Dries Buytaert Reflects on 20 Years of Blogging and the Origins of Drupal

Dries Buytaert, the founder of Drupal, has published a personal milestone post commemorating 20 years of blogging on his personal site. While he admits to still feeling uneasy calling himself a "blogger," Dries shares how his journey began even earlier—on Drop.org—where he first explored ideas that eventually led to the creation of Drupal. Blogging, as he puts it, was always more about thinking out loud than broadcasting.

In a candid reflection, Dries recounts how a bet at DrupalCon Amsterdam in 2005 prompted him to launch a Drupal-powered blog just in time to win a Duvel beer. That move marked a turning point, and he has since used the space not only to express evolving thoughts but also to challenge his own assumptions. Despite shifts in technology and attention spans, he maintains a minimalist, privacy-respecting blog experience, even removing analytics to stay true to his purpose.

Dries notes that some of his most resonant posts are the ones he nearly didn’t publish, revealing how vulnerability often sparks the strongest connections. His writing continues to act as an open invitation, one that has led to meaningful conversations across time and distance. With gratitude to long-time and new readers alike, Dries reaffirms his intent to keep writing for as long as he can.