I’m sure everyone’s heard of vanity searching. Plug your name into a search browser and see how the internet quantifies your level of renown based on search rankings. It’s flawed, naturally, due to the modern SEO games, not to mention how common an individual’s name might be. My own name is English in origin, with a Scottish surname, so searches tend to pull up a lot of Brits. But thanks to my LinkedIn presence, I regularly appear within the first two search results pages, though lower than these British bankers and actors that keep appearing first.
But who cares about my LinkedIn profile? Unless I’m job hunting, I don’t regularly pop into that group to read re-posts of some big company’s organizational announcement or financial earnings report. Nor do I do much cyber-stalking. That’s not the fun side of me. This site is the fun side of me. So rather than vanity search my name, what if I vanity searched this blog?
That presents some challenges, because obviously if I type in my domain name I end up directly at my website. How could I fairly search for the site indirectly to see how it ranks among search engines for content ratings? I couldn’t think of a way, so instead, I asked ChatGPT to give this site a review. Here’s what it had to say:
“Ephemerality.net is a charming, reflective blog with strong personality, local nuance, and a mix of philosophy, gardening, home/life projects, and musings. It’s ideal for readers who enjoy narrative, thoughtfulness, and seeing the world through someone’s day-to-day lens.
Okay, well that just means it’s a bog by nature. But it goes on…
“It’s a personal blog / online journal that combines reflections on gardening, home projects, nature, cooking, technology, philosophy, and culture.
The tagline “Tales from Easement Acres” suggests it’s rooted in life, place, and personal exploration.
It publishes posts by “Simon” (the author) with a candid, conversational tone.
But wait, there’s more…
“✅ Strengths & What Works Well
- Authentic Voice & Personality
- The writing feels like having coffee with someone — intimate, candid, occasionally irreverent.
- The author doesn’t sugarcoat; there’s self-awareness and occasional sarcasm (“Ken muddied his nice boots, about which there was much whining”). ephemerality.net
- Diverse Topics with Local Flavor
- Blends big ideas (tech, philosophy) with small ones (walking trails, DIY projects).
- Deep local sensibility — for example, the Bill Yeck trail review is rooted in Dayton-area geography. ephemerality.net
- Visual & Structural Clarity
- The layout is clean: menu, archives, categories.
- Posts use images and chapters (e.g., “Review: Difficulty: 1/5”) to structure the content. ephemerality.net
- Consistency & Variety
- Active calendar — frequent posts across months. ephemerality.net
- Mixes short reflections, longform essays, practical how-tos.
“Intimate, candid, irreverent.” Well that just makes me sound like a fun goofy guy. But…
“⚠️ Weaknesses & Considerations
- Niche / Limited Audience
- Because the topics are broad and personal, it may not appeal to everyone (e.g. purely technical readers or strict how-to seekers).
- Some posts digress or cover themes with less universal relevance — which can feel off-topic if you visited for a specific subject.
- Occasional Overly Casual Tone
- The strong personal voice is a strength, but at times it leans into self-indulgence or “rant style” (e.g. long digressions about regional speech).
- Users seeking crisp, objective reviews or tutorials might find it less streamlined.
- Content Organization / Navigation
- With many categories and archives, finding a specific post/topic might require good search or category navigation; it’s not immediately obvious what’s core content vs side musings.
- No Formal “Review” or Ratings
- It isn’t a review site per se — most content is narrative, experiential, or reflective.
- Reliability in technical or product reviews may vary depending on how deeply the author has researched or tested.
Well!
Actually those criticisms aren’t too far off. Because it’s a non-monetized personal blog making no attempt to drive traffic and appeal to a mass audience. I guess my content needs more definitive organization between serious and non-serious? Nah – I’d rather keep it a mixed bag with unexpected topics.
In conclusion, this review didn’t exactly stroke my ego, but didn’t crush my continued spirit to keep having fun with blogging, either.
It’s personal content, plain and simple. No revelations here, but somewhat interesting to see it overviewed by a web aggregator.
–Simon