I‘m moving to the indie web and you should too

I have been thinking about it for a long time. Today is the day - I am joining the indie web. Now, there‘s a lot to unpack in that simple sentence. Broadly speaking, the Personal Web Initiative aims to revive the web landscape of the early 2000s - where personal websites abounded. From the weird to the original. From the heartfelt to the hilarious, all are welcome. The goal is to give digital spaces back to their users. This movement has been building for many years (more than ten years in fact). So, today, I‘m doing the jump. I will do my best to explain why.

Feeling entangled

It is no secret that the Internet has seen unparalleled growth in a very short amount of time. Growth leads to opportunity, an opportunity that was quickly seized by big players. Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with Meta or Google, after all, the products they offer are of extraordinary quality (I always had the utmost respect for Google Maps). But big players lead to definitive structure and, most of all, centralization. Centralization, again, isn‘t bad but it has its limitations. First of which is the ever-present buzzword: data. I am no privacy freak but the ever-constant game of marketing, engagement metrics and data scrapping with little compromise can take its toll. In such a centralized system, building your website on your own terms can be quite difficult. I want a more personal touch. I feel that joining the Indie Web will help me bring my blog to where I want it to be. Leaving the centralized web should help me feel free and to better enjoy this blogging hobby of mine.

Outside accepted protocol

Centralized systems and social media apply constraints on our web interactions, constraints I want to get rid of. The GAMFA are, after all, corporations. As such, their platform algorithms serve corporate needs first. One of my main concerns is to learn new things. When I get on the web, it is more often than not to learn new things or to interact with new people. From my experience, social media leads to shallow discussions and bare returns. Their normalizing force is strong. Just think how you act on Twitter, Facebook and Reddit. I am sure that you will realize that you act quite differently. In the words of Marina Kittaka of the Zonelets initiative: “It feels like I‘m getting to know the platforms rather than the people on them.“ Don‘t get me wrong again: there is value in these platforms, just not necessarily for the kind of experience I crave for. I want to dig in and discover. I would gather that few people look back at older posts they made on Facebook, even if it was posted yesterday.

That‘s me. I built that.

Another important aspect is the fact that, when you join the indie web, you have full ownership of your website. Yes, that leaves more room for experimentation and personalization but it also indicates that you are less reliant on the support of big players. Let me give Blogger as an example. I have used Blogger from the start for this blog and, frankly, it is a great tool. It‘s simple, fast and has plenty of useful features. Yet, Google has been known to cut support to interesting technology in the past without warning. Blogger itself hasn‘t been updated in some years, you could say that I see the writing on the wall. I could go to other places, like WordPress, yet the problem would only repeat itself. No, I think it is the perfect time for me to make the shift to the indie web. Will I have fewer functionalities? Yes. Will it require more work? Probably. But it will be entirely mine. I find that a very rewarding thought. Besides, the learning process is part of the fun for me. Being forced to make everything from the ground up will force me to take my time and better appreciate what I create.

Last but not least, for me, the indie web is the best way to reconcile with the vintage feel of the early web. I recognize that I have much nostalgia for it and I am looking forward to experiencing it again. I mean, just look at sites like [https://goblin-heart.net](https://goblin-heart.net/) or [https://blamensir.neocities.org](https://blamensir.neocities.org/). Isn‘t it wonderful? And that are just two examples. Less professional? Probably. But way more unique. I just love that.

The next step

What will happen next for this blog? I am glad to say: not much (for you). I still want to continue my Facebook posts. The blog itself will still be available. I‘m just moving my efforts to a new domain: [https://peter-aslin.neocities.org](https://peter-aslin.neocities.org/). Neocities is the most well-known initiative for Indie Web and with good reason: their work is simply fantastic. It started as a reboot of Geocities in 2013 but has grown considerably since then. There are more than a million personal websites on it today! Just go take a look at a few sites on Neocities. The originality and personality on display are staggering. I want to be part of that as you will, so I hope. All in due time though. When you are ready, we will be there to welcome you.

Until then, see you next time.