It’s been over a year since I wrote here. To be honest, I kinda forgot about it. Though I thought of this site again recently when I was reading Cory Doctorow’s reflections on 20 years of blogging (via kottke.org).
I think this idea of a blog as public “commonplace book” is really interesting. Commonplace books in general are just a concept that very much appeals to me. Though I’ve tried this kind of thing before with physical and digital note taking and it’s never really stuck. It feels like this big exercise and formal process that I inevitably abandon, regardless of the format. But if you think of blogging as something where you’re collecting ideas regularly and sharing your thoughts on them – then over time, that basically becomes your public knowledgebase on the topic.
I do think the distinction of it being public vs private is key. Having a potential public audience (in my case, likely no one right now) forces accountability. My notes can’t just be this mess that even I can’t decipher. And even if this site really is just for me to reflect back – I’ll at least have confidence that I’ll have semi-organized thoughts here. I think my own pride wouldn’t allow anything less.
Now, whether writing here actually becomes a habit for me again….Who knows.