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New post on Expanding Awareness! But actually I want to talk here about how I plan to build an oasis (thanks @ungatedcreative) using ideas I'm picking up from the Zettelkasten (thanks @beauhaan) https://t.co/SJpR5foq40
I want to create a space where readers can get happily lost in a world of ideas, going from link to link in pursuit of whatever catches their interest and experience delight often. This is like how Beau describes the the Zettelkasten — so I'm going to borrow ideas from it.
Every blog post has a few characteristics: - a short or medium length encapsulation of a few ideas - a potential way into my oasis for any new reader - part of a web of other 'content' - other blog posts, videos, a newsletter, a course, podcasts, and so on
I want to draw people deeper into my oasis as the big ideas I want to communicate are too big for a single piece of writing. And since I have no real control over their entry point, I have to link all the things within the oasis together. But I can't do it haphazardly.
There are automated tools for blogs that show a list of related posts after each post, but with a low likelihood that they are actually related. You can also get 'previous post' or 'next post' buttons that let readers navigate an ordered list of posts based on publication day.
When I'm done writing each post, I will browse through ALL the published posts and see which ones stand out. I'll link the ones with the strongest 'this is important' felt sense at the end of the new post in a "if you like that, you'll like this" kind of way. https://t.co/bT79MZZfLj
It will show me where I can write a new post in response to something I've already said, where I can add texture and colour to the conversation. And as I add more and more posts, I'll be encouraged to go back through older posts and update them with new relevant posts.
All of this will have the effect of making Expanding Awareness feel like an alive, emergent and constantly evolving world. Subtle changes, more connections and new conversation threads will appear and take on lives of their own.
Like the Zettelkasten, I'll end up with a conversation partner, an intelligence both made from and yet somehow also additional to my own. Something that will surprise and delight me as well as others. Well, that's the plan anyway.
Oh this was a summary of this newsletter, which I sent out today https://t.co/CFAngIt5Di