The Web is Fantastic Actually
Before we begin, Read the first time I wrote about the IndieWeb.
I feel like it's popular to hate the internet now.
What do I mean by popular? I'm using it in a very specific way. It's related to commodification, monetization, and, yes, opportunities.
It's a different kind of hate from the Luddites, who hate exploitation more than technology. It's a brand kind of hate. It's trendy, laced with all kinds of brand accounts suddenly jumping on the Let's hate the internet bandwagon, but with every hate, there's an opportunity to boost ones income with something that appears to be counter culture but is just another drop in the popular bucket.
I've been noticing this for a while, but when I listened to the newest Tech Won't Save Us podcast about detoxing from the internet, that's the first time I ever found the topic so vapid I nearly unsubscribed.
Now, I'm not naive. I know many people are at different stages in their technological journey. Much like their political journeys, so focusing on this one influencer, because that's basically what I clock her as, isn't interesting to me. It just felt familiar, like I heard corporations say the exact same thing and that really made me pause and wonder a few things. For one out of many, why didn't she have a curiosity about niche and small spaces on the web?
I get it that the small web is, well, small, and cringe to the kids, by the way that word should be banned from everywhere except my blog. I can't tell you how deeply I fucking hate the word cringe. Anybody that uses that word around me has no choice but to give me all their money, including their savings accounts. I'm putting a Robert Kingett tax on the word, cringe. It's the worst slang/culture word ever and I'll fight anybody that disagrees with me.
Anyway, before I explode over a slang word, I found myself listening to the podcast and wondering a few things.
Again, I get it that the indie spaces are harder to find. They're indie after all. Here's a trade secret though. Even the smallest dip into the indie/small web spaces will lead you deeper and deeper if you navigate this portion of the web slowly, seeking to find your way, not make your way.
It just constantly bugged me that she didn't explore quiet spaces in the web such as forums. She just deleted some apps off her phone but didn't really delete them but did delete them but didn't delete them without ever asking the question, what's the history of the internet? And then looking that up. What are forums? And then looking that up after she finds the history of the internet. And then asking what are mailing lists after finding a link inside of a history of forum communities article after reading a history of the internet.
Do you get where I'm going with this? Her Detox seemed very linear, but it didn't have any kind of connective tissue. I blame tech literacy for this lack of curiosity.
When I say tech literacy, I'm not talking about learning code. I'm talking about simple stuff, such as there's a difference between Wikipedia and fan made Wikis about a TV show or fandom or more. I'm talking about how email goes from one system to the other. I'm talking about what used to happen in search if you put a minus sign before a word. That's what I call tech literacy. None of that involves hosting a server, learning code, or working with Git based systems or web hosts. All that kind of stuff, everybody should know, but they don't.
Even learning about the history of the internet would be a fantastic start!
Even today, people don't know that the reference links in Wikipedia articles lead to other publications and other sources. They see Wikipedia as an article all by itself instead of seeing Wikipedia as a giant introduction to every topic, or even, well, an encyclopedia.
There are other questions I had throughout the whole episode, such as,
Did you ever wonder why all these free services are so keen to keep you on their thing? Are they selling my data to keep the site alive?
Did you ever wonder about the history of the internet and or where the internet might be going?
Detoxing is good, but did you ever try making an email address to just talk to people only? I mean, yes, you'll get spam, but did you connect with old distant friends via email?
To be fair, maybe she's not a pen pal as I am, but I was wondering when the alternatives were going to pop up.
I kept constantly asking questions such as, why didn't you read blogs? Why didn't you join a fitness forum? Why didn't you explore the smaller indie web fitness space? How come there's so many parts of the good web missing from this conversation?
and boom! That last question inspired this post. Why aren't you mentioning the good web?
I was waiting on them to bring up something, anything, from the better spots of the web. Fan fiction, even! They never did. I finished the episode, and I was left feeling as if I'd just consumed content rather than an interview.
Why the web is great, actually.
