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THANKSGIVING ON OUR 10th BIRTHDAY

August 16, 2012

Ten years ago today, SayfieReview.com launched publicly on the World Wide Web.  I purchased a now-discontinued software application by Microsoft called FrontPage for around $149.99 to create the Sayfie Review page of news links.  My web hosting package was around $19.95 per month with a company that no longer exists.  Google was three years old, Mark Zuckerberg had just graduated high school, and the first tweet wouldn’t be sent for another 3 ½ years.  

I had decided to publish the page seven days a week (what in the world was I thinking?!?!?!)  Every morning at 5:30 am the ritual would start.  Bleary eyed, and in my PJ’s, I would climb out of bed, flip on the computer, start surfing the newspapers’ websites looking for stories on Florida politics and manually inputting the headline and the URL into FrontPage.  Hadn't even thought about a business model.  I published the page every day for over four years before I sold my first ad after declining several requests from advertisers who wanted to advertise on the Review.  I only wanted to create a resource that was easy for Florida political news junkies to get their daily fix of Florida politics, and that as long as I could put the site to bed by 7 am every day, it wouldn’t negatively affect my real job.

One day at a time, and here we are, ten years later – over 1 million different people have visited the site from just about every country on the planet!  As I reflect on the past ten years, I am struck by a few  things:  first, the raw and unrivaled power of the internet – it still blows me away.  It is an unpredictably democratizing and power redistributing force.  Second, we live in an unimaginably politically interesting state.  There is hardly ever a ‘slow news day.’  Third, Florida politicos are ardent consumers of political news.  

The Review would not be possible without the assistance of so many different members of the Sayfie Review team: our web developers and programmers who keep the site humming are always ready and willing to accept and conquer new challenges; our article editors are insanely committed and are political junkies of the first order; my "Director of Everything" Carole Ann Hausman is a messenger that Elbert Hubbard would be proud of -- to all of you, thank you for being so invaluable to the success of the Review for so many years.

Today and in the coming days, we’ll be broadcasting video messages from some of the Review’s biggest fans.  Stay tuned for some very special messages....

I’m celebrating the Review’s 10th birthday with eternal gratitude to you and every reader who has made the Review what it is. If you’ve been one of the Review’s readers, thank you for allowing me to serve you.  If you’ve been one of the newsmakers who has made Florida politics so terribly interesting, thank you for making the site a good read!  If you’ve ever emailed me with a good idea or a missed link or friendly encouragement, thank you for inspiring me.  And if you've been one of the reporters or writers who have covered or opined on Florida's political happenings, thank you for your steadfast dedication to keeping the public informed about those who seek power and those who have been entrusted to exercise it.  

I hope that I can continue to be of service to you in the future.  I am grateful for the past ten great years, and I’m looking forward to many more to come.   

Cheers,  

Justin