Welcome to my personal public square
I laid down the foundations of this digital garden nearly than three years ago, when I was still grappling with the pandemic and seeking a way to share my existential anxieties with the world. The project was soon abandoned (though I did end up starting Chai Masala one year later).
I realise now that I didn’t at the time feel the need for a digital garden. Twitter was still a functional platform as an online public square. I had figured out ways to even make it ‘healthy’ for me. I curated lists of accounts I wanted to follow under categories like “Indian Journos,” “Books,” “South Asian Academics” etc., and barely relied on the algorithmic feed.
Since 2022 though Twitter / X has been barely useable. Many of the accounts I admired have left and I can rarely open the app without getting inundated by disturbing ads and posts far outside the scope of what any other algorithmic feed recommends me.
My Twitter served two functions: it helped me discover content that was aligned with my interests and create a diary of good content that I had consumed. I'd often go through my tweets to find an essay I vaguely remembered. I've largely replaced the first function with newsletter subscriptions. This digital garden is an attempt at fulfilling the second.
I plan on using this Bear Blog quite as I did Twitter. This will be my own little public square - so expect snippets of conversations, not long treatises. Chai Masala will continue to be the salon for more thought-out writing.
And as always, if anything here sparks any thoughts or reflections, please do share them with me.