As long as I've been on the web, I'll be the first to point out it's flaws. Trust me, the web has many, many, many, flaws, some of which are outlined in these essays! Not caring at all about its minority/marginalized users such as Disabled people, LGBT+ people, and of course racialized people. Erasing Trans contributions to the internet. How websites are catering to bots, machines, and advertisements instead of humans. The constant extraction of money to communicate with each other. For just one example out of many, sign up to any dating app today and try to see who liked you or expressed interest in you without paying.
The web has a ton of flaws. I should know, I see them daily, and there are days that I just want to log off and I want to get rid of all internet culture forever. Even with the worst parts of the internet, though, there's also the quietly thriving parts.
Get started browsing the IndieWeb with places such as this.
You won't find these quiet spots on the web very easily. You'll have to be the expert in your own exploration. You'll need to be a guide for your own personal algorithm of deduction. You'll have to be a curator. Keep links for later instead of just dumping them into an application that's going to shut down in a year anyway.
It definitely isn't easy to find. It takes time. You won't have things sent to you. You have to do the work and learn to find things and explore without some platform telling you what to like. This is scarry to a lot of people. I, frankly, am not sure why it's so scarry to people.
It takes work, finding the good web where all the fun Black, disabled, gay, and otherwise are all at. It's going to take some mental wrestling to see them as people, even if you don't know their real name, instead of a wallet that will buy your thing. Getting to stay in the indie web space takes work. Not because there's a test to get in, but on the good web, the key is to listen to people, because you don't know everything, so just trust and learn.
The small web is comprised of people, from all walks of life, all races, abilities, genders, orientations, and more.
This corner of the web, though, is where I hang out. I don't visit mainstream websites anymore unless the particular person just can't leave their tech silo, but I stay in the small web. I live the niche web. I champion the good web, because it's one of the best examples of what the web could have become years ago. It didn't, so the good web has been sidelined in favor of endless slop.
Is there drama? You bet your internet connection there's drama. Controversy. Whatever you want to call it. Squabbles, yes. Does racism disappear? Fuck no! Does Transphobia disappear? Fuck no. Ableism? Hah! Ableism online never even thought about taking a rest, even in the small spaces. Despite these factors though, information is shared and freely given. Comradery is shared. Friendships are forged. Friendships occur. Romance blooms. Shared experiences give way to understanding. It's all right here, on the good web.
this is why I'm saying the web is amazing actually. You're just not seeing the stunning parts of the web. You're not seeing the web that breathes life into souls rather than corporations.
I don't know how to show people the good web. Some just outright refuse to come here. Others are afraid of the small web. Others believe corporations are safer than people. For whatever reason, this is the best part of the web, and all the people that hate the mainstream web, such as me, never, ever, end up here. They just dislike the mainstream internet without even trying to find or build something better, it seems like.
Despite the people that roll their eyes at or brush off the small web, the niche web, and other things, I'm staying here as long as I can. Why? Because this spot in the web is beautiful. It's educational. It's transformative. It's personally revolutionary, especially after you listen more and post less often.
Very few people willingly adopt the small/niche web. I guess that's because if everyone made their way over here to the good web, then the indie web will become mainstream, with all its problems. Even so, this fantastic slice of the web is still worth diving into and exploring.
Within the good web, you won't find people just shutting up and buying things without connecting with you on a human level. Some will buy your new art. Most will share it instead of buying it. What you'll find in the small web is the communities. These communities continue to build the internet every day. These communities build bridges, introduce people to one another, gather people together to share art and stories, and look out for each other.
This fantastic web is worth checking out because it has human connections along these quiet strands of the information super highway. They keep towns and cities on the small web going you could only dream of. Is it perfect? No, but it sure as hell is more authentic than the slop you read this morning.
Check out the better web. You won't be disappointed after you find it and find a home in the good web.
Some places to get started.
This isn't a huge list but the below will get you started.
- My links website has many starting points
- Unplatform is a directory full of alternative news and more.
- PowRSS is another fantastic RSS agrigator.
- Feedle is an RSS search engine.
- This forum category has many things you can browse