Notes on Blogging

Jan 13, 2024

I published my first year in review back in 2014. That makes this the 10th one and marks a decade of reviews.

solomon.io 2023 Year in Review Back in 2014 I published my first Year in Review. That makes this the 10th entry and marks a decade of these reviews. First, I am grateful to all of you. (opens in a new tab)

Jan 29, 2023

It's been a chaotic start to 2023, but here's my 2022 Year in Review.

solomon.io 2022 Year in Review Hello from my parent’s kitchen table! It has been a chaotic couple of weeks. This is not how I expected to spend my time off, but here we are. It’s funny. (opens in a new tab)

Apr 1, 2022

Through the years I've hosted a fair amount of interviews with designers, entrepreneurs, artists and authors. All of those interviews now have a home on my personal website.I wrote a bit about my experience and listed a few of my all-time favorites.

solomon.io The People I Met Hosting Interviews Two weeks ago I moved the very last interview from Signal Tower to this site. All of the interviews that have been published now exist here. (opens in a new tab)

Jan 10, 2022

Even though I don't spend a ton of time on Twitter anymore, I thought I'd share my 2021 year in review.

solomon.io 2021 Year in Review Goodbye 2021. Hello 2022. I thought this might be the year that things would start to go back to normal. (opens in a new tab)

Jun 23, 2020 Thread · 2 posts →

This makes me incredibly sad. Slate Star Codex, one of my favorite blogs, is now gone because a @nytimes reporter was going to reveal the author's name.It's such a shame.

slatestarcodex.com NYT Is Threatening My Safety By Revealing My Real Name, So I Am Deleting The Blog [EDIT 2/13/21: This post is originally from June 2020, but there’s been renewed interest in it because the NYT article involved just came out. This post says the NYT was going to write a posi… (opens in a new tab)

Mar 25, 2020

Absolutely love this idea.

Jan 28, 2020

Finally finished my 2019 year-in review! It contains a little bit of commentary of everything I built, wrote and read last year.

solomon.io 2019 Year in Review As the New Year draws closer I like to reflect. Around this time I publish a few thoughts on what I made, what worked and what didn’t. (opens in a new tab)

Oct 21, 2019

Starting to think about my 2019 year in review. What should I include this year? What should I get rid of?For reference here's my review from 2018.

solomon.io 2018 Year in Review Welcome to my 2018 annual review. This review is an opportunity to talk about what I made, what I learned and where I failed. (opens in a new tab)

Mar 7, 2019

It's interesting to see signalvnoise.com move away from @medium. I was a fan of the pre-medium design, but also like the outrun vibes of the new look.

signalvnoise.com Signal v Noise exits Medium Three years ago we embraced an exciting new publishing platform called Medium. It felt like a new start for a writing community, and we benefitted immensely from the boost in reach and readership t… (opens in a new tab)

Feb 1, 2019

Just in case you missed it here's my Year in Review—Notes on things I made, read and learned in 2018. solomon.io

Jan 22, 2019

I've spent the last two months writing about everything I built, wrote and learned in 2018. My review for 2018 is now live! solomon.io

Dec 13, 2018

For the last 4 years I've published a review that touches on what I've made, learned and accomplished. It's always interesting going back and reading past reviews. I was very focused on building things in 2014.

solomon.io 2014 Year in Review I’m Sam Solomon. You likely know me from the longform interviews I do with designers, writers and entrepreneurs. (opens in a new tab)

Aug 4, 2018

Excited for @WordPress's Gutenberg layout editor. My theme doesn't support it now, but it should provide a ton of flexibility going forward. No more shortcode hacks for layout changes.

Mar 7, 2018 Thread · 2 posts →

I'm trying something a bit different with my current audio course—I'm going to publish my notes from each lesson on this page. Here's lesson 1 of The Skeptic's Guide to American History.

solomon.io Course Notes: The Skeptic By nature I’m a skeptic. Many people try to apply labels to complex topics that are not black and white. (opens in a new tab)

Feb 15, 2018

It's hard to believe that I've published a little more than 40 interviews since 2013. solomon.io

Jan 24, 2018

Per usual, my year in review is a few weeks late—Twenty Seventeen

solomon.io 2017 Year in Review Around the holidays I start putting together my yearly review. These reviews are ways for me to reflect on how the year went. (opens in a new tab)

Jan 15, 2018

Reading some old blog posts. I forgot about this one about naming an agency. There are some hilarious ones from our brainstorming session. I particularly like Tiny Giants, Big Trouble and Superweed.

solomon.io Agency or Indie Band? Last week I was having a beer with a friend who’s starting a marketing agency. We begin talking about the business and services he’s planning to offer. (opens in a new tab)

Aug 17, 2017

Is is just me or does the new clap feature on @Medium feel an awful lot like the famous Kudos on @Svbtle?

