Congratulations John Gruber on the tenth anniversary of Daring Fireball, which despite its age has become more and more relevant. When Daring Fireball started, there were very few blogs. There were even fewer bloggers who were knowledgable, and didn’t shy away from sharing their opinion. And there were even fewer who knew how to use the language of Shakespeare to devastating effect. And there were just two, who liked the Yankees. 

And perhaps that is why I have enjoyed reading him. Do I agree with him? Not always. Do I get annoyed by what he says? Of course, but if I didn’t then he would have failed as a commentator. Does he inform me – pretty much every day. And oh, boy does he annoy the Yankee haters. It is fantastic to see him hit a milestone – not the first, not last. 

When he started, Apple was a company that was a David. Today, it is a goliath and dominates the markets it creates. The Mac movement, John represented has lost its spiritual leader. Apple, despite what we might think, is no different than any company. Sure, it makes products that many like, but it is a company that lost its soul a year ago. It has competition and of course it has distractors. This is an awkward phase in the life of a company.

Apple is transforming from a company that makes beautiful hardware and software to one that offers a connected experience. It is a company that is battling with not just with Google, Microsoft and Samsung, but also the demons of Internet. It is most importantly fighting a battle with its past, as it tries to reinvent a new destiny. This makes Gruber’s world more complex, more challenging. Like many of us who blog, he has a bigger audience and more distractors. [Here are two links from DaringFireball archives that I think are worth reading that give you a clear idea on Gruber and his motivations. ]

Personally, I still enjoy stopping by at the DaringFireball. Like Dave Winer’s blog, Gruber is my one daily read. If I don’t, I feel, something is missing. I am constantly amazed at new things he finds to write about every day.

Over the years we have gotten to know each other, and enjoy talking baseball. We first met when John was working for Joyent, a company co-founded by Jason Hoffman. 

When Gruber is in SF, meet him for a drink. Bourbon or beer for him, water or tea for me. It is fun to see DF turn 10. Over the past decade, like Kottke, Gruber hasn’t changed his design very much. His formula is pretty much the same – short pithy posts with pointers to other people’s work. In curation, he is sharing his opinion. Today, his style of blogging has inspired others such as Jim Dalrymple. 

If John had comments, I would have left this message on his blog, but since he doesn’t, I am taking a more public route in sharing my appreciation for what he does, day in day out. Last year, my blogging turned 10 and I can safely say – it is perhaps the most fulfilling thing I have ever done. I still get up, every day, and find that I love blogging. And so does Gruber.