I think it might be time to do things a little bit differently around here.
My web presence has gradually increased over the past few years, thanks largely to finding a great niche to blog about and throwing in a little bit of good fortune to boot. Up until today, my old personal website has been a repository for cool stuff I’ve found online in my web travels, with many of it fed to me via Jason Kottke, John Gruber or Devour. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think I’ll use Facebook for that from now on like others do.
As I’ve become more entrenched on the web – mainly due to my work as editor of the “enchanting” (as Guy Kawasaki called it) productivity website known as WorkAwesome – I have more to say. And, at least from my perspective, it seems to be insightful. I can’t write about everything at WorkAwesome because some of what I’d like to touch on doesn’t suit the site, but also because there are a team of contributors there that deserve a place to showcase their stuff. Chances are, they have personal blogs where they wax poetic about non-productivity topics anyway. I think it’s time I have the same.
Eventualism is my niche site – a productivity parody site that also helped me get to where I am today. Some people get it and think it’s funny; some don’t and still think it’s funny. As a niche site, it doesn’t please everyone, but I’m pretty certain it does okay with the lifehacking and productivity types I’m looking for. Starting the site also gave me some latitude with how I presented my stories…as I wind up playing this Colbertesque character whenever I dove into productivity porn and how counterproductive it truly can be. I’m still going to work hard at keeping Eventualism going strong. Heck, I finally wrote a book because of the fake ideology.
But I’d like a place where I can offer opinions, present arguments, review things and basically “write” my mind. Sure, at Eventualism I can show how I’m leaning on a topic in a humorous way, but I’d like a platform where I can really tell people why I use a Mac, what productivity tools I use (and don’t) and even discuss stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with productivity. Imagine that.
I also want to focus on the writing.2 Limited imagery. Few to no ads (any that will be on here will be heavily curated…and I’ll soon be removing most ads from Eventualism as well). No videos. No sound bites. Mainly words. Really good words.
I am also tired of rhyming off five or more links where I can be found at the end of the Dyscultured weekly live stream and podcast that I co-host. This site should – and does – lead to all others. Then those new to Eventualism will see it’s a satirical take on productivity and might go there for the humour, as opposed to wondering what the hell I’m talking about there. You can hit up WorkAwesome from here as well. Same with Dyscultured.
(I’m thinking I need to write up one of those fancy “colophon” things now.)
Oh, and I was going to stick with Tumblr for this, but between the time I initially wrote this and its actual publication…things changed. My patience was just as tested with their recent woes – and lack of communication when said woes occurred – as many other users. User interface wasn’t a barrier; I’m pretty handy with WordPress. I thought, however, that I’d focus on getting up some really great content without worrying about design. But after trying to export my old Tumblr blog to WordPress for backup purposes, I decided I was fed up. I’ll go into more detail later on as to what flipped the switch for me, but know that I’m using WordPress for this new site and (to the chagrin of some, I’m sure) using my multi-site license of Thesis to spruce it up. So long, Tumblr.
You may have also noticed a cleaner look to the site that accompanies this announcement of a new mandate. All part of the plan. Many of my favourite sites are stripped down as such, and I’m partial to that look now as well. I have to thank Brett Kelly, Shawn Blanc, Benjamin Brooks, Patrick Rhone and Leo Babauta for inspiring me to go down this road – both in terms of content and presentation. If you’re not reading their stuff, you should be.
There’s more to talk about when it boils down to how my life has changed since I started working from home, and this site is where you’ll find all of that talking. And it won’t be starting eventually — it’s starting now.
I hope you’ll like it.
