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# My 2023 Year in Review as a Compulsive Creator
- URL: https://numericcitizen.me/my-2023-year-in-review-as-a-compulsive-creator/
- Published: 2023-12-20T11:44:50.000Z
- Updated: 2023-12-20T11:44:50.000Z
- Description: 2023 was one of the busiest creative years for me. Here are the main highlights.
- Author: JF Martin
- Tags: 2023, Year in review

I like retrospectives because it means having an introspective look back. Looking at the year behind me is a source of reflection and inspiration for what should come next. Here are the highlights of the year.

- Starting in ***January***, I’ve set out `five` `goals`. A first for me. I'm happy to report that I met many of them. You can learn more on [my landing page](https://crafted.numericcitizen.me/about?ref=numericcitizen.me).

![Five goals for 2023](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/Image-1.jpg)

Five goals for 2023

- `Twitter` is definitely behind me, I entered the Fediverse world by creating my `Mastodon` account in ***February***. I couldn't be happier. I'm not spending too much time on Mastodon, but I do pay a visit occasionally to see if I have replies to cross-posted content from Micro.blog. I reply to most of them when I do.

![My Mastodon profile page](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/Image-7.png)

My Mastodon profile page

- I finally got out of `WordPress` in ***March*** and moved to `Ghost` for numericcitizen.me. It was one of my best moves of the year. As a corollary, the price of my `toolset subscription` decreased significantly as fewer subscriptions were needed, thanks to my drop of WordPress (and many paid plugins that were needed) but also after dropping other services like `Pocket`.
- I left `Substack` in ***April***. With `Ghost`’s embed newsletters feature, Substack became redundant.

![A new visual design for my main blog in 2023](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/Image-1.png)

A new visual design for my main blog in 2023

- I continued publishing `YouTube` videos, but the pace slowed in the second half of the year. Since the goal of my YouTube channel was to publish videos about Craft, and the pace of Craft updates slowed, no wonder I produced fewer videos. Yet, I managed to share non-Craft videos, too.
- Since ***March***, I’ve been covering how to use `Micro.blog` in a new video series. The latest video about this was released near the end of the year for a total of eight videos. Not bad.
- My `creative workflow` finally feels stable and more focused. The [last update](https://world.numericcitizen.io/content-creator-workflow-update-as-of-2023-11?ref=numericcitizen.me) was published in ***November***.
- I tried `Bluesky` starting in ***April*** without knowing where this would lead me. As for Mastodon, I don’t visit often, but when I do, I'm looking for replies.

![My Bluesky profile page](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/Image-2.png)

My Bluesky profile page

- My generative `AI` usage increased quite a bit on all platforms, and I was able to define some use cases and ethical rules for using AI. You should read my rules by visiting [this page](https://world.numericcitizen.io/my-personal-guiding-principles-for-AI?ref=numericcitizen.me).
- In ***April***, I started experimenting with `Wavelength`, a secure messaging app. My usage of this app is on and off. I'm participating in some Apple-related discussions when there is an Apple keynote.

![Wavelength — a private messaging app](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/Image-3.png)

Wavelength — a private messaging app

- I massively reworked `my digital garden`, downsizing it to the point of phasing it out entirely and migrating most of its content into [my personal landing page](https://crafted.numericcitizen.me/about?ref=numericcitizen.me). It's another way of focusing my creative energy. I don't see the value of maintaining such a thing all year long.
- My `Craft` usage evolved and became more focused, preferring to use more focused and dedicated apps like `Anybox` (bookmark manager), `Zavala` (outline creator), `iA Presenter`(visual support for video recording) and `Things` (task management)

![My Craft Ecosystem.png](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/My-Craft-Ecosystem.png)

My Craft Ecosystem.png

- I made some much-needed changes to my online presence, concentrating my identity under one domain “`numericcitizen.me`”. The following diagram shows every sub-domain that I use. Most of this is under Cloudflare, with a few things left on GoDaddy.

