Finer Things in Tech should look a little different today, starting with the URL. I’m going back to basics, writing more, reviving the podcast, and introducing a way to support my work and the authors I commission. Let’s get started.
More Finer Things
Finer Things in Tech has always been about quick, bite-sized tips that help you get more out of your tech and apps. Last year, I introduced long-form articles from myself and smart industry folks, and they’ve been a big hit. Now I want more of both, and I’m taking a cue from my former boss Jason Snell to include “bigger than a tweet” pieces. I’m also going to try some link posts, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on it all.
I want more tips and long-form articles, and I want to explore our relationship with tech, the industry’s culture, and how we can improve it all. The short-form podcast will return soon, I want to pay more smart people to write about the finer things in tech, and that’s where you come in.
How you can help
I’ve never done something like this before, which is a great reason to try it: today I’m launching a Patreon where you can support my work and help me pay writers. You can contribute as little as $1 per month or as much as you want. I’ll use this money to pay for the site and commission as many articles and tips as I can.
The Patreon doesn’t have any tiers or stretch goals yet, but I’ve certainly thought about them. It depends on how this goes, but all sorts of things are on the table: removing the one ad from the site, a process for requesting authors and articles, maybe even a mobile magazine, and more.
If you value Finer Things in Tech, I would deeply appreciate your support to help make it even better.
Details and thanks
To answer some inevitable questions:
Yes, Finer Things in Tech now runs on Squarespace 7
I know I threw in the towel on Squarespace two years ago, but it and its iOS apps have come a long way. I started using it again recently for a neighborhood project and, combined with my long-time frustration with WordPress and its hosting (yes, an article is coming about that), it felt like the right time. Squarespace removes many of the website management frustrations for me so I can focus on what matters—writing, podcasting (soon!), and finding more people to write about the finer things in tech.
Yes, all old links should redirect
Squarespace has some great domain and URL redirect tools for muggles like me (but if you see something, say something). In short, all old links to something like:
finerthings.in/featured/have-a-very-imessage-holiday
will transparently redirect to their new home at:
finertech.com/blog/featured/have-a-very-imessage-holiday
Feeds should automatically redirect as well. But if you’ve never subscribed or just want to make sure, you can check out all main section and topic feeds on the Follow page, as well as social and newsletter options.
Thanks
I have to make a huge shout out to Conrad O’Connell at 91digital for help with getting all the necessary redirects in place. I also thank Alex Knight at FeedPress for a lot of help in jumping through some hoops with feed redirects and custom hostnames.
Of course, I thank you as well for reading and all the support, links, and feedback. I love doing this, and I want to bring you much more Finer Things in Tech.
