I’ve lost more hours on Brain Pickings and The Marginalian than I’d care to admit, but it’s all been worth it. The site always felt like the old All Music days. It’s all about the links. And, let’s be clear, it’s all about the curator - Maria Popova - curating those links.
Your curiosity gets further curated every time you click. It’s a magical looping effect. It’s very different from doing research or exploring Wikipedia. You get a reward for clicking each link in a way I’ve rarely appreciated on many other sites (and that’s a prime goal on Cultish Creative too, just saying).
In Popova’s conversation with David Perell, they get into a conversation about links (Perell’s a nerd about this stuff, too). But, more importantly, they get into some definitions like diaries, journals, and what they do.
Popova changed the site name to The Marginalian to capture the essence of writing notes in the margins across texts. It’s all about putting her responses next to the text. The proximity makes those notes different from, say, a diary.
A diary has to be a separate book, right? Definitely. I love where she’s taking this
In her words, a diary “starts with observation and ends with contemplation.” The note in the margin or a quote from the book might be the jump-off point, BUT THEN you’re into your own book writing down your own combination of observation and converted contemplation.
The first time I heard her say it, I thought it sounded a lot like what a Personal Archive is. She’s letting her curiosity get captured by one idea then flipping it into something new.
But, the diary is private.
A Personal Archive puts it on some type of public shelf for others to find. Where they can write notes in the margins or go get inspired to do something new with it. With the personal reflection aspects of a diary, just maybe not all the personal effects (you can and should keep some stuff “private” in your head, your home, or your diary).
The result of the efforts come full circle. Popova recognizes this, too (naturally). She says a diary is a record of how someone pays attention.
Note - not WHAT they paid attention to, HOW they pay attention.
Again, just like a Personal Archive. The difference here is one is in public and one is not, but both showcase the opportunity to figure out how a person pays attention. If you’re the author, there’s a meta-level to this, too.
It makes me think of breadcrumbs. How you leave them. Not if they’re a fancy baguette or wonder bread, just how you do it, across all the mediums.
A note in the margin is an idea you add to the inside of someone else’s book. If I see your notes in the margin of a book, it’s a breadcrumb to how you pay attention.
A diary is a private idea in your own book that you wrote down. If I have access, I see the process for how you’re paying attention to life, especially if you never intended for anyone else to see it.
The Personal Archive is the public idea, in your own book, where you share access. Yes, there will be limits to the personal details, but the structuring of how you think is on display.
You can make it as performative as you want from there.
On Cultish Creative, the creative act is still the goal. It’s not performing for followers or subscribers so much as to build the archive for my own self-reference to use elsewhere in life.
The Marginalian always felt like it was doing something along those lines for me.
Popova explaining this nuance helps me clarify some of my own process. I think about the creator flywheel, and how what the muse shows me, indicates how my curiosity gets piqued, and how a quick note in my phone can manifest into a reflection like this, that I know I’ll be happy to see I logged at some future date.
Have you checked out the full Personal Archive Strategy Guide post? It’s a free resource I made for myself that I’m happy to share with you, right here.
The full interview with Maria Popova is exceptional. if you liked this post, you want to listen to this one:
