If you are unfamiliar, blogrolls are a simple list of links to other blogs that the blog’s author finds interesting and worth sharing.
Blogrolls mostly fell on the wayside as the web matured and industrialized. In an era that is obsessed with conversion funnels, the idea that you’d want to provide a mechanism to voluntarily leave your website seems absurd. However, they’ve begun to have a resurgence with the IndieWeb crowd.
Given that I’m not trying to sell anyone anything (directly), I thought I’d add a blogroll as well. I started to set up a list of people I’d want to feature and it gave me a moment to pause. I read a lot of blogs. I also read a lot of newsletters. I am who I am in this industry due to the collective advice and wisdom I’ve absorbed from what I’ve read, so it seemed weird to play favorites.
Traditionally, it’s considered good form to reciprocate blogroll links. As I started to map out who was including me (a totally humbling feeling, thank you), it occurred to me that I could include them, but also include everyone else.
So, here is my blogroll.
It’s a long list, but creating it gave me some opportunities:
- Evaluate the diversity of my RSS and Twitter feeds.
- Share that feeling of being included on a list.
- Read some old favorites, as well as check in on what people I admire have been up to.
- Help commemorate people in the industry who have passed, but leave behind a body of work.
I had some loose criteria to make the list:
- Your blog covers topics of design, development, inclusive design, or accessibility,
- is self-hosted and not using a platform like Medium,
- has more than a couple entries, and
- is, to the best of my knowledge, not written by a jerk.
I include people who aren’t mutuals on Twitter. I also include blogs that haven’t updated in a while, but whose content I enjoyed. Each name on the blogroll links directly to the person’s blog. I also include a links to their Twitter account and RSS feed, if it was easy to discover.
If we’re mutuals on Twitter and you’re not on the list, my bad. Message me and I’ll happily add you.