KDO: 28 Years Later…
It’s getting a little ridiculous, isn’t it? 28 years of kottke.org, as of today. Older than Google. Older than The Matrix. Older than Christopher Nolan’s feature film career. Older than Elle Fanning. Older than Kurt Cobain when he died. 47,300 posts since March 14, 1998. It might outlast American democracy.
KDO retains its old school vibe but with some new tricks. Friends and readers have remarked recently that I seem to be having fun with the site again and that’s true. Still excited by the possibilities of what the site could become. I hope you’ve been enjoying it.
I’d like to once again thank KDO members for supporting the site — I never get tired of the member thanking. They each pay a few dollars a month to keep the site free to read for everyone, regardless of income, something I feel very strongly about in this era of paywalled media. As Hamilton Nolan has noted — his site operates on the same principle — sites/newsletters like these have progressive funding structures, where people’s contributions are based on their ability to pay to help keep the site available to all. If you’d like to help support the site in this mission, you can check out your membership options here. ✌️
P.S. I hope you enjoy the birthday logo and fireworks — they’ll be around until Monday.
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Totally ridiculous - well done! That means I've been reading your site for 26 years already - oh boy - time flies.
I remember all the earliest tinkering I did with different coding in 1997-98, flow states causing me to stay up all night, my wee website with its list of recommended links (including KDO!), writing about whatever I wanted, how much fun it was to redesign and redesign and redesign over the next decade. Then I changed direction. You built something truly you and magnetic to those of us following along. 28 years is marvelous! Thrilled to be here, to discover what you think up next.
I turned 50 recently, and a dear friend included in his birthday note the line “you know how the internet used to work and you’re never giving up on what it was supposed to be” which, aside from making me feel very seen and loved, is a great description of why I’m a KDO member.
Congrats on (and thanks for) another year, Jason.
Congrats. Crazy you are zooming towards 30 years.
Pretty sure I’ve been here for at least 27 of them. Congratulations. Truly you’ve made something iconic.
Congratulations! Thank you so much for keeping this site the interesting and informative place it's always been, and for your principles in keeping this community a great place to re-visit.
Happy Birthday KDO! I was not lucky enough to find you but a mere 10 years ago but ever happy I did. Keep it up; it is so wonderful to visit this place daily...I mean several times a day...refresh!
Congratulations 🎉 you’re an inspiration🙇🏾♀️
Looks like I've been reading since November 2nd or 3rd of 1999, before even I, possible midwife to the awkward word, was using "blog" to describe what we were doing:
"I was pointed to Jason's log by a comment Evan made in a project we're both in which we're managing in Pyra. I do enjoy this slipping from connection to connection. Hypertext is, to me, intrinsically pleasing."
Jason, you are a great blogger, but even more you are a great curator of hypertext, a guide to the delight of connection and discovery. Thank you for over a quarter century of that pleasure!
Happy birthday, KDO! Now bring back 0sil8!
Congrats to outlasting MySpace, Friendster, Tumblr, Vine and The Beatles.
Congratulations! Quite the milestone. I am grateful you keep maintaining and evolving the site. The web wouldn’t be the same without your voice.
PS: love the fireworks.
PPS: do you use Claude Code or any other AI tools to develop on the site?
Congratulations, Jason and Happy Birthday KDO!
Thank you Jason, for what you've brought to so many!
Congratulations to you ( and all of Us). You’ve put your ingenuity and curiosity to serve your fellow … (humans?, travelers?, citizens? Pick one!) for a long time and with a great effort . This is more than many people can say
To me this is invaluable. I learned to enjoy “the web” with you
Here to another year!
Thank you for all you do to make the internet still feel like the joyous, mysterious, personality-filled place I fell in love with as a kid.
Happy Birthday, KDO and thank you for all your posts! 🥳😍 Here‘s to 28 more years. 🥂
Congratulations and thank you for doing what you do! The fireworks are amazing.
Congratulations and thanks for keeping it always fresh and engaging! May kottke.org go on for at least another 28!
