After maintaining this Blogger page for about 8 years (though posting only sporadically during that time), I'm thinking of finally making the switch to Substack. Although I very much enjoy the Blogger interface, I suspect that this site is simply too difficult to find, and I hope that posting to the same app where people read other essays might help bring these musings to a larger audience.
One thing I appreciate about the idea of a personal blog is that it can appeal to a niche audience - in this case, really, an audience of one, since I'm both the writer and the main reader. This helps me feel free to post essays without wondering whether anyone else will find them interesting. It also helps me feel free to post on a very wide range of ideas without worrying that I'll alienate readers who only want my content on a single topic. I don't know how to think about this last point in particular in relation to Substack, where the idea of building a "brand" seems more salient than just exploring personal interests.
I'll keep this site alive for now, though I'm starting to migrate the archives over to Substack.
And I invite anyone who reads this to join me there! Visit dorianbandy.substack.com.