Right now, I don’t use AI to compose my blog posts. I sometimes use AI in the pre-writing ideation stage and later in the editing/review stage, but not the composing/“putting pen to paper” stage. Six months ago I might have made “not using AI in personal blogging” a principled stance, but my thinking has evolved…

I’ve thought about this post from I Quant NY at least once a month for the past decade. I finally found the link again over the weekend. Here it is: Such a simple data analysis, essentially sorting a column in a spreadsheet, revealed a problem with how parking near bike lanes and hydrants are marked.…

Henrique commented on my “Just hit publish” post with: As a designer, I feel that the Post Featured Image blocks me from writing much more than ‘normal’ people would think. I need time to conceive and prepare it—which makes quick daily posts impossible. Maybe I should review my blog template and get rid of them…

Blog posts don’t have to be Atlantic-style essays, ground-breaking ideas, or heavily researched. Not everything has to be epic or viral. You can post whatever you want, whenever you want. Keep it low friction and hit Publish. Personal blogs are meant to be low stakes. Some ideas: Don’t overthink it or get caught up in…

Social networks are walled gardens. They are closed networks that restrict how users interact, what they see, and how data flows. Outside of the walls is the blogosphere. It is diverse and distributed. If the web is Westeros, social platforms are the Seven Kingdoms, run by mad kings from their Iron Thrones, and the blogosphere…

This weekend a friend texted me a screenshot of a Pinterest link his wife sent to him. It was a link to my climbing wall post. She wants him to build one for their son. He recognized Charlie and my blog right away. Someone had pinned it and it gets a decent amount of traffic.…

I saw this going around and it looked fun. Thanks for the idea, James. Why Did You Start Blogging in the First Place? I wanted a place to share my photography and cool things I read and watched. That was 2007. What Platform Are You Using to Manage Your Blog, and Why Do You Use…

At work today someone asked today about how we recapture the magic of the early days of blogging. I have some ideas. First, I don’t think that magic is gone! Sure, a lot of people moved to social platforms. The dopamine hit is just too addicting. Fortunately a lot of cool people are still blogging,…

My friend Garrett Robinson asked me on Twitter, “What do you see as the advantages of blogging?”. Naturally I had to reply with a blog post. I see two main advantages of blogging, both with secondary advantages: Carve out a place of your own Platforms come and go. Buy a domain and set up a…