On Steeping Blog Posts
August 27th, 2006
In the last few days a number of blog posts on “steeping entries” (not publishing them for a while and then later going back to edit/review and publish them) have popped up. While I too practice this technique, I typically overdo it. In fact, it turns out that an overly large number of my posts don’t even make it to the page. There’s a few reasons for that.
1. I’m not a writer, but I am a perfectionist (or I try to be). This means that looking at my own writing is absolutely painful. The posts that do make it to the front page usually just happen because I’m sick of seeing them sitting there unpublished (basically the equivalent of turning in a paper/project that you aren’t happy with, but you’d be happier to have it over with).
2. Time restrictions. I’m not a blogger (see #1), I’m a developer. Any ramblings that end up here typically only come after a work day (or sometimes before). Regardless, my energy is usually spent elsewhere.
A few choice posts that will most likely forever sit in my queue (due mostly to #2):
- “Your Mom!” or “Zidane’s Headbutt as Psychological Self Defense”
- Google Analytics + Prototype = Easy Outbound Link Tracking
- Consider the Lobster
- Painless web development with PHP4 - Is it possible?
Related:
43Folders: Percolating your blog drafts
Lifehacker: Marinate your blog posts before you publish
August 27th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
You’re not alone in this. Here are some of my probably never-to-be-published entries:
-Tom Collins Mix
-On Historiography
-On Nicknames (or, Why there shouldn’t have been two Punk Rock Bills)
-Books not yet read
-Hurry & Tasty Curry
And I take it you’re reading David Foster Wallace? Or is it something tangentially related.
And how was (is?) Budapest, you lucky punk?
August 28th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Hmm.. so I’m getting the theme of “Drinking, Eating, and History” from your entries. Nice!
As for the lobster one, that’s actually just me borrowing the title there. Remember a month or more back when Whole Foods decided to stop carrying live lobsters? Yeah, I was planning on saying something about that. I, being the vegetarian and believer in animal equality, still wanted to point out a few less than accurate things that PETA has to say on the issue (courtesy of some research that Brian did actually).
Budapest was pretty awesome. I got home a week ago, but have spent all my time since then in bed sick with who knows what. Alicia’s been kind enough to take care of me and even skipped her grandmother’s 90th birthday party (since I sure wasn’t capable of getting back on a plane and flying anywhere). Things started looking up yesterday, so I’m guessing it’s back to work this week (office is closed for renovations.. hey, a bathroom on our floor! How novel!).