Journalisimo

Yesterday my good friend Armand from Moleskinerie and I launched a new weblog for lovers of analog pens, fine papers, journals and sketchbooks. It's called Journalisimo.

Our manifesto is short and sweet:

This weblog is an attempt to invite a return to analog. Many of us live very digital lives. We push pixels around screens. Our lives are stored as bits on shiny hard drives. Our words and images can be published online, available moments later, all around the world. But this digital life can often seem very shallow.

While we recognize the power of our digital existence, we long for the tactile feel of ink on paper. We celebrate the freedom from power supplies,  batteries, wireless networks and fragile electronics. We seek to elevate the written word and the freehand sketch on fine paper. We celebrate the  journal as the optimal analog device for expression and enjoyment.

Journalisimo.

The Journalisimo blog idea has brewing for many months, prior to our launch this week. It was the combination of my WSJ appearance, along with Marc Orchant and Merlin Mann, which set us both off, though we could both sense a trend toward Moleskines and other paper journals being adopted by bloggers and the digerati. It made sense to provide a resource for those people and focus it on journals generically, rather than one specific brand.

We've been in on the analog journaling and sketching trend in the tech/blog community for a bit over a year now and we only see it increasing. We both see digitally oriented folks getting frustrated with their computer tools, or just seeking a respite from their immersive digital lives. Analog journals and pens seem to fit the bill.

So, it only made sense to begin Journalisimo as our way to connect people searching for analog solutions to people generating analog solutions. Armand and I like to think of Journalisimo as the analog doppelganger to Engadget. :-)

I'm the design and creative director for the new blog, while Armand is the one posting the bulk of the daily posts. I intend to write up longer articles and reviews to post from time to time, while Armand hunts down daily doses of unique, unusual and interesting tidbits on the analog lifestyle.

We welcome your suggestions and notifications on analog blog posts and articles. if you have suggestions or links to share, please visit our little Blog, drop a line or leave a comment. :-)

Comments

[Brad]

Since I've started writing again, as well (complaining that I'd let technology become an excuse rather than an enabler over the last 10 years or so), I love the new blog.

Something is wrong with the XML feed, though.. couldn't get it to work?

[Mike Rohde]

Thanks for the note Brad. Glad to hear you like the blog.

BTW, alot of the credit for Journalisimo goes to Armand. He's the one who's really the day-to-day guy. I'm responsible for the design look and feel, which is set now (more or less). I might post now and then, but I just have too much going on to be a regular contributor. It's hard enough posting here! ;-)

I've had no problems with the RSS feed, yours is the first comment about it not working properly. Anyone else having problems?

I'll ask Armand to have a peek.

[Brad]

Got it working now.. Cockpit error... or as we used to call it at one of my old development jobs.. PEBCAK (Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard)

[fFouro]

Hi Mike.

Thought I'd swing by and say hi. Looks nice.

I'm off to Journalismo!