Blogging 101: edit old posts
I’m not saying that what I write these days is literary gold, but when I browse posts from yesteryear I sometimes want to give my old self a good slap.
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9 appreciated comments on “Blogging 101: edit old posts”
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i find it difficult to concur with you on this.
while it is but-natural that our views and perspectives grow different with the passage of time and it is quite common to want-to-alter what we’d once written, the graph that accompanies the post is rather misleading.
in reality, we never get better or worse with time. at any given stage of our lives, we’re as good as we are. thus-with, i would find it more than difficult to come to terms with the phrase “verbal muck”.
conversely – could you look forth to a future-self, and assuredly state that what you would say then would be better, and that what you state today is (relatively) verbal muck too?
frankly – today, you’re the best that you are, and the graph does you no justice. in-fact, the level of verbal muck remains constant; it is just an enhanced ability to disguise it under succinctly grafted sentences that makes it all seem much rosier than what it may actually be :)
I feel exactly exactly the same way about my older posts. Stomach churning older posts are promptly deleted. It must be a universal blogger phenomena.
I think we can all completely relate to this feeling… recently went back over some work/ portfolio pieces from 2006/7.. yikes! The good thing is that we can see progress and maturity in what we do – thank goodness for that!! Sorry for clients from yonder-year though ;)
Interesting graph. I know what you mean. It goes for writing, design, anything really. Over time you — gradually — get better. Looking back a few years can be surprising. Still, I think it’s more of a testament to how far we’ve come than to how bad we were.
But I don’t think I’m for removing or deleting old stuff. Leave it in the archives and if someone is really digging that deeply, they have to take outdated posts with a grain of salt. Especially given how fast this industry moves.
In the book Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours of practice to start seeing significant results. Maybe this is what is happening here.
While the graph is a little harsh, I know exactly what you mean.
arayans, it’s worth mentioning that this is based upon my own experience as a blog author. I don’t want to say that everyone spouts rubbish as soon as they start their first blog. Far from it. It’s all about hindsight.
Martin, this can easily transfer to your design work. Completely agree.
Ryan, nice statement: “I think it’s more of a testament to how far we’ve come than to how bad we were.” We all start somewhere. But as for the old posts, if one looks bad, I’ll happily ditch it. You never know what pages a potential client might arrive on, and if the first thing he/she reads is an outdated post with opinions you no longer believe in, it’s not the best advertisement.
Rishi, I’ve been meaning to read that book. Is it worth a purchase?
Lee, you’re a good example to mention. You started your blog(s) much later than I started mine, yet before mine were live, you were writing in forums with info I learned from, so it all depends on the author.
Hi David. Outliers is a good book, not a life changing one. If you liked Blink and Tipping Point you’ll like this.
You got me there. I have many very old posts, and it seemed to me that they don’t have any value anymore. But I guess I was wrong. I will edit and post them again. Thanks for the idea.