4 ms·

I was just thinking today that I should just start posting my stuff on a personal site. Photos, blogs, life updates, etc. It gives me that control that I want,

I was just thinking today that I should just start posting my stuff on a personal site. Photos, blogs, life updates, etc. It gives me that control that I want, and I don't have to worry about Meta, etc trying to monetize it. Plus I get to unplug from those "n liked your post" dopamine hits.

digging 3y ago
I don't really share anything I make/do on the internet but I've found posting my photography on a personal site feels pretty good even if I don't expect anyone to ever see it there. Recently I made a /now page and even started blogging infrequently - again, there are likely 0 viewers, but there's some pride in knowing I've staked out a corner of the internet for myself.
- ozim 3y ago
  I think everyone is done with influencers. People would like to find genuine ones instead of just cash grabs.
  - verzali 3y ago
    People, especially the younger generations, are already too cynical. A lot of them don't seem to believe anyone does anything on the Internet except to make money. I find that profundly depressing.
    - fennecbutt 2y ago
      I think that's wrong. Loads of my mates are 18-24 and many don't realise how basically all the "Hey look at this cool useless cheap crap" vids are all just ads. They even buy that crap, was no signal to think about it without being reminded to think about it.
criddell 3y ago
I've thought about building personal site, but the opportunity cost is just too high. The time I spend making a site has to come from somewhere and there just isn't anything I do that I want to take time from.
- jstanley 3y ago
  Don't take it from the time you spend doing something you care about. Take it from the time you spend doing nothing.
  - criddell 3y ago
    The time I have set aside for me to do nothing is my most valuable time! I'd rather take it from just about anything else
    - II2II 3y ago
      A personal site should be personal, in the sense that the things you share are things you value and the only value derived from it is from sharing what you value with other. That's why personal sites are the ones that are easy to tell apart. Personal should be personal, otherwise it is simply trying to establish a professional profile.) Of course, if you have no interest in sharing your passions, don't do it. Your free time is valuable and you should only use it for things that you value.
- sojournerc 3y ago
  One hour with Hugo (and netlify) and you have a site, come on...
  - makeitshine 3y ago
    You still have to spend time adding content. I enjoy doing that, but not everyone has the time.
- analog31 3y ago
  That's perfectly fair. In my own case, blogging has changed how I conduct my hobbies, for the better. They say you don't understand something until you have to explain it to someone else. It has made my projects more robust, and often simpler, and the process has helped me uncover mistakes. I'm not sure that it has actually come with a cost. The mechanics are trivial thanks to GitHub and of course Git.
cyanydeez 3y ago
Yes, but does it give you the validation you deserve as a member of society?
- Vrondi 3y ago
  Nobody is owed validation. We want it, but we are not owed it. Learning to cope with that desire is one of the chief signs of maturity and wisdom.
- notaustinpowers 3y ago
  This is purely my personal philosophy but I view that, ultimately, my validation is when I'm happy with my actions, position in life, and personal accomplishments. I love sharing those with friends and family. But I hate the opaque algorithms on social media sites that are tuned to prioritize engagement & time spent on the service. I find that these algos are rewarding rage bait due to their engagement farming. Sharing with those that I want to share with, in an environment free of algorithms and capitalistic intentions provides that validation. And having a random site visitor here and there who enjoys what I have to say is just icing on the cake. As I get older, I realize that we were never meant to have 10,000 people looking at what we ate for lunch, or the mess our cat made while we were at work. Interactions like that back in the 1500s would have made us more influential than Kings. A close-knit community that cherishes the expression of all our oddities, curiosities, and hobbies is something that just can't be replicated in current social media.
sowbug 3y ago
My daughter asked me to set her up with a blog on her own server. We did it, and there is now a Hello World post somewhere out there on the web. But it wasn't a good experience, compared to what I know posting on Instagram is like. And that's just on the publishing side. The chances of her site being even indexed, let alone visited, is tiny. It's surprising* that rolling your own on the web has gotten harder, not easier, in the last 20 years. But it has. *Surprising in the narrow sense that technology usually improves. I know all too well why lone sites don't do well on the web.
- crtasm 3y ago
  Aren't all the hosts offering one-click wordpress/similar installs as easy as it's ever been?
  - sowbug 3y ago
    The number of clicks required to get to that one click is quite high. The competition is Instagram, which actually has a negative number of clicks to get going (they won't let you continue browsing without an account).
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- account42 3y ago
  But why care about whether your daughter's site is indexed. Share it with friends and if there is actually interesting content on there they will share it further. This whole idea that search engines are the be all and end all of being on the web and once you have visitors you need to somehow capture them is a big part of what is wrong with the web IMO. I much prefer a more organic web where people put themselves out there and don't worry much about it becoming popular or worse, profitable. Do it for yourself or a select group of people you actually know and can interact with, not faceless Referrer: google visitiors.
  - 3y ago
yaky 3y ago
I would encourage it. A few years ago, I started a site/blog on both Web and Gemini. I mostly keep track of projects I build, books I read, some interesting events, and some cheatsheets and links I revisit a lot. Writing things down definitely keeps me more motivated, and it is nice to look back in time and reflect occasionally. And I made the site simple and contrary to current Web on purpose: plain HTML, no JS, no popups, only graphics are photos and diagrams.

