As of today, this blog is officially 20 years old. I started it because I wanted an outlet for my writing – before that, I mostly shared my thoughts via email, mostly but not entirely on various email discussion lists, now all long defunct – and a place to store them that would be accessible by me over time. I didn’t really intend for it to be about politics, but that wound up being what interested me and gave me fodder for basically everyday writing. I’d heard about blogs, had in fact come across a blog written by my friend Ginger, and I asked her how to set one up the next time I saw her. And here we are, two decades later.
I suppose I should have some retrospective, or a Top Ten Posts list or some such, but that’s not how I think. Feel free to nominate something in the comments if there’s a post that stands out to you, but I feel like I’m a force for consistency, so to me it’s just another day of business. My mission is the same, to talk about and analyze local and state politics, with some diversions for transportation and technology and a few other things. I’ve been regularly publishing interviews with political candidates for 15 years, and consider that (the judicial Q&As are a special case of those) and post-election data reviews to be my big selling point. If that sort of thing is your jam, I’ve got it for you.
I know my audience has changed over the course of 20 years – for sure, regular commenters come and go – but I’ve managed to maintain a steady readership, judging by the analytics I occasionally look at. As of this writing, I have 1,406 likes and 1,509 followers for the Off the Kuff Facebook page, so if you feel the need to mark this occasion you could add yourself to those totals, if you’re not already among them. Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, thank you for listening to the interviews, and thank you for all the feedback over the years. It still makes me smile whenever someone tells me they like the blog. Here’s to the next however many years. Happy 2022, y’all.
I know my audience has changed over the course of 20 years – for sure, regular commenters come and go…
Some of us have been here for awhile. (I would guess that I missed maybe the first 2 of the 20 years.)
Happy 20 Years and wishing you many more. Godspeed Charles Kuffner!
Damn, 20 years!
I think I’ve been kicking around here reading your well researched/written articles for a dozen years or so.
Appreciate your local coverage very much. Thank you.
Happy anniversary! I found your blog almost 20 years ago, even before I realized that in IRL you were the friendly neighbor who bought Girl Scout cookies from my daughters. Off the Kuff is the first news I read almost every morning. Thanks for the great blogging and for being such a good neighbor. Hope the next year will be happy and healthy for you and yours.
With the dwindling coverage in legacy newspapers and radio of local political events, I find this a valuable source of community news. Thanks for all your hard work.
Happy anniversary to the blogfather
Where does the time go? Anyway, many thanks and best wishes.
Happy Anniversary,
I appreciate your insight and detailed research. It is hard to believe it has been twenty years. Thanks for all you do.
I still read your stuff almost everyday. I appreciate your writings. I hope you have a happy new year.
I always read this blog and the League of Women voters to help me choose a slate in an election. I’m very grateful. Congratulations!
Congratulations! And many thanks for all the data analysis, focus on difficult topics and ample food for thought that you offer in abundance.
Happy anniversary!
I’ve recommended this blog as a great info source on local/state issues to people I’ve met at various political activities. Keep up the good work in the next 20 years.
It’s a happy anniversary for all of us who get to read your blog. What you do is a real public service and often entertaining for those who take the time to enjoy it. Thanks Señor!
Happy 20th Anniversary to my BIL! Proud of this legacy you’ve created.
Happy Twenty Year Anniversary!