The Problem With “Top 10 Things to Do” Content
An analysis of how “Top 10 Things to Do” travel content shapes destination perception, concentrates tourism attention, and simplifies complex places into ranked experiences.
Brandon Himpfen
Check out the latest posts
The Difference Between Building Content and Building Infrastructure
An analysis of the difference between digital content and digital infrastructure, examining how information, tools, APIs, datasets, and platforms create value in different ways.
Search Visibility vs. Search Dependence
An analysis of the difference between search visibility and search dependence, and how AI interfaces, platform incentives, and fragmented discovery systems are reshaping digital publishing and online infrastructure.
The Role of APIs in Making Static Content Dynamic
An analysis of how APIs enable static websites to deliver dynamic functionality, and how modern web infrastructure increasingly combines static publishing with distributed services.
How to Advocate for Sustainable Tourism in Your Travel Blog
An analysis of how travel blogs influence sustainable tourism through destination framing, platform incentives, infrastructure awareness, and digital travel discovery systems.
The Administrative Side of Nomad Life No One Talks About
An analysis of the administrative realities of digital nomad life, including banking, taxation, healthcare, visas, and the hidden infrastructure behind long-term mobility.
The Desk — Edition 96
Welcome to the 96th issue of the Desk. The Desk is my weekly newsletter covering newly published content and project updates.
Maintaining Curated Lists Without Turning Them Into Noise
A reflection on maintaining curated lists over time, preserving signal quality, and preventing open knowledge projects from slowly becoming informational noise.
Why Infrastructure Stories Matter More Than Product Launches
Why infrastructure stories often reveal more about technology, AI, markets, and digital power than product launches, including the systems, dependencies, and incentives shaping the modern digital economy.
Why I Version Datasets Like Software
A reflective article on why public datasets are versioned like software, and how change management, continuity, and structure shape long-term open knowledge projects.
What I Learned Publishing My First Public Dataset
A reflective article on publishing a first public dataset, including lessons about structure, documentation, reusability, and the role of open knowledge infrastructure.
From Links to Answers: The Interface Shift in Information Access
An analysis of how AI and conversational interfaces are shifting information access from link-based search toward synthesized answers, and what that means for platforms, publishers, and users.