Anil Dash, Chief Evangelist at Six Apart, is celebrating his 5th anniversary with the San Francisco based blog software firm:

Five years ago, I said I work for Six Apart. At the time, that sort of thing was a big deal, not because of me, but because so few of us who loved blogging could get a job doing what we loved.
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Since then, amazingly, it’s become downright common to work in the blogging business. I have literally dozens of friends who work on creating tools and technology for blogs, and dozens more who blog for a living as part or all of their job. I even get to work with the best of them, from San Francisco to Paris to Tokyo. And now I can celebrate the company and industry I support in the city that I love, since we have an office in New York City.

I remember Anil’s post back in 2003 where he announced he was going to work for Six Apart. Blogging as a business was new back then - and it’s rare to see someone stay in such a position for as long as he has - with the same company, no less.

Though I moved away from Movable Type, a Six Apart product, more than two years ago - and have been known to be a critic of that software from time to time - Anil has been nothing but a calm gentleman in his responses to me - and others.

A true class act - and it’s pretty clear that Mena Trott feels the same way:

Whether you like Anil Dash or not, few can honestly doubt his passion for blogging and for our company. Even the fine folks who like to accidentally misspell his first name in comments will have to admit he has a zealousness to his craft of evangelism that very few in our industry possess. Even if he drives you crazy with his desire to play devil’s advocate or his need for a little exaggeration here or there, Anil does so with such sincerity it’s difficult to truly fault him.

Congrats on your 5th anniversary!