People and Blogs: Dominik Schwind

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

My name is Dominik Schwind and I'm from Lörrach, a small town on the German side of the tri-border area with Switzerland and France). I've been a web developer for a really long time now, mostly server-side and just occasionally dabbling in what is showing up in the browser. Annoyingly that's a hobby that I turned into work, so I guess that's ruined now. (Which doesn't stop me, though: I have too many half-finished side-project websites and apps to count.)

Besides that I also really like to take photos and after a few years of being frozen in place I started to travel again, which is always nice. I do like watching motorsports of almost all types, I can easily get sucked into computer games like Factorio and I like to listen to podcasts, top of them being the Omnibus Project, Do Go On and Roderick on the Line.

What's the story behind your blog?

I've had a website since before I had internet access - some computer game I had in the mid-90s had the manual included as HTML and I used it to learn how to make basic websites. The very first day my father came home with a modem, I signed up for GeoCities and when I found a webhost that would allow me to run CGI scripts, I installed NewsPro, an early proto-blog system before blogging was even a thing. And while these early iterations of my website(s) are long gone, I haven't stopped since.

The name came from an unease I started to feel in my final year of high school: once I finished school, I didn't know where to direct my energy and attention. That feeling hasn't really left since then.

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

Mostly there is none - when I think of something that I want to communicate to someone, anyone, I try to put it online. Quite often it ends up on Mastodon but I do try to put things on my blog, especially when I know it is something future me would appreciate.

A few years ago I noticed that I had neglecting my blog in favour of other ways of communicating and I started a pact with a couple of friends to write weeknotes. We're in our fourth year now, which feels like an accomplishment. I try to write those posts first thing on a Sunday morning, if possible.

I write most of my posts in Markdown in iA Writer, which is probably the most arrogant Markdown editing app in the world. But I paid for it at some point, so I better use it, too.

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

I basically only need a computer and a place to sit and I'm fine. I've tried to find ways to blog from my phone but in the end, I prefer a proper keyboard and a bigger screen.

While I never observed any difference in blogging creativity depending on the physical space, I actually quite enjoy writing in places other than my desk.

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

This one is actually pretty simple: I run WordPress, currently on a DigitalOcean VM. One of the points on my long to-do list for my web stuff is to move it to Hetzner, which probably would only take an evening. And yet, I procrastinate.

I've (more or less) jokingly said I'd replace WordPress with a CMS of my own making for years now, but at some point I've resigned, even though my database is a mess.

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

Probably not.

Ever since the beginning I wrote for two audiences: my friends and future me. I'm really happy when someone else finds my blog and might turn into an internet friend, but I wouldn't know how else to achieve that other than what I've been doing for all these years now.

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 monetising personal blogs?

.de domains are pretty affordable, so it is that plus the server, which is around €100 per year.

The blog doesn't generate any revenue, in many ways it's "only" a journal.

When it comes to other bloggers, I'd say: go for it if you think your writing (or your photography or whatever it might be you're sharing on your website) is something that can be turned into revenue, one way or another. In many ways I'm a bit bummed that Flattr (or something similar) never really took of, I would happily use a service like that.

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

Of course I need to mention my friends and fellow weeknoters: Martin (blogs in German) and Teymur. (NSFW)

Three of the people whose blogs I read have been interviewed here already: Ahn (Interview), Jeremy Keith (Interview) and Winnie Lim .(Interview)

Some other people whose blogs I read and who might be interesting people to answer your questions would be Jennifer Mills, (who has the best take on weekly blog posts I have ever seen) Nikkin, (he calls it a newsletter, but there is an RSS feed) Roy Tang and Ruben Schade.

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

If you don't have one yet, go start a personal website! Don't take it too seriously, try things and it can be a nice, meditative hobby and helps against the urge to doomscroll. Also you might never know, your kind of people might find it and connect with you.