Uses and Now

Decided to jump on the /uses and /now bandwagons.

What the heck are /uses and /now?

From my own personal interpretations both of these ideas, pages, and products feel like they fall squarely into IndieWeb territory. They’re small ways you can share interesting information about yourself on your own site.

uses.tech is a project put together by Wes Bos for devs to share the tools, resources, etc. they use to do their job. From the contribution guide on github:

What’s a Uses Page? A /uses page lists a developer’s setup, gear, software, and configs (what they use). It’s a great reference for those looking to add to their library of tools or reconfigure ones they already use.

What Should I Include? Include the hardware you use, such as your computer and other related equipment. Include your preferred terminal, text editors, tools, frameworks, and other related software you use. If you can, include configurations for software (such as fonts and themes). The more you have on your /uses page, the more interesting it’ll be to those who view it - just keep it on-topic!

nownownow.com/ is a project started by Derek Sivers. A /now page is meant to be a big picture glimpse into the things you’re currently focused on. From the nownownow about page:

If I wonder how someone is doing these days, it doesn’t help me to see that they went on vacation last week, are upset about something in the news, or even got a new job. That’s not the big picture.

Think of what you’d tell a friend you hadn’t seen in a year.

Like, “Still living in Dallas, though considering moving to Austin. Working at ABC. Really getting into cycling. The kids are age 3 and 6. I’m reading a lot of Pema Chödrön, and listening to a lot of jazz piano especially Brad Mehldau. I’ve stopped taking on web design clients, since I’d rather keep improving my back-end database work.”

That’s what a now page is for.