Jun 27, 2017 Thread · 2 posts →

Interesting. How long has @Medium recommended articles from other sites? Could this lead to a Taboola or Outbrain-type revenue source?

May 24, 2017

An old, but favorite post of mine—The Experience Deficiency.

solomon.io The Experience Deficiency I recently spoke with an MBA student who wanted to get into advertising. (opens in a new tab)

Jan 21, 2017 Thread · 3 posts →

Doing a little marketing expiriment, syndicating @Trustfuel's blog on @Medium. Any tips? buff.ly

Jan 13, 2017 Thread · 2 posts →

Just downloaded @iAWriter for Android. let's see if I can write a blog post on my flight today.

Nov 19, 2016

This weekend's project—make it easier to subscribe to my newsletter, build a library of favorite books on my site.

May 13, 2016

Tumblr blog to coffee table book. Great concept.

cabinporn.com Cabin Porn ® – Substack Inspiration for your quiet place somewhere: cabins, cottages, tiny homes, houseboats, shelters, saunas and vans. Click to read Cabin Porn ®, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers. (opens in a new tab)

Mar 11, 2016

All of @Medium's external links are nofollowed with the exception of links to @Twitter.

Feb 27, 2016

I think it's really cool that @Medium's terms and policies are on GitHub. Makes it really easy to see what's changed

github.com GitHub – Medium/medium-policy: Medium’s Policies and Guidelines. Medium’s Policies and Guidelines. Contribute to Medium/medium-policy development by creating an account on GitHub. (opens in a new tab)

Jan 22, 2016

What are your favorite blog designs?

Jan 21, 2016

Great answer by @randfish. What are the downsides to reposting existing blog content to Medium? buff.ly

Jan 20, 2016

Missed my 2015 year-end review? No worries, now's your chance to catch up.

solomon.io 2015 Year in Review It’s been an interesting year. I left my job as a producer at an ad agency, I helped start a fantasy sports company, I moved to Los Angeles and then moved back… (opens in a new tab)

Jan 17, 2016

It's a little late, but here's my 2015 year-end review.

solomon.io 2015 Year in Review It’s been an interesting year. I left my job as a producer at an ad agency, I helped start a fantasy sports company, I moved to Los Angeles and then moved back… (opens in a new tab)

Jan 10, 2016

Is @basecamp's Signal v. Noise exclusively a @Medium publication. If so, curious why the move?

Jan 6, 2016

Solid post about Social Sharing Buttons by @DannyBrown. Buttons still won't be making a comeback on solomon.io

dannybrown.me So What Happens When You Remove Your Social Sharing Buttons? After 30 days of blog posts without social sharing options, Danny Brown shares the results of his experiment. They may just surprise you. (opens in a new tab)

Jan 5, 2016

Talk about an awesome year in review! buff.ly

Nov 12, 2015

From the archive: Why I'm Done with Social Media Buttons

solomon.io Why I Removed Social Media Buttons from My Site I removed social media buttons from my site in 2014 after noticing they got near-zero clicks. Here (opens in a new tab)

Oct 9, 2015

Medium is not a publishing tool buff.ly

Jul 3, 2015

Tumblr's UI is just a bit too clever. I have several Tumblr blogs, and still get lost whenever I'm at the dashboard.

Mar 19, 2015

People are starting to follow me on Medium. Perhaps, I should write something.

Feb 13, 2015

From the writing archives—Why I'm Done with Social Media Buttons

solomon.io Why I Removed Social Media Buttons from My Site I removed social media buttons from my site in 2014 after noticing they got near-zero clicks. Here (opens in a new tab)

Feb 6, 2015

I'm in agreement with @stratechery. Blogging is definately not dead, but the landscape is shifting.

stratechery.com Blogging’s Bright Future Blogs may not be the only means of expression on line, but they are a more viable as a business for writers focused on niches than ever before. (opens in a new tab)

Jan 14, 2015

Interesting look at the 2014 traffic sources of one of my favorite blogs, Pricenomics.

