I’ve written on my own blog for years with the same cadence. I share links with small bits of commentary a few times each week. Longer pieces take more effort; I spread them throughout the year as time and mood allow. Yet going forward, that balance between long and short form will change. Link posts will be rare, while I hope to write larger pieces more often. I’d rather provide more depth here and move quick impressions largely to other platforms.
This change was inevitable given the effect social media and mega-platforms are having on smaller sites. Web-based link blogs, with rare exceptions like Daring Fireball, are dead. Quick takes and snap judgements have moved to Twitter and other social media. It’s just a better fit; they’re new platforms optimized for sharing, speed, and connectivity.
Long form writing is likewise migrating from disparate indie web sites into larger entities. Attention is moving to big news networks like Buzzfeed and Vice or smaller scale platforms like Medium and Tumblr. Audiences rally around feeds in their platform of choice, not SEO and direct links on web blogs.
Yet less posts and more tweets need a few flow changes to ensure what I write remains accessible later. I’m leaning on Pinboard to auto archive my tweets and add tags to links I may revisit. And on a regular basis I’ll backup my entire Pinboard library to local storage for safe keeping.
Also, a change in strategy doesn’t lessen the value of an independent web presence. While I’ll post more frequently to Twitter and Medium, I’ll publish every long form piece here as well. Part of it comes down to archival value. Social networks may change their rights, access, or one day die off, taking my content with it. That won’t happen on this domain.
And the web grants personality, which still has enormous value. By controlling my own platform, I set the color, typography and layout. Those are factors that help establish a tone and leave a strong impression. I won’t give that up for reach.
I’ve evolved the way I’ve written code, approached design, and many other topics since this blog started. Writing has to adapt as well.