Geosophy celebrates 4 years

A note of thanks to everyone who's been part of this journey.

Dear Readers,

This June 15th, Geosophy celebrates four years! To mark this milestone, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the journey that has been, and how this incredible, ever-growing community has supported me in unexpected, heartwarming ways.

It all started with a few tweet threads on geosciences that went viral (500+ likes for niche content counts as viral, right?) I was surprised that people were keen on such geeky content. At the time, I was drafting research summaries for Geobites, a blog hosted by the American Geophysical Union, and was eager to write more broadly about geography. I tentatively asked my Twitter community if they’d be keen on more such content, and the response was encouraging. Inredibly, 72 people signed up, and on 15th June 2021, the first Geosophy edition, ‘Kumaon’, was dispatched via Mailchimp.

Since then, the community has grown slowly, but steadily. As I experimented with the length, topics, and designs, occasionally featuring a sketch (it’s difficult to make time for these, but I really should add a few), the community supported me via emails, messages, and social media kudos.

Over the years, the blog/newsletter led to several unexpected opportunities: a talk on geoheritage for the 25th anniversary of a reputed conservation organization, a talk show featuring my journey into geoscience communication, a report on the 75 odyssey of a geophysical research institute, school and college outreach opportunities, geo-hikes in Bangalore and Mangalore, and most recently, a plenary talk on Ladakh’s landscapes.

I also experimented with formats, from end-of-year geoscience news compilations, to a light-hearted poll for India’s first geopark, to celebrating geodiversity and earth days.

As I neared 500 subscribers, I had to migrate from Mailchimp to Substack in May 2024. Just a year on, Geosophy reached over 800 subscribers, with better readership and engagement, and lots of new connections. As part of a small community of Substack writers, I’ve been able to collaborate on a few unusual topics, brainstorm what’s working and what’s not, and have incredible conversations on writing during our occasional meet-ups.

As of today, the Geosophy archives feature 33 editions, 7 special editions, 4 guest posts/collaborations!

I know that Geosophy’s journey wouldn’t have been as exciting and fulfilling, if it weren’t for YOU! As a reader, you’ve reached out via emails, texts and comments, with ideas, questions and clarifications (and even, pointing out the occasional mistake!) Even if you haven’t reached out directly, I can see you in my email lists, as someone who has opened a newsletter or more, or as someone who has shared Geosophy with others.

Thank you so much for being a part of Geosophy’s journey so far. I hope to continue sharing and unraveling some of the Earth’s mysteries.

Love,

Devayani

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