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I weirdly adore Steve Losh’s blog. I don’t know what it is about it, but the way in which Steve talks about technical things is really lucid and…human? As in, readable, maybe? I don’t know, but I find myself referring to his blog again and again. I first stumbled across his blog when I found his post about how to configure and use Mutt a few years ago. Here, he has done it again with an excellent LISP primer.
Hi James,
I very much agree with what you’ve written — I think another factor may be that many bloggers mimic styles of writing with which they’re familiar, e.g. newspaper-style journalism.
You’re post also reminds me of one of my favorite Virginia Woolf quotes:
Of all forms of literature, however, the essay is the one which least calls for the use of long words. The principle which controls it is simply that it should give pleasure; the desire which impels us when we take it from the shelf is simply to receive pleasure. Everything in an essay must be subdued to that end. It should lay us under a spell with its first word, and we should only wake, refreshed, with its last.
— Virginia Woolf, The Modern Essay
Do you think blogs are a bit like essays as Woolf has described them?
TFW your partner asks you to set up a blog for them 😍
I had a personal realization recently: kottke.org isn’t so much a thing I’m making but a process I’m going through. A journey. A journey towards knowledge, discovery, empathy, connection, and a better way of seeing the world. Along the way, I’ve found myself and all of you. I feel so so so lucky to have had this opportunity.
Over the last week I’ve received 3 emails from folks asking me if I have any interest in posting sponsored content for them. I don’t have much interest in doing this, but I’m curious a) how they found my blog, b) why they think my posting content for them is worth their while (I don’t use analytics, but judging by server traffic, I can’t have more than a couple hundred visitors a week, at most) beyond potentially boosting search visibility, and c) is this really a job!?