Lynn Swayze

Table of Contents

Welcome to My Digital Garden

A Digital Garden is, per Maggie Appleton, a "free form, work-in-progress wiki" which is more aabout cultivating your personal knowledge base than it is about chronoligical blogging or "content marketing" to sell a product or service.

It harkens back to the old days of the internet I grew up on, where it felt more like wandering through curated libraries than about ad after ad after ad. (Which, as a marketer, gets really old, really fast.)

In this space, I am not creating more noise for BigTech. I cultivate my knowledge in a way which will, hopefully, encourage conversation and relationships with others within and without my field(s).

"[Digital] Gardens offer us the ability to present ourselves in forms that aren’t cookie cutter profiles. They’re the higher-fidelity version, complete with quirks, contradictions, and complexity." - Maggie Appleton

Cultivation Legend

A digital garden's contents go through stages of cultivation. Here's how mine are designated.

Early Stage Idea
These are topics which I am just beginning to flesh out, and should not be bookmarked or referenced.

Growing and Developing
These are topics which I am actively working on.

Evergreen - Mature and Established
These are likely my pillar topics, which I update frequently, link to, and keep up-to-date. Bookmark these!

Composting - Outdated
I have identified these as important but now outdated or abandoned. Reference at your own risk.

My Cultivation Ethos

Every digital garden has its own set of growth principles, but here are mine:

• Structured like a Wiki: Topics are linked together through hypertext links, recreating the experience of the "old school" web and wikis.
• Allows for Learning in Public: Unlike content marketing, the articles in my digital garden do not have to be polished, and are not written with the intent to directly sell my services or expertise.
• Supports both short and long-term thinking: My digital garden supports short content (e.g., the Stream), and longer, legacy content.

Topics

Find content by topic, rather than by format.

• On Knowledge Management: Pages, links, and content on knowledge management, second brains, notetaking, and research.
• Social Sciences: Economics, political science, and psychology
• Language Learning & Cultures: My endeavors in language learning, cultural exploration, and travel/food
• Marketing & Advertising: Especially the history of Direct Response Advertising/Copywriting and marketing tactics

Asset Types

Find content by format, rather than by topic. Includes:

• Blog Posts/Newsletter: Short-form newsletter/blog posts designed to be more stream-of-consciousness for marketing clients, meant to inspire to purchase services or take a workshop from me.
• Essays: Researched, longform narratives on topics
• Notes: Notes from courses I've taken, books I'm reading, or other research, which services as a professional reference rather than output.
• Library: Books I've read and reviewed
• Antilibrary: Books I like the idea of having read, or want to read

Digital Garden Terms & Conditions

Quoting from swyx's article, here are my terms and conditions for this digital garden.

"This is my personal space for Learning In Public. I am a lifelong learner so everything is a Work-In-Progress like me, but I do not let perfectionism get in the way. That means that what you read here is not authoritative or complete, and is not representative of my best work.

However, it is representative of my interests and current state of knowledge, and if you have the same interests, then this space is also yours to use as a reference. Feedback and social sharing is welcome - that is the whole point of being public!

1. Right to Be Wrong