Blogroll
One of the things I value most about the internet is stumbling onto someone's corner of it and finding something genuinely interesting, human and unexpected. These are some of the sites, newsletters and writers that have earned a permanent place in my reading habits. Some I've followed for nearly two decades. Others are more recent discoveries. All of them make the internet feel a little more like it used to.
Newsletters
Naive Weekly — Slower paced, thoughtful, "web as art" exploration that feels more human than most of what crosses my screen. The folks behind the Internet Phone Book, which is worth a visit on its own.
Web Curios — It is way too long and I never finish it and it's borderline unhinged and I love the author for it. The weirdest of the web that I would almost certainly never actively seek out on my own. We thank you for your service.
Hacker News Letter — It's Hacker News, but weekly and curated is the right cadence for me.
Mike Monteiro's Good News — I've admired Mike from afar since the Mule Design days, and books like Just Enough Research and You're My Favorite Client were ones I took to heart earlier in my career. This newsletter is the human side on full display: personal stories about helping people, about real things which are so easy to lose sight of online.
Blogs & Personal Sites
Craig Mod — Walking, writing, Japan. I admire the cottage industry he's built around his creative projects: Things Become Other Things, Kissa Kissa, his special projects membership. It's a model I find genuinely inspiring.
Chris Arnade Walks the World — I love traveling and secretly wish I could just travel, walk, write and talk as my job (maybe I should try it?). Chris's very human exploration of all the places he visits is delightful and relatable in ways that mirror my own experiences going back to 2013.
John D. Cook — I've followed him since my own consulting days back in the 2000s. Curious, clearly smart, clear in his explanations and always eager to lean into learning new domains. The collaborative spirit and eagerness to learn is palpable in his writing.
Daring Fireball — I've read this for nearly 20 years. A blog that has endured, knows its voice, and has a complementary podcast that helps round out John's perspective. It's largely Apple and tech, but at its core it's John writing about what he finds interesting and has thoughts on.
Simon Willison — His contributions via Django, Datasette and llm are standout, but the current version of his career really inspires me. He's chasing his curiosity with AI, diving deep, writing constantly and sharing tools and findings and somehow making it all work. I'm inspired to chase my own version of this path every time I look.
Julia Evans — A fellow Recurser with a knack for breaking down complex technical topics into clear, understandable blog posts. Always a delight, well respected and well earned.
Stefan Judis — Someone I've crossed paths with in the international web conference world. Deeply creative, personable and writes wonderful content about the web. There's an enthusiasm there that's never wavered and I admire it.
Charlie Gerard — Her projects are endlessly creative and really inspire me.
Research & Other
Low-tech Magazine — A solar-powered website (inspiration for my own fledgling SolarPi project). It's the best of the internet: helpful information, how-tos, educational content with an almost subversive low-tech angle. Solar websites, foot warmers, coffee brewing, extolling the virtues of handcarts.
Ink & Switch — An independent research lab exploring the future of tools for thought, and that framing resonates with me. The idea of local-first, malleable software is fascinating. It's creative, academic and somehow seemingly unruined by purely capitalistic motivations. Subtle inspiration for my newest venture, less.software.