I begin developing the Chaos Map one essay at a time in 2020. I used Webflow to build chaosmap.io and Mailchimp for the monthly newsletter. 24 essays later, I’m trying out a switch to Substack.
Why Substack?
Not for money. I have no plans to charge for Chaos Map subscriptions.
The right place. When I encounter a Substack, I instantly sense that I’m in for long-form, thought-provoking writing. That sense usually turns out to be true. Substack seems like a fitting place for the kinds of ideas I’m exploring.
The right time. I have a hunch we’re nearing an endgame for what words can accomplish to bridge increasingly impenetrable perspectives. I think we need fewer words, more maps. 2023 feels as ripe a time as any to promote visual thinking on a site that’s pushing the boundaries of words.
More constraints, less friction. Substack’s editor is more limited than MailChimp or Webflow’s and that’s been great. It’s a joy to write in. I can draft, edit, and publish in one editor. (Believe it or not, my previous writing process involved developing each essay across six apps.) Writing in Substack feels nice and nicely mitigates my perfectionism.
What’s next?
The primary change is that I’ll send my monthly essays and field notes via Substack instead of Mailchimp. If you’re a current subscriber, I hope that’ll feel like a minor format change.
Because of the platform switch, my first 2022 essay is a big-picture (re)introduction to the Chaos Map.
But in February, I’m looking forward to finally picking back up the series on mapping personality.
In the background, I plan to keep experimenting with Chaosmap.io as an interactive, exploration-oriented guide.