Aug
23
A Decade of Blogging
Posted by Clif Burns at 5:00 pm on August 23, 2016
Category: General
Ten years ago from this past Sunday, on August 21, 2006, I put up the first post on this blog. I had zero readers. I bet no one ever even read that post until, perhaps, today. In fact, according to my server logs, I had a grand total of 53 people come to read the blog in August 2006, and most of them were probably web-crawling robots.
Since then, I’ve put up 1,370 posts. The site has had 3.9 million visits. Each month, an average of 8,000 unique visitors drop by. And for that, I want to thank each and every one of my readers who have made this possible.
That includes the anonymous BIS agent in New Jersey who for several years posted anonymously from his home computer comments reviling me as an uneducated imposter. His chief complaint was that I referred to “BIS ALJs” rather than his preferred, and more eloquent, alternative: “Coast Guard ALJs Who Are Assigned To Hear BIS Cases But Who Are Paid By The Coast Guard Which In Turn Is Reimbursed By BIS For The ALJs’ Time.” I think he may have, in one of his comments, even called for my law school to revoke my degree and, in another, for me to refund all the legal fees that I had collected in my lifetime. He hasn’t been around for quite some time and I rather miss him.
I also want to thank the commenters who caught and pointed out things that I actually got wrong or that I should have mentioned but didn’t. I’ve learned things from them as I hope readers may have learned things from me.
Without question, thanks are also due to Jim Bartlett, who has regularly republished each and every post in The Daily Bugle, even ones where I tried to sneak in naughty words or risqué double entendres that might offend his family audience.
I’ve tried these last ten years to make export law entertaining, which, I suppose, is rather like trying to stage a punk rock version of La Bohème with a fifth grade cast and a pit orchestra of ukuleles — easier said than done and not something that will appeal to everyone. But once you’ve gone through the effort to rent the house and put a show like that on the stage, there’s no point in cancelling the performance.
Photo Credit: Blue Hour Capital Building by Clif Burns, via www.clifburns.net. Copyright 2016 Clif Burns
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20 Comments:
Hi Clif:
Congratulations on your ten years. I think I must have been one of your first readers and think I may know your BIS Agent…
I enjoy your wit, incite and way you can sum up complex issues in a way that makes them understandable. I liken my job to herding cats while juggling my grandmother’s china. It’s nice to have a comrade in arms.
I look forward to many more years.
Congratulations! I’ve very much enjoyed both your diligence in reporting and your sense of humor. Thanks for all you do.
Happy Anniversary, Clif. You’ve brought a refreshing modicum of humor to an otherwise humorless profession. Your irony, wit and sarcasm is a pleasure to read.
Many happy returns,
Steve
Congratulations! I appreciated your blog. You have added to my knowledge about how well American bureaucrazy is organized as well as the one or other new English word.
Happy anniversary Cliff ! I must say that your blog is the only one where I always click immediately anxious to read another entertaining story…
Many thanks for all these efforts.
Cheers,
Bert
Congratulations!
As a non-American compliance officer with an American sense of humour working in a country outside the US and trying hard to find shortcuts to understanding US export controls, I find this blog very useful. I even included in my cover letter that I scour through your blog for good knowledge. Surprisingly, not many compliance department recruiters find that information useful (jealous I think).
Anyway, congrats for the decade-long success. There’s the client alerts blogs from lawfirms and then there’s client alerts emails from different types of business…but then there’s Export Law Blog.
Clif,
Congratulations and most of all THANK YOU for the outstanding contribution your blog has provided to the world of export compliance. I’ve been a daily reader for several years and I will continue to be because it is a valuable read. I’ve also recommended it to many of my clients. Outstanding work. Your ability to mix humor into our dry profession is refreshing. Keep it going!
Jonathan
“a punk rock version of La Bohème with a fifth grade cast and a pit orchestra of ukuleles”
I will help pay for this. This needs to happen. Someone do a Kickstarter, stat!
Happy Anniversary, Clif! And many thanks. Your blog is a must-read font of wisdom, wit, and OFAC-related celebrity gossip.
Congratulations! Keep up the good work.
Clif,
Thank you and Congratulations. I look forward to your posts; humor and facts are welcome in the ITC world.
Please don’t stop or change.
Thanks again,
Mark
What an impressive milestone – congratulations, Clif!
Happy Anniversary! Or it is Birthday?
Cliff, thoroughly enjoy reading your blog. Congratulations on your 10th anniversary. Keep posting!
Best to you,
Greg
One of the best. I read your blog faithfully and I think I have since the beginning. I probably owe you millions for years of good counsel. To celebrate the anniversary, you should take a trip to Cuba!
Frank
Cliff, I have been a long time subscriber of you blog and have enjoyed very much how you manage to inform while being humorous and entertaining. Well done and I greatly appreciate your dedication and effort to provide your valuable information and insight.
I look forward to following your future posts. I wish you continued success.
Mark
Keep up the good work. I’ve read your blog on a rolling basis for years and years, and have shared many insights with non-compliance colleagues as your language hits the spot perfectly.
Have you thought of using Patreon or Kickstarter for those of us that want to help with the running costs?
8 years ago was my first job in Export Compliance and I was NOT thrilled about it… My Director then told me about your blog. I have never read through a single compliance related article or the Federal Register the same again. You bring so much life to this industry and I can’t thank you enough for continuing the keep what everyone around me thinks is the most boring/dry job entertaining!
Congratulations and thank you Cliff; always a pleasure to read your comments.
