It is easy to get drawn down a rabbit hole of worthless content, taking one click-bait headline, being redirected to a site full of those headlines, and before you know it, you have spent hour after hour looking at celebrity twins who are actually cousins and you won't believe where this cat empire is located, or These 21 district court judges' favorite ice cream type of article.
I am NOT talking about going down that kind of rabbit hole.
I am talking about the kind of rabbit hole where you are deliberately seeking something out, even if you don't know where it will take you.
A few years ago, leading up to deer hunting opener up here in Minnesota, for whatever reason, I began thinking, "Didn't I hear that Joe Rogan started hunting awhile back?" I had been a fan of Joe Rogan from watching Newsradio growing up, and would occasionally listen to his podcast.
I found an article, Eat What You Kill: How Joe Rogan is Celebrating the Wild Meat Movement, and started reading it. In the article, it mentions how he began hunting with Steve Rinella.
Who is that?
I am started down the rabbit hole...
All of a sudden, I see that he has multiple podcast episodes with Rinella, who has his own shows and podcasts, YouTube channel, books, and more. I listen to those and hear other names, Cameron Hanes, Remi Warren, Adam Greentree.
Deeper down the rabbit hole...
I have learned a lot from listening to them. In an episode, Joe will refer back to a previous interview, so I look back, and find out he's had a particular guest on multiple times.
The hole goes deeper.
But I am deliberately seeking this out. I am deliberately opening myself to an opportunity to learn something new.
Maybe it is just in finding something that I find interesting. Maybe to you, going down a rabbit hole of people talking about hunting is as meaningless as 23 Times a celebrity wore a Hawaiian shirt...and it worked. I think it's different, though.
If I am reading an article, and there are links to other articles in it, I often find myself right-clicking to open the article in a new tab. Sometimes I'll end up with three or four new tabs, then more new tabs off of those articles. Letting one article flow into another can lead you down a path of discovery of how an authors thoughts and ideas developed.
So, next time you're just looking for something to read online, just pick something that interests you, sit back, and enjoy the ride