digging 3y ago

I don't really share anything I make/do on the internet but I've found posting my photography on a personal site feels pretty good even if I don't expect anyone to ever see it there. Recently I made a /now page and even started blogging infrequently - again, there are likely 0 viewers, but there's some pride in knowing I've staked out a corner of the internet for myself.

ozim 3y ago
I think everyone is done with influencers. People would like to find genuine ones instead of just cash grabs.
- verzali 3y ago
  People, especially the younger generations, are already too cynical. A lot of them don't seem to believe anyone does anything on the Internet except to make money. I find that profundly depressing.
  - fennecbutt 2y ago
    I think that's wrong. Loads of my mates are 18-24 and many don't realise how basically all the "Hey look at this cool useless cheap crap" vids are all just ads. They even buy that crap, was no signal to think about it without being reminded to think about it.

criddell 3y ago

I've thought about building personal site, but the opportunity cost is just too high. The time I spend making a site has to come from somewhere and there just isn't anything I do that I want to take time from.

jstanley 3y ago
Don't take it from the time you spend doing something you care about. Take it from the time you spend doing nothing.
- criddell 3y ago
  The time I have set aside for me to do nothing is my most valuable time! I'd rather take it from just about anything else
  - II2II 3y ago
    A personal site should be personal, in the sense that the things you share are things you value and the only value derived from it is from sharing what you value with other. That's why personal sites are the ones that are easy to tell apart. Personal should be personal, otherwise it is simply trying to establish a professional profile.) Of course, if you have no interest in sharing your passions, don't do it. Your free time is valuable and you should only use it for things that you value.
sojournerc 3y ago
One hour with Hugo (and netlify) and you have a site, come on...
- makeitshine 3y ago
  You still have to spend time adding content. I enjoy doing that, but not everyone has the time.
analog31 3y ago
That's perfectly fair. In my own case, blogging has changed how I conduct my hobbies, for the better. They say you don't understand something until you have to explain it to someone else. It has made my projects more robust, and often simpler, and the process has helped me uncover mistakes. I'm not sure that it has actually come with a cost. The mechanics are trivial thanks to GitHub and of course Git.

cyanydeez 3y ago

Yes, but does it give you the validation you deserve as a member of society?

Vrondi 3y ago
Nobody is owed validation. We want it, but we are not owed it. Learning to cope with that desire is one of the chief signs of maturity and wisdom.
notaustinpowers 3y ago
This is purely my personal philosophy but I view that, ultimately, my validation is when I'm happy with my actions, position in life, and personal accomplishments. I love sharing those with friends and family. But I hate the opaque algorithms on social media sites that are tuned to prioritize engagement & time spent on the service. I find that these algos are rewarding rage bait due to their engagement farming. Sharing with those that I want to share with, in an environment free of algorithms and capitalistic intentions provides that validation. And having a random site visitor here and there who enjoys what I have to say is just icing on the cake. As I get older, I realize that we were never meant to have 10,000 people looking at what we ate for lunch, or the mess our cat made while we were at work. Interactions like that back in the 1500s would have made us more influential than Kings. A close-knit community that cherishes the expression of all our oddities, curiosities, and hobbies is something that just can't be replicated in current social media.

sowbug 3y ago

My daughter asked me to set her up with a blog on her own server. We did it, and there is now a Hello World post somewhere out there on the web. But it wasn't a good experience, compared to what I know posting on Instagram is like. And that's just on the publishing side. The chances of her site being even indexed, let alone visited, is tiny. It's surprising* that rolling your own on the web has gotten harder, not easier, in the last 20 years. But it has. *Surprising in the narrow sense that technology usually improves. I know all too well why lone sites don't do well on the web.

crtasm 3y ago
Aren't all the hosts offering one-click wordpress/similar installs as easy as it's ever been?
- sowbug 3y ago
  The number of clicks required to get to that one click is quite high. The competition is Instagram, which actually has a negative number of clicks to get going (they won't let you continue browsing without an account).
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
account42 3y ago
But why care about whether your daughter's site is indexed. Share it with friends and if there is actually interesting content on there they will share it further. This whole idea that search engines are the be all and end all of being on the web and once you have visitors you need to somehow capture them is a big part of what is wrong with the web IMO. I much prefer a more organic web where people put themselves out there and don't worry much about it becoming popular or worse, profitable. Do it for yourself or a select group of people you actually know and can interact with, not faceless Referrer: google visitiors.
- 3y ago

yaky 3y ago

I would encourage it. A few years ago, I started a site/blog on both Web and Gemini. I mostly keep track of projects I build, books I read, some interesting events, and some cheatsheets and links I revisit a lot. Writing things down definitely keeps me more motivated, and it is nice to look back in time and reflect occasionally. And I made the site simple and contrary to current Web on purpose: plain HTML, no JS, no popups, only graphics are photos and diagrams.