There’s quite the discussion about link-style posts such as these on blogs these days. I don’t have a whole lot to contribute other than the fact that my blog is focused on and around things that interest me. If, like this style of post, are links that I am currently digging or find interesting, I don’t have a problem sharing them. I’ve seen arguments about longevity and posts such as these how they don’t get the traffic over the long haul or bring crazy amounts of search results but that’s not necessarily what my personal blog is for. Sure, having more visitors is nice, but it wouldn’t be that hard to ramp up traffic by just writing about a few specific topics to garner it. The problem is, is that at that point I’ve flipped the script and write/post for you (or whatever audience I’m chasing) instead of me, no thanks.
Chris has moved his link sharing to Twitter and other social media outlets which is great. I have no way of knowing this for sure, but my gut feeling is that my Twitter audience and my audience here aren’t quite the same. When I share links on Twitter that I don’t share here, often times it’s because I feel they’re poignant for that audience. Inversely, there are links I see on Twitter that I’m not sure my audience here has been exposed to yet; I like having the ability to craft and share those and support with context or application as needed.
I’ve got some 500+ posts worth history here and much of the old stuff doesn’t get touched. I’m okay with that. By writing/posting stuff that I’m currently into, it’s created – if nothing else – a place where I can go back and see where I was at certain periods of time; yes, even the link posts. It helps me to see how my interests have changed and hopefully how I’ve grown over time; to me, that’s much more important than some long-tail search traffic.
In short, do what you feel works best for you and your goals. I love the fact that we’ve all got tools to self-publish and we all utilize them differently. If all of us were Gruber’s then there’d be no fresh content to share. If all of us were long-form writers and there were no Kottke’s or Gruber’s, I’m guessing we’d all have a very limited exposure to what everyone else is doing or writing.
I used to run a semi-regular post that I called 6th Day around here that was a Friday wrap-up of Internet things I’d stumbled across or liked throughout the week. Not sure what the significance of the title was but I’m bringing it back for at least one week. I think I’m going to resurrect the concept and kill the name – although I don’t have a good replacement name for it.
Without further ado…
Gregory’s iPhone Contract – This might be the best thing to make the rounds in the last week or two, a contract that we should all consider assigning to ourselves as well.
The updated online digs of Chris Bowler – I’ve had a redesign in my head for a while that looks quite similar to what Chris just launched. I am now faced with the decision to either go back to the drawing board or just succumb to stealing his code.
So I know its been quiet around here for the last couple of weeks. I am slowly getting towards the end of a major overhaul of this site that will hopefully suffice for a little while.
I have a folder where I deposit random stuff I stumble across on the web that may or may not ever see the light of day. Here are a few that I’ve come across within the last week or two that found their way into prolonged tab exposure or my dustbin. Alphabet Poster by beauchamping (sold on Etsy)
Regretsy
Speaking of Etsy, with a site built mostly for handmade goods, you’re bound to get some real junk mixed in. Thankfully, Regretsy finds the best of them.
Public Gothic typeface from A2591
From the designer, “It is little industrial, little vintage, little condensed, little bold.
Public Gothic is our new font family and beta release is free to use in all your designs, commercial or non commercial. ”
4 variations, free to download and use (thought not for web-embedding).
The League of Movable Type
I’ve known about this one a little longer but since the subject of type has already been brought up, The League is killing it with some open source, web-embeddable fonts.
Already used several in different projects including, League Gothic, Chunk and Blackout.
Life Magazine’s 30 Dumb Inventions show that ingenuity doesn’t have to correlate with common sense. I bet there were a couple of Darwin Award winners in the bunch. A few of my favorites:
Dog Restrainer, 1940
We played with plastic toys like this as kids. Usually to pick up candy on the floor or to pinch your little brother. Never did I think, “I wonder if this will save me from a pit bull attack.”
“On a history test we were asked, ‚ÄòWho was Michelangelo?‚Äô I answered, ‚ÄòRenowned artist/Ninja Turtle. Wore an orange headband. Weapon: daggers.‚Äô My teacher marked this wrong and wrote back, ‚ÄòWEAPON: NUNCHUCKS. CHECK YOUR FACTS.‚Äô”
Call of the year
I want this guy calling all of the games for the teams I root for from now on. You’ve got to listen to both audio (in order) to understand. They’re short. (more…)