Jan 12, 2015

If you missed it, I wrote a post about all the cool stuff I worked on this year.

solomon.io 2014 Year in Review I’m Sam Solomon. You likely know me from the longform interviews I do with designers, writers and entrepreneurs. (opens in a new tab)

Jan 9, 2015

Twenty Fourteen: The year I became a maker

solomon.io 2014 Year in Review I’m Sam Solomon. You likely know me from the longform interviews I do with designers, writers and entrepreneurs. (opens in a new tab)

Nov 13, 2014

I'm watching Ben Thompson's moves closely. He understands the future of independent journalists and writers.

stratechery.com An Update on the Stratechery Membership Program Last spring I wrote a series about the future of journalism: Part 1: FiveThirtyEight and the End of Average – link Part 2: The Stages of Newspapers’ Decline – link Part 3: Newspapers Ar… (opens in a new tab)

Aug 15, 2014

Plus, I just launched the new design for signaltower.co. Let me know what you think!

Jul 15, 2014

Don't know how accurate this is, but if true solomon.io is a top 100 io domain.

Apr 10, 2014

Tonight's mission is to set up the next series of interviews for @SignalTower Is there someone you want me to interview? Let me know.

Mar 21, 2014

I love stuff like this. Watch a stranger review my new blog. "You have all this empty space."

usertesting.com Get a free video of someone reviewing your website. Get UX research, product, design, and marketing feedback with UserTesting's Human Insight Platform and Services. Start here to improve customer experiences & drive innovation. (opens in a new tab)

Feb 19, 2014

Very cool to see the discussion my post about UX and social media buttons has caused over the last week. x.com

Feb 18, 2014

That moment when 600 words mysteriously vanish from a WordPress post. Nothing in the revisions files. Anybody have a similar issue?

Feb 13, 2014

Browser caching seems to be helping. My site hasn't crashed under reddit's load.

Feb 9, 2014

@HeyDesigner Thanks for the share! I've reset the server, so the post should be back up.

Feb 7, 2014

Trying to get back into writing. First up, Why I'm Done with Sharing Buttons

solomon.io Why I Removed Social Media Buttons from My Site I removed social media buttons from my site in 2014 after noticing they got near-zero clicks. Here (opens in a new tab)

Feb 3, 2014

Old post on the new blog. The Experience Deficiency—Why people hate their jobs.

solomon.io The Experience Deficiency I recently spoke with an MBA student who wanted to get into advertising. (opens in a new tab)

Feb 3, 2014

The kind of transparency @buffer operates with is both inspiring and useful for entrepreneurs.

Jan 31, 2014

In the process of moving old essays to the new site. Lookin good.

Jan 29, 2014

Anyone tried starting a blog without sharing buttons? I'm working on my new site, and I'm thinking I'll leave them off.

Jan 28, 2014

Svbtle opens up to everyone, Medium raises $25 million and it is snowing on the Gulf coast. Interesting day.

Sep 20, 2013

Can't wait to start tinkering with @TryGhost

Sep 8, 2013

Eagerly awaiting the launch of @TryGhost to build my new blog.

Jul 25, 2013

Working on a new interview layout for Signal Tower — images, videos and pull quotes revisited. Feedback appreciated. signaltower.co

Jun 21, 2013

Ghost seemed awesome when I first heard about it on Hacker News. I might try building a blog on Ghost. buff.ly

Jun 13, 2013

My first @dribbble . My logo design for @signaltower . Be gentle. dribbble.com

Apr 29, 2013

Just wrapped up a few awesome interviews for @SignalTower Wish I could stay up and edit them, but it's already past my bedtime.

Apr 25, 2013

Plugins every blog should use—I'm looking at you WordPress users. signaltower.co

Apr 18, 2013

Whoa, inline comments on @Medium . Is this new?

Mar 16, 2013

SignalTower.co hit 10k uniques this morning, and we're not even halfway through March.

Feb 22, 2013

Working on a really cool story for @SignalTower - More to come.

Feb 13, 2013

My blog @SignalTower featured in @designfeast this week.

designfeaster.blogspot.com Blogger’s Quest(ionnaire): Sam Solomon of startups-focused blog Signal Tower Sam Solomon is a designer, writer and entrepreneur in Atlanta, Georgia. Startups, design and education are the main topics he blogs about a... (opens in a new tab)

Jan 18, 2013

Logo design for my new blog Signal Tower. Thoughts?

Nov 5, 2012

A fantastic concept for rethinking Wordpress, Ghost.

Aug 24, 2012

New Post: The Democratization of Knowledge and the Fall of College

Aug 24, 2012

New rule: cannot start a new post, until I finish the one I am working on.

Jan 4, 2011

Thanks for the follow on Tumblr @IncMagazine You guys continue to be one of my favorite publications!

Dec 8, 2010

@rzg0002 Blog looks great. rodguajardo.com good thing u didnt make a Tumblr. Several pages of my site are down this morning.

Jul 7, 2010

Column: America's Forgotten Problem - I will slowly begin populating this blog with some of my favorite... tumblr.com