Live data from Hacker News

Great Men Keep Journals

artofmanliness.com

31–40 of 73 posts

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#31
post #5

I used to journal for years and stopped. Then I messed with OhLife (a YC startup) and kept going with it. I'm not connected with them other than being a user, but if you're online anyway, it's a pretty handy tool to keep a journal. http://ohlife.com/ It's also a good example of a clean design and user experience.

Interesting. Somewhat off-topic but what on earth is their business model? Journals are private. There are no advertisements. The service is free. YCombinator hopes to make money from this how? Don't get me wrong: it's a simple and clever idea. Just... it's not philanthropy, is it?

They send you an e-mail daily... one that you presumably actually look forward to getting. Surely they could add an advertisement to this e-mail if they wanted?

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#32
post #20

I keep a Moleskine journal in my rear jeans pocket. It's small, and contours to the curve after a day or two so you don't even notice it's there. I keep it with me like I keep my keys and wallet, without exception. I write on it on a semi-regular basis. The purpose of keeping with me is so I have something to write on as ideas come up, as girls give phone numbers, or ifI have free time to write down the thoughts of t…

I do the same thing but mine's a Field Notes. Smaller (about the size of 2.5 credit cards). I write my travel itinerary, phone numbers and dates, random ideas, todos, etc. It's also good for sketching, something which my smartphone cannot handle.

Would love to find a book that has a more durable, fabric cover though as opposed to a paper one. Sort of like the old US passports had, my passport has seen so much abuse it ought to be illegal. Anyone know of one?

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. Somewhat off-topic but what on earth is their business model? Journals are private. There are no advertisements. The service is free. YCombinator hopes to make money from this how? Don't get me wrong: it's a simple and clever idea. Just... it's not philanthropy, is it?

They send you an e-mail daily... one that you presumably actually look forward to getting. Surely they could add an advertisement to this e-mail if they wanted?

Probably.

And don't call me "Shirley".

I'm so sorry. I just couldn't resist....

(If you don't get it, watch this movie soon: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/)

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#34
post #5

I used to journal for years and stopped. Then I messed with OhLife (a YC startup) and kept going with it. I'm not connected with them other than being a user, but if you're online anyway, it's a pretty handy tool to keep a journal. http://ohlife.com/ It's also a good example of a clean design and user experience.

I use OhLife because it's so easy just to hammer off a few sentences at 8pm when it sends you that daily email.

And the random excerpt from the past is what keeps me opening the emails every time. Interesting to look back at the past.

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#35
post #13

This is obvious selection bias, on several axes. Here are two of them: - There is more/richer information available on people who keep journals, so it's easier to make the case for their greatness. - If someone does great things but no record is kept, they are not acknowledged. I enjoyed the stories of his grandfather, but the flawed reasoning in the argument annoyed me.

It's a case of inverted causality. The author thinks that because a lot of great people he knows about wrote journals that writing journals helps make a great man. It may in fact be that great men that write journals are the ones he knows about.

It does not address the (likely many many) people who keep journals but will not be considered great.

It is a valid point that keeping a journal does increase your legacy as it becomes easier to write memoirs for your grandchildren. Even if no one else will read it, they will have a vivid portrait.

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#36
post #19
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read the article? Blogging is mentioned. Personally, while I do blog periodically, my journal is entirely different than what I publish online. My journal is for my own consumption. Some things that are written down there (I prefer pen and paper) may end up online or in an essay, but others won't see the light of day (often for good reasons).

I write the same way in my blog as I do in a diary and leave it open with my name attached. I prefer it. Other than that I'm not sure what we're arguing about. Though it is interesting you have things to hide.

For me it's not having things to "hide", it's editing and keeping drafts. And I sometimes like pen and paper to supress premature editing. If I have a keyboard, it's hard to keep my fingers off Alt and Ctrl. (I exclusively use web apps and I haven't found/made a good browser-Vi yet.)

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#37
Always remember that diaries are admissible in both the courts of law and public opinion. Contrary to actions, diaries can unequivocally prove state of mind. Furthermore diaries will not speak in the voice of those that wrote it, but will speak in the words of those that read it. So when deciding to keep a journal, ask yourself "what would Bob Packwood do?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Packwood Knowing what he knows now, he would decide not to.

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#38
I have written a journal almost constantly since I was perhaps 15.

I love it. I can express on it all of my emotions, but still secrets are kept. I can write on it all of my thoughts.

It is, I must say, because of the journals I have kept that I have overcome so much adversity and it is journals which help me to push myslef further, and become better, every singl day. More often I do not know it, but the simple act of sitting in front of my computer and writing my thoughts down helps tremendously towards taking me further to what I want.

The problem I think is that, all the journals I have written, perhaps five or six, are now forever gone and deleted.

The strange thing is that in every entry, though I primarely write about myself and for myself, I aboslutley feel like there is an audience out there. Yet the more stranger thing is that, regardless of the imaginary glory of the moment, a diary to me is a personal thing, for my eyes only. It is something which maks sense to me only, and sometimes, to the moment that I wrote it alone.

Diaries can be dangerous. They are a perfect tool for narrowing your thinking. What you want is repeated over and ver, to the point that you do not feel that you want it anymore but are just saying so.

But I love writing journal entires. Despite the many journals that were deleted by whim and others that were deleted not by choice, I love writing them.

A journal makes me mak sense of what is was ad could be, and tthat, abouve my childrens fascination, is why I write them, despite the fact that they end up deleted and disapeared forever.

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#39
The digital/analog divide is a problem for me. I love the process of putting pencil to paper and writing, but amazing tools like org mode keep me on my computer. I hope eventually I discover how to properly balance these two types of logging.

Re: Great Men Keep Journals

#40
post #5

I used to journal for years and stopped. Then I messed with OhLife (a YC startup) and kept going with it. I'm not connected with them other than being a user, but if you're online anyway, it's a pretty handy tool to keep a journal. http://ohlife.com/ It's also a good example of a clean design and user experience.

I love Ohlife, it's just so easy and natural to send an email, it takes almost no activation energy.
Post reply on HN