Today I learned about the indie web, and I'd love to start making my own website with all kinds of features and links to other people's websites. I'm learning this is really the place to be, not on social media sites. I'll begin working on making this place my own little home in the vast world of the internet.
I watched onionboot's video on A Web Revival: the Internet didn't die, you're just not on it - YouTube and I was completely dazzled by the beautiful and highly personal websites that were on display. When I was growing up, I wasn't exposed much to the internet (for good cause, I most certainly would not have been safe on there!) and never got to experience the idea of the internet before the gradual adoption of social media platforms. My computer experience was limited exclusively to computer games that were run on CDs, reading comics that had been downloaded locally by my dad, and using Scratch to program my own games.
Only until I got my first smart phone when I went to college did I truly realize what the internet was, or at least, what it had become. Using social media for the first is a serious hit.
I get to have all of this content tailored to my specific interests? And I get to discover new people?! Wow!
It made me want to post on there and see the number go up. The ever tempting and addicting ritual of trying to get the most number of likes on a post. The likes were your validation! They were the metric to know if you were any good!
Nine years later. I was never very good at posting on social media, and I am fortunate enough to learn this early that chasing after clout or numbers or engagement is foolish. I make things because I want to make things. And I make them for myself and for the people I care about. And I post them, not because I want to get likes, but because I feel like it's worth while sharing. And sometimes I don't.
I will likely post on some social media platforms, because maybe I feel like it. But I also am under no delusion of obligation to post anywhere. I will share whatever I want when I feel like. So how does tie to this website?
Discord has recently announced their Teen-by-Default Settings Globally and I, along with dozen of other regular Discord users, have had enough of the global participation in a surveillance state. We're tired of feeds and algorithms and data collection. We want to just be left alone!
So I will be participating in the move away from big tech, from big social media platforms, from engaging with these companies that have offered convenience for your information. I will be researching more into alternatives to these platforms and finding ways to make it so that I can continue to stay in touch with the friends (who are VERY important to me) that I've made.
And frankly, I'm excited! This feels very liberating to be able to take the reigns into my own hands. To control what is posted and what I see. To control what the website looks like, and who I engage with. To stick it to those big corpos and their AI glazing and to say "I don't need you. We don't need you. And we don't want you." And I can't help but feel like those people who have taken the step to make their own website, to engage in the indie web, to have the creativity and consciousness to take a step back, learn, and express themselves, must be very interesting people indeed, and I can't wait to meet them.
For now, I will continue to develop this website along with some other places where I will be posting. Keep an eye out for any changes. Stay safe, and have a wonderful day.
~Mercurial