Jeffrey Yamaguchi
author
52 Projects
Random Acts of Everyday Creativity

We ran 52 Projects as a featured TypePad blog on July 18, 2006.

 

Tell me a little bit about 52 Projects. What were the origins of the blog?

52 Projects started out as a very simple website -- basic HTML that appeared as a list: Project #1, Project #2, Project #3, etc. I just added a project each time I came up with a new one, the goal being to hit 52. I've always been a project person -- seeing this or that creative effort as a "project."

52 Projects was sort of a personal exploration of that idea. I was writing out projects that I had done, or wanted to do, and so it served as a creative challenge, as well as a way for me to further dig into how project-making inspires and energizes me.

I still see the site that way, but it's evolved into more of a project-making hub -- I write about other people's projects, post interviews with people doing creative stuff, serve up lots of links. Overall, I want it to be a celebration of project-making and creativity.

You write "I feel most alive when I am creating something" -- a sentiment that a lot of bloggers can probably identify with. Do you think that applies to your own experiences online?

Definitely. It's this amazing new medium, not just in how you present whatever your work is, be it photos or art or music or poetry or writing or videos, but the way you can connect with others and participate in various communities. I started out doing paper zines –- those were some of my first "projects." Man, was it work to print just 100 copies –- all that photocopying and stapling! And it was always very stressful, because I usually did my photocopying on the job (the zine was called "Working For The Man")...

I have to say, the high I felt after publishing a zine, it's the same as when I launch a new website or do some major overhaul to one of my sites. I feel a real sense of accomplishment, really feel that creative energy. But like a lot of people, I'm really enjoying this new online world. There's so many people doing cool things, so much to learn and explore. It provides a great opportunity to create and tap your own unique ideas.

One section of your book is titled "What Projects Can do for You" and there are a lot of inspirational benefits you describe like "feeling better about yourself" and "helping you overcome the fear of failure" and "getting you involved in your community." Do you think that self-directed activities are basically the key to people growing?

I think we're growing all the time, no matter what. Having a bad boss makes you grow. Having to go through some kind of medical situation makes you grow. Having to wait in a really long line can make you grow. Being in a relationship (good or bad) makes you grow. It's how we manage this growth that's important, how slow or fast it will be, and what direction it takes us. The more you engage with others and participate, the more open your mind, the better listener you are, the more you are going to grow.

So here's where I think self-directed projects come in –- I think if you make sure to set aside time to create and work on a project that you can call your own, something beyond the day job and the day to day, then you'll be able to better process all these things that are going on around you, and you can get a clearer picture of where you stand and where you want to go. It's not necessarily the project at hand -– it's the personal, creative process you're engaging in. I believe that process is a major key to better wrapping your own head around the speed and direction of your personal growth.

What advice do you like to give to someone who wants to start their first project?

To not over-think it or worry about possible mistakes or that you don't quite have everything you need. To not talk about it -- just get to work! It's not like I'm an expert -- I have to remind myself of this advice every time I start a new piece of writing.

What's the most surprising thing you've realized or heard from the readers of 52 Projects?

I've been surprised and thrilled by the creativity and the community spirit of all the project-makers. I certainly never thought I was alone in my love of project-making, but working on the site for these past few years, and hearing from folks and learning about all the cool stuff people are working on, I am just so inspired by it all. And I don't think I'm alone in that either -- all these project-makers out there, they're really inspiring lots of people -- to see things in new ways, to try new things, and to just make time for personal, creative endeavors.

Why did you choose TypePad?

My first sites were hand-coded, basic HTML. I learned HTML with one of those O'Reilly books and by looking at the source code of basic sites on the web. Eventually I was spending quite a bit of time just doing basic coding... things like updating the archives was just a pain in the neck. In other words, I was spending far too much time coding, and not enough time writing. This was right around the time that content management and blogging systems started coming to prominence.

I was seeing a lot "powered by Movable Type" pages, but for me, that looked a little complex and I worried that I would spend more time playing with and figuring out the system than I would writing. I was really glad when TypePad came out -- it was a system that seemed easy to understand and use, with lots of cool options and features, as well as easy ways to organize links and the archives.

I've been really happy with the experiece of using TypePad. Most importantly, it allows me to focus on the writing and the content of my site -- not how to code it and make sure my archives are updated.

Are there any features you'd like to see TypePad add?

I'd love to see audio and video be as easy to integrate into a post as making a link or placing a picture. Audio is now pretty much .mp3 format across the board -- very doable, I would think, but video is all over the place -- .mov, .wmv, .mp4, .flv. And unless it's an .flv file, the video file launches a player, or tells you that you don't have the right player. I wish you could just upload a standard-format video (or an audio file), and have it play right there with one click. That would be very cool.

Which other communities or sites do you help out with?

I'm fortunate to have been invited to blog at the SuperNaturale.com blog -- a site all about DIY crafts, and at SmithMag.net -- a site that celebrates personal media, that addresses the fact that everyone has a story. These sites both have many contributors, and I think that's what makes them great sites -- they've really opened up the doors to all these voices. I'm really glad to be able to contribute to those sites.

What are your favorite blogs to read?

Let's see -- I really like the Self-Portrait Challenge, which is a participatory site that posts all these wonderful photographs and is a gateway to all these wonderful blogs.

I love hula seventy for the stories and photos, always so honest and beautiful, about life, family, dancing.

Muse to Muse is also wonderful -- two good friends seperated by geography but blogging side by side.

My good buddy Gordon Hurd just launched a very cool site called After the MFA -- about the craft of writing.

There's Jenny Vorwaller's excellent blog, particularly thrilling are her posts about her summer in Tuscany -- so inspiring.

There's Moleskinerie -- a celebration of the act and art of journaling.

I really could go on and on. I get so much inspiration from blogs. So many people out there are doing cool things and writing about cool things and linking to cool things.

What's next? Any upcoming plans for new blogs or new books?

I am now in need of my own advice. Less talking, more working. I've got all these ideas and I'm just not buckling down on a particular project and getting it done. I'm due for something new. I feel it in my bones. I have started things, but then realized they were maybe false starts, that my heart wasn't in it.

I'd like to focus on something a bit more offbeat, something stranger, and darker. But again, less talking and more working. The straight up answer is: lots of plans, but nothing to announce  -- don't have the right to make any kind of announcement. Just got to keep my head down and keep working away.

Bloggers are natural project-makers. At least, many of them are. If their blogs aren't projects in and of themselves, following a specific interest or subject, quite often they're used to document offline projects like knitting, cooking, collecting, scrapbooking, art, fiction, or whatever the case may be. Originally started as a simple numbered list, Jeffrey Yamaguchi's 52 Projects is now an "online project-making hub" -- a place to talk about starting, finishing, and otherwise enjoying self-started endeavors. If you have ambitions to work on your own projects, you'll find posts about inspiration, getting things done, getting the word out, and interviews with successful project makers. You'll also see tons of posts about cool projects -- everything from quilts to  cloudspotting to crafting podcasts. Not suprisingly, like many great projects, the 52 Projects site has spawned its very own book.