It’s been a long time since I’ve owned a blog. I’ve started and stopped several over the years, but for 2025, I want to get back in the habit of keeping a public blog that’s accessible to others (if you want to read it).
Why am I doing this?
I was originally going to do monthly YouTube Vlogs but over the course of the year, I’ve realized that… videos are a pain in the ass to make. With all the editing, recording, scripting, subtitling, audio finessing… videos are just too much work to do “on the side”. Meanwhile, written blogs were something I used to find very easy to update, and though there are some highly polished blog websites out there, this one is going to be more like a journal/update feed… like it was in the 2010s.
Why not do this on [insert social media platform]?
Honestly, I’ve considered and tried many of them, including Patreon, Substack, Tumblr… but over time, what’s made me uncomfortable about them all is the lack of authority and control over my own content. These platforms are constantly changing policies and ToS (whether due to legal compliance or monetization goals), which can result in the loss of access or loss of data. There are some very public stories of social media influencers losing their platform in 1 fell swoop because of a platform decision with very few channels to reach contest the ruling (I have a lot of thoughts on the automation of human interaction… probably one of the many factors to why I left my last job). I’m not an “influencer” and I have no intentions of becoming one, but that lack of control over my own data makes me concerned, especially as the social media industry continues to roil and implode in recent year(s).
What can you expect?
Monthly updates on my art/life progress. And perhaps some random thoughts and things I want to share, but am not sure where to share them.
Fun links
Like I said, I used to blog back when it was a thing. Some links to blogs that still exist on the inter web that I dug up:
- Old blog from 2010-11 (which can be a hilarious dive into what 2010-me was like (wow was I a child)): https://thereisachen.blogspot.com
- Another old blog I kept during 2007 when I was living in Japan for a study abroad semester: https://tingchenjapan.blogspot.com
