If you think technology will solve your problems then you don’t understand technology – and, you don’t understand your problems.
Laurie Anderson
Find the best tool for a specific job and stick with it. This is better said than done for me since I enjoy trying all the new shiny tools to play with out there. I am getting better at this and narrowed them down to a select few for writing, post-process photography, etc.
“Nothing about the Internet is fixed, permanent, or inevitable. It is malleable, shape-shifting, and constantly evolving. And it increasingly comes with more responsibility and risks for guarding our own data and taking charge of distributing our words and images.”
EI Skyers
This sums up nicely what I’ve been referring to when it comes to owning your platform. Build a blog, delete your social media account(s), dump Google mail and get your personalized e-mail address, and distribute your words and images your way.
Just about everything I write digitally- blog posts, to-do’s, notes, journal, code, thoughts, plans, etc get drafted in text format (.txt)
These are an extension of me, my digitized, quantified, extended memory of organized thoughts. I use them often for research, reference, and a log.
So you see, they are important to me. They are a log of my digitized life. Text files are reliable, long-lasting and flexible. Here are some examples how this is the case:
Portability
I’ve had text files around since I upgraded from a manual typewriter to a word processor (personal computers were too expensive for me in college.) Text files have been around for me since 1996. Those text files were backed up on 3.5” floppy disks from the word processor to Windows 3.1 to Linux to thumb drives to Android and finally to my Apple devices here in 2022. Twenty six years old!
Every device I’ve owned, including the long obsolete devices, and devices that have not been manufactured yet can read/write/edit plain text. It is ubiquitous, everywhere.
Non-Proprietary
Along comes an industry-leading company that says you should use their software, that just so happens to have it’s own unique format. You either buy the software or subscribe to the service to keep your documents in their format. Now you’re locked in. Boom. Your notes just lost it’s portability, flexibility and freedom for the price of “features and convenience.” What happens when that company goes belly-up? Your hard work is trapped in an unusable format. Your writing will outlive them. It will hopefully outlive you. Proprietary software is not an option. Plain text is universal, non-commercial and will be for another few decades.
Non-Internet-Dependent
No connection, no problem. Accessing your writing when you need it is best.
Independent
No need for Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Evernote, OneNote, Google, etc etc etc. Sure, I could make the documents prettier with Word, but then again, I am locked in and rendered useless. A basic text editor and plain text files are plenty. So is a pen and paper.
Convertible
Plain text is flexible enough to convert to other formats as needed such as Markdown files, HTML, JSON etc.
Final Note
Portable, non-proprietary, offline, independent, convertible, minimal, flexible and future-proof. Plain text will continue to be read for the next few decades. Plain isn’t boring.
After an hour and a half with my server host, the connection issue to my Micro posts page was unresolved. I am trying to secure the web certificate so it reads as:
https://www.micro.chrisdenbow.comThe “S” in the domain name denotes a secure website. But the server hosts were useless and it took the site down completely. I finally restored it myself in the cPanel but not without frustration. Now I’ll just leave it alone.
Ulysses 26 update looks great. Now with custom fonts and better support for accessing my web server (meaning I can connect to it again. Will I re-up or stick with iA Writer?
Unfortunately I run into an error where I cannot post to the Micro page from either Ulysses or iA Writer so now it comes down to use the pay and use or subscription based software?
There are many things in my life that I don’t need. I don’t need half the technology I have, nor most of online services that I pay for. This includes the hosting for my website. I don’t need it, but it does serve a purpose deeper than the amount it costs me each year and gives me value.
My website(s) have been up for more than two decades (learning from a file error mistake, the earliest post I still have is from 2013) and it has been through various iterations. The most recent of which was going back to a personal web server host. The benefits and hours devoted to the setup and install outweigh the costs.
This website has been many things over the years such as, attempted portfolios, business ventures (photography) and a lot of design coding, but still provides an outlet for me. In reality, this website provides very little to me, it doesn’t receive accolades or followers as much as it used to, my life would remain unchanged if I didn’t have this outlet, but I still want one.
This is a journal, a hobby for sure, but writing gives me something that nothing else provides. I love networking with people and I enjoy journaling. Long form and short form both help me document my life as it is currently. Sometimes other people join me here and that is fantastic. Just because I receive nothing in return (on the surface), it doesn’t mean that this doesn’t have value. I believe everyone needs to have their own space on the world wide web.
No one or their website, should focus on follower count, advertising, tracking or page views. You won’t recoup your costs, let’s be honest. This is a personal website and are beholden to no one. You publish what you want, when you want and how you need to.
I don’t need this but I want this.
I should really get my shit together.
I’m thinking of changing/eliminating my complex “productivity” system with something simpler.
Such as “Write it down so I don’t forget it. Then do it as soon as I can.” I don’t need more software. I need more ideas and the energy to act on them.
