https://hyfen.net/memex

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1<link rel="preload" href="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-8K0M1YJ8FQ" as="script"/><meta name="next-size-adjust" content=""/><title>Andrew Louis</title><meta name="description" content="Home page of Andrew Louis"/><meta name="robots" content="index, follow"/><meta name="googlebot" content="index, follow, max-video-preview:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-snippet:-1"/><meta property="og:title" content="Andrew Louis"/><meta property="og:description" content="Home page of Andrew Louis"/><meta property="og:url" content="https://hyfen.net"/><meta property="og:site_name" content="My Portfolio"/><meta property="og:locale" content="en_US"/><meta property="og:type" content="website"/><meta name="twitter:card" content="summary"/><meta name="twitter:title" content="Andrew Louis"/><meta name="twitter:description" content="Home page of Andrew Louis"/>

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1</head><body class="antialiased max-w-xl mx-4 mt-8 lg:mx-auto"><main class="flex-auto min-w-0 mt-6 flex flex-col px-2 md:px-0"><aside class="-ml-[8px] mb-16 tracking-tight"><div class="lg:sticky lg:top-20"><nav class="flex flex-row items-start relative px-0 pb-0 fade md:overflow-auto scroll-pr-6 md:relative" id="nav"><div class="flex flex-row space-x-0 pr-10"><a class="transition-all hover:text-neutral-800 dark:hover:text-neutral-200 flex align-middle relative py-1 px-2 m-1" href="/">home</a><a class="transition-all hover:text-neutral-800 dark:hover:text-neutral-200 flex align-middle relative py-1 px-2 m-1" href="/memex">memex</a></div></nav></div></aside><h1>Building a Memex</h1>
2<p>In 1945, the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/">Memex</a> was proposed as the ultimate personal library for a user’s books, correspondence, and records. In addition to just storing this data, users could navigate, organize, link, and share it with others.</p>
3<p>Unfortunately, zero were ever built but the Memex had a direct influence on the first interactive computers and the development of hypertext and the internet. In an age when computers were room-sized analog devices for simulating missile trajectories or calculating payroll, this idea presented an alternative vision of what computers <em>should</em> be able to do.</p>
4<p>Though computers are more powerful and ubiquitous than ever, our digital histories are often inaccessible, fragmented, or locked behind corporate platforms. As a long-time journaller, note-taker, and digital packrat, the idea of the Memex resonated with me. Inspired by this seventy-year-old vision, I&#x27;m now attempting to build an app for making my personal history accessible for search and introspection.</p>
5<p>Here&#x27;s a conference talk that goes over more details:</p>
6<div><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DFWxvQn4cf8" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></iframe></div>
7<h2>What I&#x27;ve built so far:</h2>
8<ul>
9<li><strong>Real-time importers</strong> for all the digital history I generate (email, browser history, photos, podcast listening, ebook reading, etc). Each of these activity streams gets processed into a graph-like schema, accessible through a unified API.</li>
10<li>An interface for <strong>searching, filtering, and analyzing</strong> all this personal data.</li>
11<li>A flexible authoring tool for <strong>composing, organizing, and annotating</strong> information.</li>
12</ul>
13<h2>Updates</h2>
14<p>I&#x27;m working towards publishing more details but if you’re interested in learning more now, I&#x27;d love to chat by <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#43222d27312634032b3a25262d6d2d2637">email</a> or you can sign up for <a href="https://buttondown.com/hyfen">the development newsletter</a>.</p><footer class="mb-16"><ul class="font-sm mt-8 flex flex-col space-x-0 space-y-2 text-neutral-600 md:flex-row md:space-x-4 md:space-y-0 dark:text-neutral-300"><li><a class="flex items-center transition-all hover:text-neutral-800 dark:hover:text-neutral-100" target="_blank" href="https://twiter.com/hyfen"><svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 12 12" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M2.07102 11.3494L0.963068 10.2415L9.2017 1.98864H2.83807L2.85227 0.454545H11.8438V9.46023H10.2955L10.3097 3.09659L2.07102 11.3494Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg><p class="ml-2 h-7">twitter</p></a></li><li><a class="flex items-center transition-all hover:text-neutral-800 dark:hover:text-neutral-100" target="_blank" href="https://instagram.com/hyfen"><svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 12 12" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M2.07102 11.3494L0.963068 10.2415L9.2017 1.98864H2.83807L2.85227 0.454545H11.8438V9.46023H10.2955L10.3097 3.09659L2.07102 11.3494Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg><p class="ml-2 h-7">instagram</p></a></li><li><a class="flex items-center transition-all hover:text-neutral-800 dark:hover:text-neutral-100" target="_blank" href="https://github.com/hyfen"><svg width="12" height="12" viewBox="0 0 12 12" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M2.07102 11.3494L0.963068 10.2415L9.2017 1.98864H2.83807L2.85227 0.454545H11.8438V9.46023H10.2955L10.3097 3.09659L2.07102 11.3494Z" fill="currentColor"></path></svg><p class="ml-2 h-7">github</p></a></li></ul>

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