I’ve read quite a few posts that nostalgically remember how the web used to be, and express dismay at the “walled gardens” that have overtaken the Internet as a whole. Since the purpose of this website is to have my own Internet island and also to be a part of the “classic” web of home cooked text websites and blogs, I want to explain: “why?”.
The Desire to Share
People, hobbyists, creators, thinkers of a particular subject - many want to freely share their thoughts and expertise to help others. Their writings can provide a wealth of information that is useful and indexable for years.
In terms of modern social media, I’d think that YouTube is as close to this level of information sharing as we will get. The problem is, skimming YouTube videos for information, to quickly spot a word that will lead me to what I want to know, is impossible without a script of the video. Compared to writing, the spoken word will always omit nuance and details for the sake of brevity.
The Right Medium
Real knowledge - with articulated nuance - requires full sentences to convey. Full pages even. Like in books. It’s almost impossible to convey this sort of content on social media. It’s not designed for it. Forums (think vBulletin) were pretty good for this, but most are dead or dying at this point.
I remember Googling topics for school assignments and projects when I was younger, and being faced with personal websites about science and history. Websites with great explanations, graphics, gifs. Passion projects – with no ads. Websites that answered questions about the topic that I couldn’t just put into Google: contextualizations, minor details, or the proper words to use.
Honest Islands
Everyone writes differently when they are not concerned about which hashtags to use to optimize their posts “reach”, or how they will come across to a crowd who can instantly criticise their post, or how to make their post sound perfect with the lack of space to explain any context. It’s easier to be true to yourself on your own island.
I want to be able to find - and myself create - what cannot be transmitted on social media: details, context, wording, nuances that are lost in the process of compression elsewhere. Real personal character and expression in writing, complete thoughts without word count walls, algorithmic or peer-pressured motives.
That is how the web used to be, as a standard, and not the exception. I only witnessed part of this era - my first use of the Internet was probably during a school field trip to the local library around 2006 or 2007. I was lucky to discover forums about my interests, like radio control cars.
Discovering Gems
Finding people you truly like and want to follow their writings requires getting to know them. Reading longer form media lets the writer’s natural personality shine, and it becomes clear whether it resonates with you or not - not superficially through a bunch of photos, but actually reading their thought patterns through written words.
It’s a unique and amazing moment to discover a quality blog or website that you truly want to read the entirety of. Web exploration is about finding your people out there, whose thoughts, way of thinking, experience, expertise, hobbies, character, wit, jokes, scrappiness, worldview, or whatever resonate with you through their writings.
Everyone you meet will actually have their own personal flair. It’s hard to copy each other when everyone has their own island. There is more nuance, more character, more individuality. Of course, you will also find nutjob conspiracy islands out there too, and things you don’t like. Hop to another island, or read if you dare.
Full Stories Enhance Worldview
When I read actual books, especially fiction, there are themes, topics, or events that happen to the character(s) in the story that I can relate to. I don’t know it when I open up the book and start reading, but something that I always wondered about, or was unsure about, or never heard someone else explain, gets explained, or becomes more clear through the narration of the story, its characters, its topic, or something else.
It’s the same way with blogs. I may find a blog I want to explore, and quickly find a post that is relevant to my current life situation, or a topic that’s been in my headspace. Maybe I am unemployed, or traveling, or I never really had someone else tell me a story about their own problem that mirrors mine. I get to read a story that actually shows the human side of life, with all its twists and turns, instead of a brief sentence or two on social media.
These twists and turns - to read and see the nuances and explanation along a full storyline and with the author’s human idiosyncrasies, quirks, character - build up an understanding of the world that decreases my anxiety for it and enhances my worldview, expands my collection of others’ experiences to reflect on and carry as examples of others out there just like me.
How to Start Exploring
Browse a database of bloggers (or two!), learn about the Indieweb, and as you explore you will find that it becomes easier as you go - writers may even link their own favorites as well, called a “blogroll”. If you like tech, starting on Hacker News might be right for you. Wiby is fun to discover examples of the classic web, but many are no longer active. There are also guides on how to surf the web to find interesting and unique websites.
There are no rules here beyond finding entire websites or blogs - not social media pages. You could search “blog about x” and come up with links much better than my suggestions for discovery will bring you. Who knows? The Internet is a vast frontier, with so much outside of the walled gardens of social media.
To actually subscribe to new content from your favorite discoveries, learn to use an RSS reader. That’s not mandatory though, you can just use bookmarks to start a collection, you just won’t know when there is new content.
A Worthwhile Endeavor
I want to not only benefit from this adventure, from the content I discover and learn from - but play a part in it by providing my own island to discover and explore, to be an actual human being on the Internet who does not write to gain more followers, but writes to explain, to share, to inspire, to motivate, to story-tell honestly at a campfire uncorrupted by word count limitations, billboards, algorithms, or the peer pressures of modern social media.
This is an endless adventure, and there is no time limit. It is not a competition with a finish line. The goal really is to continuously develop your thoughts and interests and find your people out here who help you do just that.
The Internet is a magical place… don’t waste your time viewing just 5 websites. Go exploring.
Bon voyage,
Daniel