Associative trails

Matt wrote recently about how different writers keep notes:

I���m also reminded of how writers I love and respect maintain their own reservoirs of knowledge, complete with migratory paths down from the mountains.

I have a section of my site called ���notes��� but the truth is that every single thing I post on here���whether it���s a link, a blog post, or anything else���is really a ���note to self.���

When it comes to retrieving information from this online memex of mine, I use tags. I���ve got search forms on my site, but usually I���ll go to the address bar in my browser instead and think ���now, what would past me have tagged that with…��� as I type adactio.com/tags/... (or, if I want to be more specific, adactio.com/links/tags/... or adactio.com/journal/tags/...).

It���s very satisfying to use my website as a back-up brain like this. I can get stuff out of my head and squirreled away, but still have it available for quick recall when I want it. It���s especially satisfying when I���m talking to someone else and something they say reminds me of something relevant, and I can go ���Oh, let me send you this link…��� as I retrieve the tagged item in question.

But I don���t think about other people when I���m adding something to my website. My audience is myself.

I know there���s lots of advice out there about considering your audience when you write, but when it comes to my personal site, I���d find that crippling. It would be one more admonishment from the inner critic whispering ���no one���s interested in that���, ���you have nothing new to add to this topic���, and ���you���re not quailified to write about this.��� If I���m writing for myself, then it���s easier to have fewer inhibitions. By treating everything as a scrappy note-to-self, I can avoid agonising about quality control …although I still spend far too long trying to come up with titles for posts.

I���ve noticed���and other bloggers have corroborated this���there���s no correlation whatsover between the amount of time you put into something and how much it���s going to resonate with people. You might spend days putting together a thoroughly-researched article only to have it met with tumbleweeds when you finally publish it. Or you might bash something out late at night after a few beers only to find it on the front page of various aggregators the next morning.

If someone else gets some value from a quick blog post that I dash off here, that���s always a pleasant surprise. It���s a bonus. But it���s not my reason for writing. My website is primarily a tool and a library for myself. It just happens to also be public.

I���m pretty sure that nobody but me uses the tags I add to my links and blog posts, and that���s fine with me. It���s very much a folksonomy.

Likewise, there���s a feature I added to my blog posts recently that is probably only of interest to me. Under each blog post, there���s a heading saying ���Previously on this day��� followed by links to any blog posts published on the same date in previous years. I find it absolutely fascinating to spelunk down those hyperlink potholes, but I���m sure for anyone else it���s about as interesting as a slideshow of holiday photos.

Matt took this further by adding an ���on this day��� URL to his site. What a great idea! I���ve now done the same here:

adactio.com/archive/onthisday

That URL is almost certainly only of interest to me. And that���s fine.