There’s a question I get every now and then, for which I admit I haven’t been able to come up with a straightforward, satisfying answer:

“What is your website about?”

Photo credit: Guy Sie

It’s a deceivingly simple question, often asked by well-intentioned friends and family members who are genuinely trying to understand what it is I’m doing here. However, as much as I’d like to put them at ease the truth is, I’m not sure a correct answer even exists.

There was a time when I guess you could say this was an Apple-centric website, but that time seems too far gone now. These days you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a photography site, but I assure you that’s not the case, either.

The truth is, this website is a bit about Apple, a bit about design, a bit about photography, music, technology, movies, whisky… It is a bit about all those things, and at the same time it isn’t, really. In the end, I suppose it’s about me, and everything out there that piques my interest and stimulates my creative spirit.

Hopefully though, it is a bit about you, too.

Most people’s interests cannot be grouped into a single category. Human beings are multi-dimensional creatures by nature, and that’s what makes the creative community so unique and exciting. If you’re anything like me though, your interests are not only multi-dimensional, they’re ever-changing, fueled by an endless sense of curiosity and a deep desire to understand the inner workings of things.

When you see an iconic photograph, for example, you can’t help but appreciate its artistic beauty or the significance of the events it represents, but part of you is insanely curious to find out just how that picture was taken. What was the process that led to the creation of that particular image? Was it a happy coincidence or was it deliberate? And if it was deliberate, how was it done? And, most importantly, could I do it, too?

Similarly, you may enjoy a good book or a great movie as much as the next guy, but when the last page is turned and the credits roll there’s a lingering feeling that you can’t easily shake: why did I enjoy this so much? What’s the secret that makes it great?

This all-conquering sense of curiosity is what drives you to push beyond your current capabilities, and learn new things every day. It can be obsessive sometimes, and it takes a considerable amount of effort — who hasn’t stayed up all night trying to learn how to fix just one line of your site’s CSS — but it’s always worth it. Most importantly, you wouldn’t have it any other way, because part of the thrill is in the process itself.

I’m not a photographer, or a designer, and I’m not a whisky reviewer. What I am is a tinkerer. And if you’re still reading, chances are you’re a tinkerer, too.

I suspect the reason you keep coming back here day after day, dear reader, is because you sense a like-minded spirit. You see the journey I’m on, and you see a reflection of your own journey as well. It doesn’t take much to realize the two are strikingly similar. Not on the surface of course, but deeper. You may be into videography or architecture instead of photography and whisky, but you can clearly recognize the underlying principles that guide my actions as your own. You share the same passion for understanding, and you enjoy it when others write about their experiences on the Web, because it makes you feel connected to them. It makes everything seem more real, somehow.

I am much the same way, believe me. I profoundly enjoy spending hours or even days researching a subject that interests me. I can rack up references by the hundreds and read online forums until my eyes get sore and once I’ve come to a conclusion and it’s time to move on, I’m actually, honestly sad to let everything go. That’s why I find it tremendously therapeutic to write about it.

There’s also an inherent trust that develops between you and the people whose experiences you lean on, which leads me to the two basic principles I hope to instill in all my writing: honesty and respect.

While I always do my best to present accurate and useful information in my articles, I’m the first to acknowledge that I don’t have all the answers. Far from it, actually. And while I may not always get it right, there’s one thing I can promise you: everything you read here is a 100% honest representation of my knowledge, my opinion and my personal values. Nothing more than that but absolutely, positively nothing less, either.

Whenever I sit down at the computer to write, I have only the utmost respect for you. I value your time and attention every bit as much as I do my own, and I will never gamble with them in the pursuit of pageviews. Whatever your reasons to stop by, I’m honored to have you.

In the end, I may never figure out what Analog Senses is really about, but at least I have a pretty good idea of who it’s for. It’s a website for those who are obsessed with what lies beneath the surface, a website for those who stay up at night, wishing their days were 30 hours long. It’s a website for tinkerers.

Hopefully, it’s a website for you.