile), 27 Apr 2020 @ 3:40pm

    Congrats! 🎉

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. icon
    ysth (profile), 27 Apr 2020 @ 4:20pm

    O, from this time forth, my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing wroth

    Happy next 50000, Mike!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2020 @ 4:27pm

    Clearly you’re just a shill for Big Number.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. icon
    Chris ODonnell (profile), 27 Apr 2020 @ 4:35pm

    When did we first exchange blog comments about OOTP? That would have been around the time I started reading here - so maybe 2000 or 2001? Looking forward to post 100,000!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2020 @ 5:16pm

    Re: Why do they even let this guy post anymore?

    he never posts anything "classic techdirt"

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2020 @ 7:04pm

    Is the paperwork for correcting the record something you have to do, or something somebody else could?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Apr 2020 @ 8:57pm

    Here's to another 50,000 posts, Mike, each and every one of them exposing how people in copyright, patent, trademark, government, law enforcement, etc misbehave - and their sympathizers moaning and screaming and cursing like the Nigerian 419 scammers profiled on 419eater.com.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    OGquaker, 27 Apr 2020 @ 9:10pm

    Thankyou

    Sadly, TechDirt is the last, and only place i come for news. Not very well-rounded, Eh?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. icon
    DocGerbil100 (profile), 27 Apr 2020 @ 10:01pm

    Looked at the links, including that very first blog post. Did people really call it "the hi-tech industry" back then? It all feels so charmingly young. :D

    Many congratulations, Mr Masnick.
    Onward to 100,000! Onward and upward! :)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Pixelation, 27 Apr 2020 @ 10:16pm

    For those of us who haven't read all 50,000, can you sum them all up in one paragraph for us?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    fred.bloggs, 27 Apr 2020 @ 10:45pm

    We're talking numerology here, and there's only one question:

    Looking back at content milestones instead of counter milestones,
    there's really only ONE number that matters:

    What number was the blog post counter up to when you coined the
    term "The Streisand Effect"?!

    (Asking for a friend...)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. icon
    Scary Devil Monastery (profile), 28 Apr 2020 @ 12:18am

    Re:

    "Clearly you’re just a shill for Big Number."

    Ah, the Googleplex?

    ...wait a minute...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. icon
    Scary Devil Monastery (profile), 28 Apr 2020 @ 12:29am

    Congratulations

    Out of the ink that covers me
    Black as the font from thin to bold,
    I thank whatever gods may be
    For my unconquerable soul.

    In the fell clutch of online polls,
    I have not winced nor cried aloud.
    Under the bludgeonings of trolls,
    My head is bloody, but unbowed.

    Beyond this place of wrath and tears
    Looms but the Horror of real life,
    And yet the menace of the years
    Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

    It matters not how strait the gate,
    How charged with lies and smears the page,
    I am the master of my fate:
    I am the captain of my blog.

    A small, shamelessly stolen and casually amended tribute, Mike. Congratz and here's to another 50,000 attempts at bringing a little more sanity into an increasingly fscked-up world.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Rocky, 28 Apr 2020 @ 12:44am

    Re:

    "People do stupid shit and we report it" is one way to sum it all up...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. icon
    Code Monkey (profile), 28 Apr 2020 @ 2:52am

    50,000 milestone

    Seriously, congratulations, Mike. Good on you

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. icon
    Flakbait (profile), 28 Apr 2020 @ 3:49am

    Terns

    Get an intern (or two) to collate your posts and to fill out the Guinness paperwork. This would be ideal for business/marketing students looking for an internship.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. icon
    timlash (profile), 28 Apr 2020 @ 6:35am

    Congrats Mike!

    Congrats on such a prolific career. Happy to be an Insider helping to keep things going. Hope all is well, and I look forward to the next 50,000!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    Quick Brown Fox, 28 Apr 2020 @ 7:22am

    Congratulations!

    Way to go, Mike! What an amazing milestone! Keep fighting the good fight(s), and you'll continue to have readers like me cheering you on and supporting Techdirt. Here's hoping you still have wind in your sails when you reach another awesome milestone of 100,000 posts!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 28 Apr 2020 @ 9:20am

    I've been happily reading anonymously since 1998. I doubt I've read every one of your posts Mike, but I consumed them all in the early days! Now with more contributors, it's a bit more time consuming so I pick and choose.

    Anyway, well done!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. icon
    Atkray (profile), 28 Apr 2020 @ 2:00pm

    Time

    "and, honestly, who the hell has time for that, when there are more blog posts to write. "

    Well, since you stripped him of his only claim to fame may I suggest our dear friend Shiva Ayyadurai.

    This record seems particularly well suited to his special talents.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  22. icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), 28 Apr 2020 @ 2:21pm

    Re: We're talking numerology here, and there's only one question

    We have run the numbers... and it was post #19,850

    link to this | view in thread ]

  23. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 28 Apr 2020 @ 3:49pm

    Stop writing longer, well-thought posts, i guess? More short and blurby!

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.