juusokarlstrom.com // iuuso

Starting a Fresh Blogging Journey

Once again, I've decided to dive into a new blogging adventure. I've lost count of how many times I've chosen a new platform, worked on building it, but never actually launched it. I often get caught up in tinkering, planning, and learning, and end up neglecting the actual writing process.

The thing is, I've realized that I enjoy the process of building something more than the act of blogging itself. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a trail of unfinished projects.

Instead of focusing on writing and creating content, I've been busy experimenting with different ways to put my blog out there. I've tried out various methods to make sure everything runs smoothly when I deploy it.

These deployments need to include tests, checking the code and blog posts for errors, an approval process, and scanning for potential security issues with the software I'm using. It's all part of making sure everything works seamlessly when I put it out into the world.

My Experiments So Far

I've been playing around with a few different platforms for blogging:

I'm sure there are more options out there, but these are the main ones I've tried.

In addition to these blogging platforms, I've also been trying out different ways to put my blog online:

You get the idea. I've also explored using AWS Lambdas, AWS Fargate Containers, AWS Load Balancers, and more. The list of options isn't endless, but there are quite a few possibilities. And all of those options work, and can be used to deploy blogs and other generated content to the web, but ultimately I just decided to quit on those.

It's important to mention that there's nothing wrong with trying out different ways to host and deploy. Through these experiments, I've learned a lot. For example, I tackled the challenge of automating TLS certificates alongside other content, and I got a handle on how CloudFront works and how Origin Access Identities can help secure static site hosting on S3.

Playing around with different options as a hobby, without a strict personal or professional goal, has been a great way for me to learn. And I don't plan on stopping the learning process. Well, at least when it comes to different blogging platforms. :)

Discovering Bear

I can't quite remember where I first stumbled upon Bear (the blogging platform I'm using, not an actual bear), but what immediately caught my attention was its approach to blogging. It's not a novel concept – there have been platforms that let you write posts in markdown and host them for a while now.

However, there were a few specific things about Bear that really got me hooked and convinced me to give it a try:

  1. It's developed by a single person (hi there, Herman o/)
  2. It's free to use, but there are some extra features you can get with a paid subscription
  3. I appreciate its simplicity and minimalistic style
  4. It respects the privacy of visitors to the site
  5. It supports markdown, which I'm a big fan of
  6. It's incredibly easy to set up (you basically just need to know the basics of markdown)
  7. The documentation is clear and up-to-date
  8. Honestly, I'm quite fond of the branding and the name.

Speaking of the name, "Bear" and the little emoticon ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ are just brilliant.

Also, there's something about Bear that reminds me of the early days of the internet, more like the Web 1.0 era rather than the modern Web 2.0. I won't go into all the details about that here – that's a topic for another post. But this nostalgic vibe resonates with me even more than the recent surge of nostalgia for movies from the past. Maybe the right movie remake hasn't come along for me yet. I might need to reconsider my stance when they decide to remake Police Academy 1 and 2.

Why I'm Blogging

Right now, I see this blog as a personal haven of sorts – a digital island that I'm creating for myself. I have thoughts, ideas, and experiences that I want to share. You're welcome to explore them at your own pace. There's no algorithm forcing you to read this post or any of my other content, except maybe the search engines. You're free to come and go as you please, visiting whenever you feel like it.

I'm not particularly active on social media these days. I might explore my reasons for that in another post, but in general, I don't believe that social media has a positive impact on our society anymore. However, I still have a desire to share, contribute, and perhaps offer some guidance to others on their journeys. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn just don't align with that desire.

I do, however, have an urge to create something that's uniquely mine. Maybe this blog is my way of scratching that creative itch.

Thanks for reading,

JK

#aws #tech #writing