From fdc595ad50f37ca9b21cbec59a33c2c6b71e1343 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jay Ray Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2024 08:32:09 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Create 2024-07-17-clean-slate-bookmarks.md --- .../2024/2024-07-17-clean-slate-bookmarks.md | 40 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+) create mode 100644 _posts/2024/2024-07-17-clean-slate-bookmarks.md diff --git a/_posts/2024/2024-07-17-clean-slate-bookmarks.md b/_posts/2024/2024-07-17-clean-slate-bookmarks.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..4f8bdced --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2024/2024-07-17-clean-slate-bookmarks.md @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +--- +layout: post +date: 2024-07-17 8:30:00 -0500 +tags: post, technology +title: A Clean Slate +--- + +There are times when I crave a clean slate, an opportunity to clear out all the cruft of the past and start over. I do this in small ways each year. Perhaps I get a new phone or computer and don't restore from a backup, or I try a new organizational method that naturally starts with archiving all the old things to make room for the new, or physically clearing my workspace to clean it and start from a place of renewed focus. A clean slate has a lot of use when you feel cluttered. + +## Bookmarks + +I recently realized that I have been using a technology that most people apparently don't use anymore: bookmarks. I am not saying that people don't bookmark things anymore, but at least not in the way I do, which is based on a history wherein bookmarks were the only option for saving something for later on the web. I have had a set of bookmarks that I have collected and curated over the years for a variety of reasons, but maybe that form of collecting information is no longer necessary because of search, purpose-built apps, and conversational artificial intelligence. + +Yesterday, I exported that list of bookmarks to a file and started over; I currently have zero bookmarks in my browser of choice. Sometimes, we need a jarring change in order to see where we have gone a direction that needs adjustment and this will be a jarring change for me. Interestingly though, I have already noted something that is of value to me: in the absence of bookmarks, Safari surfaces other information—such as frequently visited sites—and that information may prove valuable in realizing my habits (both the healthy and unhealthy ones). + +This clean slate is brought to you by [Nash](https://nashp.com), who discussed bookmarks with me and it was like we were speaking different languages. Here is a key excerpt from the conversation: + +> I only use bookmarks for the important apps that I have to visit daily/weekly. Anything else, I wouldn’t put inside of bookmarks. I used to. I also used to fill up other apps with similar things. Over time though, it becomes hoarding. I’ve settled on a few ways that make the internet and my own life mesh very well, without becoming a collector of every hyperlink I come across. + +This was predicated from a long discussion that started with a simple question (in my mind): "So if you want to save information on a webpage to reference in the future, what do you do?" Here are examples I gave to Nash to clarify *why* I am saving a webpage in the first place: + +- App documentation and support +- Status pages for an important service +- Language learning resources +- Activities for kids +- Information about a product I'm researching +- How-to documents for building something +- Workout information and routines +- Recipes I like +- Articles I want to read later +- Information or pages I want to reference or link to here + +The key for Nash is that he has clarified his use cases for saving information and the apps that enable conversion from a link to a useful piece of information; he will likely write about this in [his newsletter](https://nashp.com/mc) now, so I won't steal his thunder. However, my solutions may not look just like his—they shouldn't—so instead of reiterating his guidance, I will leave you with the driving question (and a link to a 2018 post on a tangential topic in the See Also section) that will assist me in my journey from here: + +**Instead of bookmarking a link, what is my intent with the information?** + +From there, I can see a pathway to a whole set of workflows to make the information actionable, instead of forever collected until the link becomes a [404](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_404). + +## See Also +- [Digital Hoarding (or the Fight for Digital Minimalism)](https://engineeredeloquence.com/2018/11/digital-hoarding) - 11/2018 \ No newline at end of file