The Concept of a Digital Garden
Gardening is a hobby people take on for themselves. It is typically a very personal interest. Want to plant a sunflower in a pot, just because? You can. Want to transfer your rosemary plant from one garden box to another? Who is stopping you?
I love how Tanya Basu refers to your cyberinfrastructure as your “digital garden,” because that is truly what it is (Basu, 2020). Building your blog is similar to the act of gardening. It is a personal endeavour that is catered towards yourself.
Basu says that through digital gardens “people are creating an internet that is less about connections and feedback, and more about quiet spaces they can call their own” (Basu, 2020). This resonates with me as when I was creating this blog, I was designing it in ways that I wanted and creating content about the topics that I am interested in. Instead of viewing my blog as a place to attract an audience, I am viewing it as a creative outlet. If people come across my blog and give it a read, that is excellent; however, I am not writing about certain topics simply because I hope to gain a following. This blog is my own space that I am using to represent myself.
The reading also points out that these digital gardens can be “edited at any time to reflect evolution and change” (Basu, 2020). This is one aspect that I love about creating a blog. Knowing that I can edit my posts at any moment takes stress away from this creative process. I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to academics. I will break down every detail of my work to try to make it as close to perfect as possible. Since I can go back and edit my blog whenever I want to, it allows me to take my time creating something that I am truly proud of without the pressure of only having one chance to get it right.
Now that I am a month in to this publishing course, I feel like I have gotten the hang of building my personal infrastructure. I am so excited to continue to build my digital garden and make it something that I am proud of!
References
Basu, T. (2020, September 3). Digital Gardens let you cultivate your own little bit of the internet. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/
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