Why blog?

Power of the word

The written word is important to me. There is nothing trivial about writing and reading, and I deeply enjoy both. The written word is transformative. They ban books because ideas make us. Ideas can pull us out of darkness, ignorance, isolation and change who we are. I'd like this space to help me make sense of the present, but also to conceive the personal and collective future I would like to see.

Contra current trends where shortform videos remain ascendant (social media, podcasts, AI, everything is TV now), long form writing is my preferred unit of cultural transmission. The more in-depth the writing is, the better.

I listen to podcasts and watch longer form videos by YouTube creators, but my preferred way to ingest information is the written word. I watch everything with subtitles, and I have been known to read a transcript, instead of listening to the thing.

I need a space to express myself in writing and to mull things over. In so doing, if others find value in what I do, even better.

This is my Commonplace book

I use this space to collate anything that piques my interest and that I might want to remember or return to in the future. There have been so many times when I've thought back to an article I read or a quote I would like to re-use, but try as I might, I couldn't remember where or what it was. Having a Commonplace book might help with that. Wikipedia defines a Commonplace book thus:

Commonplace books (or commonplaces) are personal notebooks used to compile any information the owner finds interesting or useful. They can variously contain notes, proverbs, adages, aphorisms, maxims, recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, prayers, legal formulas, and other professional references. They have been kept from antiquity, and were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century.

Ideas are my love language

I enjoy sharing and receiving ideas. There's much value to be found in ye olde blogosphere and I want to add to the conversation. I've learnt so much from other's Commonplace books, interests, from listening to people thinking out loud, trying out their roughly sketched or fully formed ideas for size. One of the goals of this site is therefore, to inform and delight, as others have done for me.

Connection

Henrik Karlsson once said "A blog post is a very long and complex search query to find fascinating people and make them route interesting stuff to your inbox."

It's nice to receive an email from a stranger saying they found something on your site useful or send you thoughtful ideas. I want to connect with other like-minded people who may stumble upon my little site and find something useful in it. Drop me a line, it would be lovely to hear from you.

I enjoy doing it

Without inclination and deriving some degree of enjoyment out of the process, I wouldn't be here. I like having tiny drop in the vast internet ocean that is mine. It gives me purpose, confidence and helps declutter my mind. It makes me feel part of the human community. It's a grounding and lovely activity to engage in.

It's important for me to have a space where I'm not striving in a perpetual capitalistic rat-race to the bottom. This space is for fun. It exists for my enjoyment, and yours.