I have so many links I can share, I said to a friend with excitement. I often feel this way. I have websites and web pages in my head that I often refer to when I’m talking with friends. Perhaps one of the reasons I love search so much is that I don’t necessarily keep all my favourite links in one place. Some are in my bookmarks, others I remember, others I have since lost and need to find again. Search is incredibly useful to find the thing for which you are looking.
But what if you don’t know for what to look?
I love “blogrolls” – lists of blogs one enjoys – because you can skim through them and be taken to new places without having to know for what to search. My blogroll, lovingly assembled over time, is a place you can go to explore new websites. I appreciate my blogroll because I know I am but one small part of the web. I want my website to be a destination and a part of a reader’s journey.
I have thought about publishing bookmarks on my website, and have tried in the past. Except I always run into a few issues. These are:
- I seldom refer back to them;
- I have to use or maintain software to keep track of the bookmarks;
- The list of bookmarks can get long, fast.
I was never fully satisfied with publishing bookmarks, so I stopped. But I still want to share links.
Yesterday, my friend shared an idea of something smaller: a “James’ favourite things.” This would be a place I could go to put some links I really enjoy and want to share with people. I could always add more links over time. I could make the list of links a web page, so editing becomes adding an item to a list on my own website.
This inspired the “link garden,” a new section on my website.
My link garden is a place where I have curated some links that I want to highlight. I have put the links into several categories, including:
- Things to make you wonder…
- Things to help you learn about…
- Things to make you think…
A heuristic I am using to decide what goes on the page is “have I referred to a web page a few times, or do I think about it often?” The link garden is thus a place to curate rather than to collect. It is a place where I can take my time to add links, and where I do not feel the pressure to make it complete or add everything I find interesting.
The list may get long in the future, but that’s okay. There are always wonderful new things on the web to find!
If you are looking for something to read today, explore the Link Garden. I have also curated bloggers whose writing and web weavers whose website I appreciate on my (newly-redesigned and updated) Wander page.
