Lev Lazinskiy

Urge to Edit Old Posts

HouseRat Zero wrote about resisting the urge to edit old posts.

https://houserat.net/resisting-the-urge-to-edit-old-posts/

This one really spoke to me because last year I started the (still unfinished) work of moving and consolidating 20 years of blogs into this one.

https://levlaz.org/archive/

It was a huge effort that was mostly positive. I didn’t rewrite history, but I did add some additional context to the top of some posts. I’ll also admit that there were a handful of posts that I did not bring over because they were angry, hurtful, and don’t represent who I am. Although I was sad to realize they likely represented who I was.

Reid Hoffman said something like “If you’re not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” I feel the same about writing, but especially blogs. Getting a chance to read your hot takes and revisit your old points of view is a sign of growth. I am sure there are ideas that I have today that will make me cringe in another 10 years as well.

Overall I like going back to read old stuff. Yes it makes me cringe, but as long as I feel like I am making progress, taking time to reflect, and using that to grow, then it makes it worthwhile.