Recently I've realized that I need to organize my online life. I have so many accounts in so many online services that I don't even remember where I am. So the purging has begun. I started with mybloglog and snapfish. There will be many more to come.
In the meantime I am streamlining my online life by arranging each service into a certain function: web development stuff here, personal stuff there, networking stuff way, way over in the corner. This will hopefully stop the scatter-brained and inefficient approach to "staying connected" (I'm falling out of love with that phrase... I think I was "over-connected" for a time).
I just cleaned my back porch today, to follow along with my online endeavors (I should have been doing my homework but ohwellitcanwait). This cleaning and organizing is all part of a spiritual purge, in hopes of a tighter vision and more focused energy on tackling life. After the cleansing of the porch (despite my nasal passages full of dust), I feel the effects already.
Online life in a nutshell:
- Batch IP Locator: my batch IP address geocoding test-site turned side-project that is garnering a respectible traffic, considering my marketing consists of a couple forum posts and a twitter account (112,755 geocodes as of this moment). Some day I may opt to retool it to bring in some side cash, and it would then officially be my "business endeavor" (everyone's got to have one, right?).
- SnippetLib: since becoming obsessed with web design early last year, I've learned, then subsequently lost, tons of little snippets of code to achieve those most menial and mundane tasks that turn into a full-day of searching forums and head-banging-into-the-wall syndrome. So I built a wordpress blog (first one, and I love it so far) and threw them all in there. It has since transformed into my outlet for web development, which had been flowing into this xanghe blog and causing great confusion (for me).
- vietmap.info: bought this domain name 2 years ago with the intent of creating something great... still haven't started yet. But eventually I'm thinking of a user-built database of Vietnamese stores and services. I really don't like forgetting about the wonderful little bún shop at the corner of something and something street. This would be my outlet for tinkering, if I ever get it off the ground. (Note: google maps now has metropolis areas in Vietnam to the street level - I'm glad I waited, because all the good food in Vietnam are the mom-and-pop stalls!)
- benhamatake.com: I've come to terms with my ego. Currently this domain redirects to this blog, but there's much in store for this one.
- Twitter: Random tweets. That's about it.
- Flickr: Used to be the treasure trove of all our photos, but now my pro account has expired and we're putting the money into benhamatake.com. It's still there with our photos, but only 7 sets. We were sad enough about that to develop our own picture management application (coming soon).
- xanghe: The blog that started it all. It really did, and has been the binding link between all of the above nonsense. It's on the fourth re-design. It started as a silly expression of Asian-American angst. It has been the depository of all kinds of thoughts and news and superfluity, all coalescing into a barely-recognizable mess of me. That's about to change.
Focus. Energy. Order. That's my new call. With all of the other online distractions I have going on, this will be the one that brings me back down to earth. In this blog will I write the things of my
soul.
