Patrick Rhone

Let's start from the basics: can you introduce yourself?

My name is Patrick Rhone. When I'm not trying to be the best husband and father I can be, I'm mostly known as a writer, blogger, technology consultant, speaker, mental health advocate, and general c-list internet personality.

I also restore old houses as a professional hobby. I do volunteer circus rigging at a performing youth circus school as a less professional one.

What's the story behind your blog?

The very first post on my blog, Rhoneisms, is dated November 7th, 2003. Of course, I had been blogging before that, and there used to be posts dated slightly earlier. But, my blog actually began as an internally hosted one at the college I used to work for and I lost those earlier posts when I moved to a different platform and brought it public… Gosh, that seems like it was just yesterday. Not 22 years ago. Such is life.

My main blog has had many different points of focus over the years. From geeky, mainly Apple, tech stuff to GTD-driven personal productivity stuff, to practical/actionable life advice stuff, to the anything I'm interested in sort of thing it is now. And, that’s exactly what a blog should be — a reflection of one's interest and attention over time. A reflection of who one is right now and where they've been. Blogs are living things that should grow at the same rate we do.

I say "main" blog above because I do have a couple of other topic specific blogs (one for my home restoration work and The Cramped which is not often updated these days).

What does your creative process look like when it comes to blogging?

I really just post anything I feel like. Links to things I find interesting. Essays of things that take me a bit longer to express. Short thought's I'm having. All sorts of things.

I’m 58 years old. The internet was not even anything regular people could use until I was in my early 20s. My first "online" writing was things I posted to dial up BBS systems/communities. In the old days of the internet, it was common to have a blog just links or thoughts much like mine is today. There was no such thing as content management systems (like Moveable Type or WordPress) or services. No such thing as blogging software. Things were hand coded HTML. There were no “rules” about what a post had to look like or be.

Here’s Kottke.org from 2001. No titles. No format. Just some thoughts and a bunch of links for the day. This is the feel I’m trying to recapture.

Do you have an ideal creative environment? Also do you believe the physical space influences your creativity?

I generally do not have a specific creative environment. I believe the best inspiration can strike anywhere at anytime for the type of blogging I'm doing.

That said, for my longer form essays, in general my process is that I think about something for a very long time and then suddenly, out of nowhere at often at the most inconvenient time, what I call "writing brain" kicks in and I must find something — anything — to get it written down ASAP. It appears fully formed when that happens. So, no drafts.

A question for the techie readers: can you run us through your tech stack?

My blog and domain registration is through Dreamhost who I've used for too long to remember (2012 maybe). It runs on WordPress. If I'm on iOS I use Drafts to post to it. On my Mac, I use MarsEdit. I very rarely use the Wordpress web interface for posting. Only if I need to jump in and edit the HTML of something complicated to format otherwise.

Given your experience, if you were to start a blog today, would you do anything differently?

Nope. I'm very happy with where it is now and how it exists. Like I said, a blog should grow and change at the same rate I do so, who knows, that could change tomorrow and when/if it does, I'll change it accordingly.

Financial question since the Web is obsessed with money: how much does it cost to run your blog? Is it just a cost, or does it generate some revenue? And what's your position on people monetizing personal blogs?

Back of the napkin calculation: My general unlimited hosting for all my domains (I have a lot), sites, etc. is $39.95 a month. It would be too difficult to break down how much it is just to host the one blog out of that.

It doesn't generate any direct revenue really and I don't do it for that reason. I suppose people who enjoy my work will buy one of my books or something but it is not for this that I do it.

I blog because it is the best way for me to catalog my interests and thinking over time.

If others want to monetize their work that's their choice and I have no real opinion on it. There are a few bloggers that I support with my dollars in different ways and I'm happy to do so.

Time for some recommendations: any blog you think is worth checking out? And also, who do you think I should be interviewing next?

I remain a fan of Nicholas Bate who currently blogs at Hunter Gatherer 21C. In general, I enjoy his thoughts and insights. I also like his style of blogging. In many ways similar to mine (and I'd be remiss if I did not admit that mine is somewhat inspired by his). I'd recommend him for sure.

But, there are too many people I absolutely adore and admire to list here. Some of which have already appeared in this series. Annie Muller, Rebecca Toh, Kurt Harden, my friend Jamie Thingelstad. Obviously also internet famous ones like Jason Kottke and John Gruber.

The wonderful thing about the internet and the resurgence of blogging is that there is an endless amount of great blogs and bloggers out there. There is something and someone for everyone. Google your interests and find your people.

Final question: is there anything you want to share with us?

Well, I'm writing this in the middle of a tumultuous time not just in my country but in my city and local community. It is the end of January in Minneapolis/Saint Paul and anyone reading this - even long after - need only google to know what is happening here. And, I can tell you anything you do see or read or hear about it is but one of hundreds or thousands of stories. In other words, my mind is a bit pre-occupied right now.

But what I do want people to know about that is that despite everything our own federal government is doing to our state, it is only making our local communes stronger. We are deepening our ties with our neighbors, developing mutual aid networks to ensure care for the most vulnerable, and building peaceful resistance rapid response groups on a hyper local level.

So this is what I want people to know: The worst of them is bringing out the best of us. The worst in them is bringing out the best in us.