Earlier quoted context omitted.
Meta would be blogging about this post.
I call it recursion
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Build a link blog like Simon Willison
31–40 of 56 posts
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#32I use my homebrew CMS for this called flow https://github.com/samim23/flow A lightweight static site generator with built-in CMS that creates linkblog-style content feeds.
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#33I built a link blog system for myself that made it very very easy to just write new Notion pages and they'll just be on the site... except there's some kind of quicksand that prevents me from doing that on a regular basis. I really need to get that out of my head
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#34I 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/
Which is great advice. I personally struggle (a lot) with the time required to maintain a link blog with such granularity, which is why https://taoofmac.com does have a link namespace, but I typically only post about a link if I have one or two paragraphs to say about it _and_ the time to focus to whittle it down to something readable.
And I fully agree with the notion of "backing up" or keeping track of what was there (that's why I typically include a screenshot in my links).
But the key thing for me is that the time spent in the context shift "in and out" of writing starts taking a toll--especially since I tend to only post about links over breakfast, since I seldom have time to write "properly" by the end of my day, and prefer to devote my breaks to moving and doing house chores for "exercise" and getting tech out of my mind.
So a link blog of such density seems like a tricky juggling act...
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#35Never understood how he get time to do so many things. He is very productive
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#36Why 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 tended to bunch things up in weekly notes myself: https://taoofmac.com/space/notes
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#37I’ve seen Simon’s blog suddenly posted on the front page nearly daily. Did something change recently that it became more popular?
He's been supplying us with very regular updates on LLM-related topics, which is very much in vogue these days.
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#38If anyone has other interesting link blogs, do share them here
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#39Why 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 think bundling links is better than just throwing one out whenever you find it. If you get one link at a random time, you probably skip it. Unless you are a dopamine addict, in which case I just broke your concentration and fueled a bad habit.
A weekly, or monthly collection is something a reader can take their time for. Or put aside for a moment and come back later to it.
A downside of link bundles is that on an average blog, each installment becomes a page, and one has to click a lot before one gets to the interesting part.
My linkblog therefore sends a collection of links every week via RSS (and others like Bluesky, Mastodon, etc. will follow, if I ever take the time to implement it), but on the web it is just one long list, ready for consumption: https://ewintr.nl/linklog/
Re: Build a link blog like Simon Willison
#40Suggestion: Add waybackmachine/archive URL for each of the link that you blog about. Archive it if it's not there already.