A wonderful thing. Congratulations, Jason! I hope you're taking the day or week or month to celebrate properly. It's a great occasion.
holy crap/congrats! it's both shocking & a comfort to realize how long it's been lol. cheers to you & thx for keepin' on!
ps fireworks & header are awesome =)
Congratulations! I’ve been a reader since the spacer gifs design!
Congratulations, Jason! Keep up the great work.
Mazel tov! I don't recall exactly when I discovered the site, but it was 2006-2007, when I was editing my book. That means I've been visiting for ~20 years now. Thanks for all the fine hypertext products! Here's hoping for many more.
My partner's mother recently asked me, "So what's a good site to visit on the internet?" The recommendation was obvious. Here's to 28 more!
❤️❤️❤️
Congrats, Jason! So glad it's getting fun again. The site has been getting more and more essential in the last 14 months or so, just quite figure what's happened in that time....
Keep it up! and thank you!
Well done Jason, congratulations! I’ve enjoyed the site for over 25 of these 28 years and became a member far too late. I really enjoy how thoughtful, inspiring, and supportive the members are and I think it not only speaks highly of them but even more so of what you’ve made and continue to create.
Happy birthday! 💞
You’re doing it right, Jason! Congratulations!
I'm a longtime reader but I decided to subscribe today! I really appreciate your writing during these incredibly rough dark times! Congratulations on the amazing milestone!
Congrats on being older than the Blackberry, the iPhone, Furby, GoGurt, Dasani, Splenda, and on surviving Y2K!
Such a good reminder to renew my membership! Congrats, and thanks for all the 🐠 ehm links :)
Congratulations! I've loved being along for the ride.
KOTTKE FOREVER
Congratulations Jason! We're coming up on our 30 year anniversary, so I know exactly how hard it is to achieve this longevity. But when you do something you love, it's all worth it.
Congratulations Jason! I'm thankful for what you do; it's wild to think I've been reading your site since I was 14 (28 years ago).
Happy Birthday!
(The "might outlast American democracy" line is ... oof.)
My reading start date was in 2002 or 2003. Each day in my cubicle began with a happy scan of Fred Wilson's VC blog (avc.com), Grace Bonney's (design*sponge), and yours. Grace has retired, Fred arcs his blog from the blockchain (i.e. the what-now?), but you - we're stuck with you, and quite happy about it!
Thank you for entertaining us for 28 years and mostly for your commitment to making the internet a better place to visit. Been reading you for most of that ride and to this day, my now adult kids will ask me if I've found anything awesome on Kottke lately!
Congrats Jason! And that means I've been reading KDO for nearly as long, maybe Y2K (wow is that an old-timey term). As long as you continue to do this, count me as a member
I’ve been reading Kottke.org for about twenty years now. It’s become not just a kind of internet wunderkammer for me, but also a highlight reel of the web. Often I find myself thinking that yours might be my favourite job in the world: following whatever sparks your curiosity and sharing it with the rest of us with such enthusiasm. But I could never do your thing as well!
On a personal note, for me the internet has always felt like a kind of borderless place, separate from the countries we happen to live in, so the increasing presence of US party politics sometimes makes me a little nostalgic for the older internet, when politics wasn’t really on the table and sites like yours felt more like places within a shared universe. Perhaps we’ll get that back one day — though I have to admit Europe seems to be heading in a similar direction.
In any case, thank you for twenty-five years of links, ideas, and rabbit holes. Keep it up! (It’s also the world’s greatest gift guide.)
Congrats Jason! Thank you for keeping it going and sharing it with the rest of us.
Congratulations! I'm looking forward to seeing new innovations, especially in the chopped sandwich arena.
Congratulations to my daily habit since 2004.
Happy Birthday Kottke!!
Fantastic to have this site be part of my life!
Looking forward to the fireworks every new year!
Congratulations! You are simply The Best.
Suz from Vancouver
Feliz cumple! Amazing legacy.
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Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions. Or try logging out and then back in. Still having trouble? Email me!