Build a link blog like Simon Willison • Hacker News Board

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#21

Post by jjude » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:15 PM UTC

I created a new category "/cpn/" (stands for commonlog) and posting links with my understanding. You can see them here: https://www.jjude.com/cpn/

In fact, I also posted about Simon's post: https://www.jjude.com/cpn/informal-guidelines-for-running-a-...

As he says, having a link blog is a "low stakes, high value" activity. More people should carry it out.

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#22

Post by giancarlostoro » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:21 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #9

I love how this post is an exact implementation of my advice on link blogging (add some personal commentary, quote liberally) - applied to my article about link blogging. Very meta. https://simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/22/link-blog/

This... might be what I need to do honestly. I've thought about a good way to save some links I find on HN, and its painful to go back through pages. Heck, sometimes I lose my own comments. A blog might just be the way to regain access to lost content from HN.

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#23

Post by MattSayar » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:22 PM UTC

eamag wrote: post #7

Why not combine links in one monthly post similar to https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/links-for-january-2025 I personally prefer this format ( https://eamag.me/2025/Links-For-January-2025 ) and you can post single links on social media instead no?

I've settled on posting interesting links to BlueSky and then I put a Bsky sidebar on my site[0]. It's a win-win; I have the small links+comments "on" my site, but the longer stuff that gets posted to RSS/newsletter to my site proper.

[0] https://mattsayar.com

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#24

Post by sodimel » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:22 PM UTC

Thanks for this interesting article!

I added it to my sharing link service (kinda like a link blog, I think): https://links.l3m.in/en/

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#25

Post by blackeyeblitzar » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:33 PM UTC

I’ve seen Simon’s blog suddenly posted on the front page nearly daily. Did something change recently that it became more popular?

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#26

Post by oneeyedpigeon » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:34 PM UTC

giancarlostoro wrote: post #22

simonw wrote: post #9

I love how this post is an exact implementation of my advice on link blogging (add some personal commentary, quote liberally) - applied to my article about link blogging. Very meta. https://simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/22/link-blog/

This... might be what I need to do honestly. I've thought about a good way to save some links I find on HN, and its painful to go back through pages. Heck, sometimes I lose my own comments. A blog might just be the way to regain access to lost content from HN.

Sounds like you might want a good bookmarking service. Pinboard used to be great. I still use it, but I'm not sure what it's like for new signups. I'm also in the process of migrating that data to localhost with some added scripts because it feels like I should own that data and... yeah, the aforementioned upheaval.

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#27

Post by fallinditch » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:35 PM UTC

giancarlostoro wrote: post #22

simonw wrote: post #9

I love how this post is an exact implementation of my advice on link blogging (add some personal commentary, quote liberally) - applied to my article about link blogging. Very meta. https://simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/22/link-blog/

This... might be what I need to do honestly. I've thought about a good way to save some links I find on HN, and its painful to go back through pages. Heck, sometimes I lose my own comments. A blog might just be the way to regain access to lost content from HN.

I use Tumblr to save interesting links. It gives me a nice chronological record of stuff I'm interested in. It acts as a memory aid too - when I need to find something but can't remember the name but I know I blogged it a few weeks ago.

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#28

Post by jakevoytko » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:52 PM UTC

jszymborski wrote: post #4

I tend to suffer from scope creep in my blogs. "Oh, I found a quicker way to compute X, lets write a blog about it" becomes "I should write a library, write docs, run extensive comparatives, then publish it". I've been getting better at fighting that temptation, but I still suck at it. Setting deadlines for blog posts usually helps me focus my efforts.

I used to have the problem where all of my posts would be 2000-3000 words, or more likely I would never finish them. So I started a newsletter in November. I committed to publishing every Monday and Thursday. Furthermore, since I have a wife and a toddler, I basically have about 4-5 hours to work on every post. The regular schedule has helped me get over my perfectionism, aggressively cut scope, and ship on time.

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#29

Post by be_erik » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:57 PM UTC

My link blog is just an rss feed. It's immensely helpful. I can feed the articles into LLMs so they can be tagged and summarized and I always have a copy (no bitrot thanks to monolith: https://github.com/Y2Z/monolith)

https://enlace.space/~erik/rss.xml

Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison

#30

Post by simonw » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 4:57 PM UTC

eamag wrote: post #7

Why not combine links in one monthly post similar to https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/links-for-january-2025 I personally prefer this format ( https://eamag.me/2025/Links-For-January-2025 ) and you can post single links on social media instead no?

Depends on how much commentary you are adding. If more than a sentence it's worth having a separate page so that other people can link to what you said!

My link blog entries are often quite long: https://simonwillison.net/search/?type=blogmark