Build me in public

I've been updating my personal website more often lately. I want to gradually put more of myself on it: the different sides of me, the things I think about. It feels a little like I'm building myself in public. I know “build me in public” sounds a bit odd, but it has the right feel.

Or maybe it's more like building in semi-public. A personal website sits somewhere between social media and a notes app. It doesn't feel quite so exposed, but it isn't entirely private either.

After all, far fewer people go out of their way to visit someone's website than scroll through social media these days.

People come with different expectations, too. On social media, you can say whatever's on your mind or browse lighter posts. There are more challenging topics now and then, but without an emotional hook, the algorithm rarely gives them much attention. Someone who comes to my website, though, is here to read something I made.

I haven't felt like opening Substack much lately, and I've switched its in-app notifications to email. Substack still has likes, replies, and shares: all those immediate signals that people are responding. I've noticed that they affect me, and sometimes I envy writers who get more engagement. That's not what I want to chase right now. I want to focus more on the quality of my writing, especially since I don't think I'm writing enough yet.

One thing about a personal website is that feedback comes slowly. I rarely know who's reading. I've added emoji reactions and comments, but not many people use them yet. With my recent Stream posts, I can't even tell whether anyone has seen them. For now, I imagine most readers are other writers or friends, though I do occasionally get an email or hear from someone.

Wiwi and Lee Wei are part of why I've been updating more often. Since pulling back from social media, I've spent more time in my RSS reader. I still catch myself wanting to scroll through something. Both of them post pretty frequently, so their writing keeps showing up. Seeing them use their own websites to document their lives and thoughts made me want to do the same.

So I finally made a Stream section. I can post here without feeling like every piece has to be as complete as a Life article.

Writing in a notes app and publishing something feel very different. Knowing someone might read it makes me take more care in how I put my thoughts together. I used to jot down all sorts of stray ideas in my notes app, but I rarely went back to them. They just piled up as digital clutter. Lately I've come across articles about things I'd thought about before, and wished I'd taken the time to sort out my thoughts back then.

I also think I'm more likely to revisit things on my website than in a notes app. The website is mine to shape. A notes app keeps me within its interface, but with AI around now, I can change my site's layout and theme whenever I want.

Speaking of personal websites, here's one from a chess enthusiast, Shou-jen: their site. It's pretty cool that visiting it immediately starts a chess game.

Writing over the past few days has also surprised me with the way my thoughts come together. This post was only supposed to announce a new page, My Favorite Resource List. But as I kept writing, I started thinking about building in public and ended up putting the whole train of thought into words.

I'll stop here before this gets too long. Whoever you are (if anyone's reading), I hope you'll keep watching me Build Me In Public here!