Content management systems.

I’ve always been against them – not for everyone, but for someone like me. I like knowing everything about my own site – and I like everyone who uses it to understand exactly what is going on, too. I’ve generally found that the more transparent the technology through which an idea is expressed, the more objectively the idea can be received. The more exclusive the technology used to transmit an idea, the less level the playing field between “broadcaster” and “audience.” That’s why I’ve generally gone with text-only pages, and very basic html in their implementation. It makes the web a bit more like the text-only, ascii internet on which I was raised.

I was forced to reevaluate this believe by Ben Brown, who customized his own content management system for the columns area of my site.

It’s pretty fast and easy from my end, and it gives me the ability to redesign my site completely without going through every single page. He’s got it configured to do the whole site, instead of just the columns area, and I’m slowly warming to the idea of implementing it all. Thanks, Ben, for forcing me to rethink some of my longheld orthodoxies about content management. And for working so hard to make my site!

And thanks to everyone for your emails of support since I’ve started this blog. It’s a different world in which to be published, for sure — one with the potential for instantaneous feedback and a feeling of genuine community. Thanks for building this world, and thanks for bugging me until I stepped into it.