![numericcitizen.me sub-domains](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/numericcitizen.me-domains.png)

numericcitizen.me sub-domains

- I finally decided on those read-later services like `Readwise Reader`, `Matter` and `Pocket`. They are all gone, preferring to focus on RSS and Inoreader. I couldn’t be happier. I dropped `Raindrop.io` once and for all and started using the excellent `Anybox` instead.
- `Omnivore`, an open-source project, is a new addition to my workflow, replacing `Matter`. I started to use it in May.
- I think I found my `Write.as` niche: expressing my views and thoughts about the war in `Ukraine`. I should publish more often because I’m boiling inside.
- It looks like, at the current new rate, I won’t be able to meet my goal of gaining 1000 subscribers to `my YouTube channel` for the first year. I had had about 813 subscribers by June 6th. Even worse. I met the 850 followers count on July 8th. At the time of publication in mid-December, I had 992 subscribers.
- I decided to start a subscription to `FeedPress` in ***mid-May***. I'm finally closing into my perfect digital publishing ecosystem.
- After much research, I found a better `visual theme` for my daily blog website on Micro.blog, I finally made the switch to the `Tiny Theme` in ***early June***. My digital landscape is getting closer to my desired state.

![Image.png](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/Image-4.png)

My daily blogging website finally got the visual design that I wanted

- In ***June***, I got back into `photography` a bit more as I was preparing for my vacation in Morocco.
- In ***July***, I officially joined `Pixelfed`, a fediverse-based photo-sharing service. Then I proceeded to migrate my photos from Instagram to Pixelfed. Finally, I deleted my Instagram account.

![My Pixelfed profile page](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/Image-5.png)

My Pixelfed profile page replaces SmugMug, Flicker, Instagram, and 500px but complements Glass

- Still in ***July***, I started to learn to use `Midjourney`. I shared my first experience [here](https://blog.numericcitizen.me/2023/07/22/the-beginning-of.html?ref=numericcitizen.me).
- In ***August***, I started a new `Podcast` named “Thoughts & Tribulations of a compulsive creator.".
- In ***early September***, I started a `new newsletter` ([link](https://numericcitizen.me/tag/creative-summary/)) named “My Weekly Creative Summary”. Putting each edition together is a lot of fun and not too much work.
- In ***mid-September***, I started to think about the implications and the process of migrating off `Adobe Lightroom`. It won't be an easy process and will take time. Will it be worth it, besides saving money? The jury is still out on that one.
- By the ***end of September***, my reworked `reading workflow` was finally completed. All the details are [here](https://world.numericcitizen.io/meta?ref=numericcitizen.me).
- In **early October**, I switched the `numericcitizen.me` `visual theme`, going from *Casper* to *Source*. Now I like it a lot! I’m done with tweaks to my website for this year!

![My main blog got a new visual design](https://storage.ghost.io/c/db/90/db90e17a-b0ed-4eb3-8db1-a5b434dbead1/content/images/2023/12/Image-6.png)

My main blog got a new visual design theme.

- Still, in ***October***, I decided to sell some Craft Templates on Gumroad. I’ve been following this online store for quite a while but never had the opportunity to sell something. Just like Notion, templates can be popular when they are well-designed, fill a specific use case and target a well-defined audience. So far, I'm really surprised by my relative success!
- In ***November***, I started investing some of my spare time in learning to use ChatGPT for my creative workflow. I gave some [thought](https://world.numericcitizen.io/my-personal-guiding-principles-for-AI?ref=numericcitizen.me) to my relationship with AI for my creative work. I developed a few GTP ideas and added Gen AI to many parts of my creative workflow.
- In December, I started a [feature requests board](https://craft-feature-request-board.canny.io/?ref=numericcitizen.me) on Canny.io for the Craft users community. There is no such thing, and people are asking for it. I decided to build one since the Craft team won’t do it. I got some [pushback](https://www.reddit.com/r/CraftDocs/comments/18elntk/announcing%5Fthe%5Fcraft%5Ffeature%5Frequest%5Fboard/?ref=numericcitizen.me) from a few Reddit users, but I keep going forward.

That’s a wrap for 2023! See you in 2024 for another chapter of my creative journey!