Mr. Gemmell:

macro-gurber.co/about-smartwatches: This is Macro’s definitive goddamned opinion on smartwatches.

I completely see — and mostly agree — with Matt’s argument here. Eliminating the date from a permalink gives a cleaner, more intentional first impression for your published work. And, as Matt notes, it gives a timelessness to your voice.

But that doesn’t mean you should eliminate dates from your permalinks. Personally, I feel more certain about keeping dates in my permalinks.

Matt says it all: dates age your work. Age isn’t always a bad thing. It denotes growth. It denotes change. It denotes experience and longevity. I don’t think it’s a small thing The New York Times can brag about a hundred years of published newspapers. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing to look back at your past work to see where you’ve come from.

I wouldn’t take Matt’s advice as the definitive argument for permalink structure, but I’m glad he brought it to our attention. The gist of his argument is in finding purpose in every aspect of your online work. As he notes, even your permalinks need attention.