Writing Software
I have three writing apps with a variety of features and all are redundant: Drafts, iA Writer and Ulysses. Drafts and Ulysses are both subscription based whereas iA Writer is a one time purchase. Drafts and Ulysses both have issues connecting to my well-secured web server. This prevents me from posting my drafted article on to my website. iA Writer stands out here as well. I am typing in it right now and when it is complete, I will hit “Publish” and it gets posted to my website.
The verdict: Drafts & Ulysses are no longer on my devices. That’s two down.
Notes & Journaling
Apple Notes, Bear Notes, Day One, GoodNotes, Obsidian are the current note taking apps and of course they all have unique properties. Out of all these only one could be deemed necessary, Apple Notes. It’s free, syncs to all Apple devices and allows collaboration with others. But it is so.damn.ugly. Bear Notes is all that and customizable. Worth the $15 annually in my mind. Day One is a private, digital journal that is not worth it to me anymore. Good Notes allows you to use your iPad and Pencil to scribble notes. I have physical notepads for this now. Obsidian is not only my second brain and pensieve but a repository for my notes. The same notes that are hosted in iCloud and now redundant.
The verdict: D1, GN and Obsidian are no longer on my devices. That’s three down.
Everything Else
As subscriptions come to an end I will review 1in a future blog post of course and assess their worthiness. Chances are I will go with the stock Apple apps for these. I don’t mind supporting small developers and their wonderful applications but subscription bloat is real. Their software is redundant and causes paralysis by over analysis.
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
James Clear, Atomic Habits
One of the pillars of the internet , next to e-mail, is the personal, humble blog. You know, the social internet, not social media. Creators, writers, photographers, video hosts, and podcasters all need to put their works on a site that they own and fully control as opposed to posting on restrictive social media outlets. These personal websites will then generate what is called a feed for syndicating their works out to the internet (RSS or Really Simple Syndication).
That is step one. Step two is reminding their followers, their fans and their audience to embrace RSS aggregators, or feed readers so they can continue to enjoy the creator’s content. Sounds simple, yeah?
These RSS readers pull the website owner/creator’s latest articles into an easily readable format that the individual controls. Not some algorithms that are driven by social media control or advertising. RSS has no advertising1unless the creator mentions their sponsors, that is.. You are in charge of what you want to read, who you want to read it from and to save it later for reference- or discard. You are in charge of your intake.
Start by adding sources you know and trust. A source is a place where information comes from. When you add sources to your feed reader, you’ll be able to monitor them all in one place. By sources, I don’t just mean news sites. Sources can include:
Subscribe to the RSS feed of any source or publication.
Follow everything from major industry publications to niche magazines.
News publications
Follow major news publications or local news sources.
Keep up with the newest literature in your area of study.
Get posts from subreddits and searches in your feeds.
Subscribe to YouTube channels or playlists and get new videos in your feeds.
Follow podcasts and never miss out on new episodes of your favorite programs.
Start simple and free- try Feedly ( no, this is not a paid endorsement) In fact, I started to use Feedly a long time ago but opted for a cleaner, more personal aggregate called Reeder and FeedBin. These are one time purchases for me. Feedly has iOS, Android and web apps so you can access your feeds. Your news, your way.
It is way past time to delete your social media accounts and rejoin the social internet, like we used to do. The World Wide Web is a much better place and it starts with all of us taking control of our websites and consuming them our way.
And of course I would appreciate being one of the first web sources you add to your new RSS feed reader. When you do, drop me an email to let me know. It is the social internet after all. If you have a website, I’d be happy to subscribe to it in my feed as well.
My web feed is simply http://chrisdenbow.com/feed
My email is hello [at] chrisdenbow.com
After rebuilding this website I realized I hadn’t added any navigation menus to look around with. Well now, we can’t have that, can we?
<— First, you’ll notice the Categories and Tags to the left of each article. Secondly, you can see below the articles of the website, yes, all the way down, the Categories, or topics are listed. Then from left to right, the Archives in monthly format. Up next is a Tag Cloud, a display of all the tags used in articles. The larger the tag, the more often it has been discussed. After that is the Search bar in case you are looking for something specific. After all that, there is a button to click to automagically go back to the top of the website.
Ever since Apple released a beta version of custom email domain through iCloud last year, I was interested. Now that I’ve had time to follow-up with it, a new email address was created using my photography domain at no extra cost. Well, besides what I pay for with the Apple One plan that is. If I were to go through my server host it is only $12 annually but I already have two of those personalized emails for my domain here.
If you want to drop me a line to say “hey!”, or have an inquiry about my photography, the new iCloud custom email address is: chris@photodenbow.com
Tinkering with my second brain today and wishing I was more detailed with my past notes. Those nodes and orphans are too scattered in the graph view as shown above.
April 13, 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. [[Technology]] [[Blog]] [[CD.com]]
This is the fourth update to the new and improved website. I gave it a fresh coat of paint as well as connected the Archives and Micro sites. Even better, the paint matches the photography site perfectly. This website also reflects the home office makeover. “Dark Mode” is my go-to aesthetic.
I’ll make a few minor changes on the back end for site security and speed and then I will leave it alone for awhile.
That’s how pleased I am with it.