Why I’m Moving to Medium
The most recent blog post published on JakeBouma.com—Introducing the Cancer & Theology e-book—is dated December 30, 2013. It will be the last.
Don’t worry, my blog isn’t going anywhere. Really I’m just sunsetting it, as the tech folks say. But from here on out, any blog-like content I write will be posted here on Medium.
I’ve been flirting with the idea of using Medium for a while now, but when I recently had the urge to start blogging again, I only had eyes for my beloved JakeBouma.com. All I needed to do in advance of my triumphant return was log in to WordPress and install two years’ worth of updates. Once the software powering the website was current, I’d be all set to start cranking out some fresh content.
Buuuuut… then I remembered that I’ve been thinking about redesigning my blog for a while now. Something a little more minimal, more modern. Something with a little class. So I took a little detour and started searching for a WordPress theme that mirrored the perfect design I saw in my mind’s eye. About an hour into the search, the realization hit me like a can of paint to the face: I’m addicted to redesigning my blog, and WordPress has enabled my addiction for nearly a decade.
WordPress is powerful blogging software. It’s popular, too—a recent survey estimates that it powers 25% of all websites. One reason it’s so popular (aside from being free) is that it’s pretty much infinitely customizable. The invitation is right there on the website: “Transform your site into almost anything you can imagine.” Who would ever guess that The New Yorker and Lollapalooza are powered by the same core software? Well, (spoiler alert!) they are. Imagine that.
Medium’s approach is essentially the exact opposite. Aside from some basic formatting, writers have zero control over the appearance of their content. This “thoughtful constraint” pushes users to “focus on writing, and not get distracted by choice.” If WordPress is a world-class painter’s kit that comes with easy access to a nearly unlimited inventory of paint colors and finishes, Medium is a brush and a single, big-ass can of premium paint.
In its ten years of existence, I redesigned JakeBouma.com no fewer than five times. I’ve easily racked up (read: wasted) hundreds of hours searching out themes and then tweaking the most minute design details, only to start the entire process over in a year or two. And yet there I was again, idle and indecisive before one of those sprawling, kaleidoscopic displays of paint swatches, when I should’ve just been painting.
Will I miss my blog? Of course. Since going live on March 18, 2005,* JakeBouma.com has racked up over 800 posts—from the profound (My brother is an atheist and sometimes we talk about religion; I have been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma) to the ridiculous (The Jake & Tom Podcast) to the controversial (A look at the declining membership of the ELCA) to the completely self-indulgent (Books I Read in 2012; AWOL Apparel; The unnecessarily detailed account of my new, long-awaited, custom Paul Soupiset tattoo).
*Given the topic at hand, it’s kinda funny/depressing that this first blog post ends with “I have spent nearly 5 hours today just trying to tweak a couple of things so far,” and “this will be a constant work-in-progress.”
I’ll miss WordPress, too, from time to time. Particularly when it comes to support for footnotes (which I ️♥︎), a feature Medium surprisingly lacks, given their obsession with all things typographical. Regardless, I’m at peace with my decision to move on. And in a symbolic gesture of gratitude, I drank this morning’s coffee from a mug featuring the logo of my first true blogging love.
Earlier this month, recent Medium convert Justin Blanton wrote:
I really like the idea of simply writing and publishing, while leaving all of the backend stuff to someone else.
Me too. Here’s to the next thing.
