dri-es-enwpkq.txt (2690B)
1 [1] 2 3 [2]Dries Buytaert 4 5 [3]Blog [4]Projects [5]Photos [6]About 6 7 [7]A blog is a biography 8 9 A mother in bed holds a newborn baby, surrounded by three formally dressed 10 adults in a hospital room. My mom as a newborn in her mother's arms, surrounded 11 by my grandparents and great-grandparents. 12 13 I never knew my great grandparents. They left no diary, no letters, only a 14 handful of photographs. Sometimes I look at those photos and wonder what they 15 cared about. What were their days like? What made them laugh? What problems 16 were they working through? 17 18 Then I realize it could be different for my descendants. A long-running blog 19 like mine is effectively an autobiography. 20 21 So far, it captures nearly twenty years of my life: my PhD work, the birth of 22 my children, and the years of learning how to lead Drupal and build a 23 community. It even captures the excitement of starting two companies, and the 24 lessons I learned along the way. 25 26 And in recent years, it captures the late night posts where I try to make sense 27 of what AI might change. They are a snapshot of a world in transition. One day, 28 it may be hard to remember AI was ever new. 29 30 In a way, a blog is a digital time capsule. It is the kind of record I wish my 31 great grandparents had left behind. 32 33 I did not start blogging with this in mind. I wrote to share ideas, to think 34 out loud, to guide the Drupal community, and to connect with others. The 35 personal archive was a side effect. 36 37 Now I see it differently. Somewhere in there is a version of me becoming a 38 father. A version trying to figure out how to build something that lasts. A 39 version wrestling, late at night, with technology changes happening in front of 40 me. 41 42 If my grandchildren ever want to know who I was, they will not have to guess. 43 They will be able to hear my voice. 44 45 If that idea feels compelling, this might be a good time to start a blog or a 46 website. Not to build a large audience, but just to leave a trail. Future you 47 may be grateful you began. 48 49 — Dries Buytaert 50 51 Join 5,000+ readers. Two decades building Drupal and Acquia. Thoughts on Open 52 Source, technology, and business. 53 54 [8][ ] Subscribe 55 [10]Subscribe via RSS · [11]Email me 56 57 December 12, 2025 1 min read time 58 59 • [12]Digital preservation 60 • [13]My site 61 • [14]Writing 62 63 [15] db 64 65 References: 66 67 [1] https://dri.es/status 68 [2] https://dri.es/ 69 [3] https://dri.es/blog 70 [4] https://dri.es/projects 71 [5] https://dri.es/photos 72 [6] https://dri.es/about 73 [7] https://dri.es/a-blog-is-a-biography 74 [10] https://dri.es/rss.xml 75 [11] mailto:[email protected] 76 [12] https://dri.es/tag/digital-preservation 77 [13] https://dri.es/tag/my-site 78 [14] https://dri.es/tag/writing 79 [15] https://dri.es/colophon