Conversation

Viral ambition essays seem to have gone out of fashion. Kinda cringe to even aim at that now. Substack has a professionalized energy, Wordpress feels quiet and suburban, and the rest is emo-jewel craft pieces. Even nakedly mercenary clickbait seems in decline.
5
69
I think a contemplative mood has descended on the reader-writer contract now. Like everybody’s switched from uppers to downers.
3
17
Haven’t seen a piece even aiming at, let alone hitting, the kind of manic-aha note the entire blogosphere was aiming at 2000-20. Covid killed that mood. I snuck in a last post of that sort just a month before Covid, with internet of beefs 🤔 Can’t imagine writing like that now.
2
20
Blogs remain the bellwether of where writing is headed. I enjoy my substacking but money does alter how things evolve there. Goodhart’s law etc. And the emo static site game still hasn’t grown up. And possibly never will.
3
9
Replying to
If only there were some kind of critical mass behind static sites, and new writers were adopting Jekyll, Hugo, and other options.
1
Replying to
I’m shocked, shocked… that an “Anglican curate/deep churchman” with the handle wyclif and bitcoin eyes would think that 🤣
1
1
Replying to
Ha! Well, I really wasn't trying to be that guy. But have you looked at Hugo? It's slick and streamlined. Liquid and Go templates can handle logic operations. But I'm more concerned with encouraging people to own their own content and avoid digital sharecropping.
1
1