why i’ll start a personal email newsletter

i listened to the samuel vasquez episode of obsessed with design recently and i was really inspired by his reasoning for starting a personal email newsletter. 

tbh, i was pretty critical of the practice up until i heard him explain why he started his. i thought it was pretty self-centered, self-aggrandizing, and mostly a form of personal boosterism.

but his logic and reasoning has totally changed my mind. in fact, he’s changed my mind so much that i’m planning to start one for myself in 2017. some of these reasons are his that i liked and some i came up with but here they are either way:

• let’s people know what i’m up to: more people ask me what i’m up to than i can reasonably respond to (not tryna be an asshole here, that’s just literally true. i wouldn’t have time to do any actual work if i kept up with everyone i know). i think a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter email can keep people in the loop about what i’m up to if they really want to know. the archive could also be a helpful tool as another form of personal public memory/reflection.
  
• allows people to send things resources my way. being up to date about what i’m doing i think could help people know what’s relevant to send along if they want: articles, rpfs, proposals, and things like job postings.
  
• allows people to make connections based on things they’re doing or seeing. whenever i update my job status on facebook, i get at least 2-3 people wanting to talk about work stuff. the newsletter could help people connect with me who are doing relevant work and want to either partner or think together or whatever.
  
• platform for sharing my writing. as i write more and hear how people appreciate it in different ways, i’m learning that a distribution platform could be a helpful thing. maybe the email could have a list of all the posts i wrote that week or something.

anyways, that’s what i’ve got right now as reasons for starting a personal email newsletter for 2017. they may evolve or change, but let’s see how it goes!

writing: 13:56
spell-check, link-finding, & formatting: 11:39