Today is one year since I began publishing daily on the site. When I completed three hundred days in early October, I had written a Twitter thread about this practice means to me and what it’s done for me. I was surprised I had not linked to it here. Here goes:
Today I hit my 300-day streak writing on https://t.co/0EoazP7v2A, a site I have run since 2002.
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
Back then I was in my late teens. I'll be forty not too long from now, and this site has been a constant through that evolution. A short thread: 1/ https://t.co/P5EkMGocfn pic.twitter.com/yuMGXhKjcV
Your site is like a personal time capsule: I've mostly written about how you & I deal with tech in our lives. 15 years ago, in Oct 2005, I wrote 'Imagining the Google Lifestyle'. It's educative (if droll) to read just how much has changed: https://t.co/Ieb5z8DyUq 2/
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
But things also remain the same: 10 years ago, I commented about downtime and disconnecting from our devices. Now 'Wellness when always-on' is a frequent theme on the site, but this post goes to show that smartphone addiction predates Apple and Google https://t.co/4RvnFMEuEt 3/
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
As someone who's always wanted to write – since as a kid –it was hugely empowering. Over the years the site's made me a better writer, yes, but also a better reader, a better thinker. It's forced me to understand more deeply so that I could articulate ideas and opinions. 4/
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
The site's helped me open doors, find jobs, find people who share interests, and, in dark periods, given me something to do, for myself. And at some point, this will be my body of work. 5/
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
I began this streak in December 2019. At some point, daily writing took on a life of its own. As Seth Godin had said, at some point after he started writing regularly on his blog, his thinking changed from ‘should I write tomorrow?’ to ‘what should I write about tomorrow?’ 6/
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
Mid-way through, I reflected on my (so-far-unconscious) process of choosing what to write about and what not. I came up with ‘Five Megatrends and Five Big Questions’ we'll each need to watch and deal with as we become digital-first people. https://t.co/Sf1F134Jdv 7/
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
Ultimately I’d love for my readers be a community that helps each other navigate opportunities that tech brings, & its challenges to our health and relationships. Over the next 300 days, I'm going to look to build this community. Get in touch if you want to be an early member. 8/
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
Thanks to @rajeshjain – his https://t.co/WFFJVPwAae was my original motivation. And @natfriedman (your original https://t.co/S9tDzwwjSY), @jkottke, @tferriss, @ThisIsSethsBlog and @david_perell for inspiration in some form or another. (ends)
— Rahul Gaitonde (@RahulGaitonde) October 7, 2020
All of this is still true. I intend to keep publishing – and there is something else, complementary, in the works. Soon!