The IndieWeb is alive

August 6, 2024

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

Out there on the internet reports continue to come in about the re-birth of the small web or the IndieWeb. Websites run by people where they are not beholden to the giant social media companies. Ben Werdmuller writes about this here but there have also been a number of other articles.

And yet the small web thrives. Many people are pushing back against social media in search of genuine human connection. There is the feeling as if we have to use it otherwise we will miss out on whatever is happening in the world around us.

The appeal of the small web is knowing you are reading original content, not some AI generated slop and also the fact you have to choose to seek it out. It may not show up just by scrolling through your social media feed.

The sentiment seems rather reoccurring. Jason Velazquez discusses Where Have All The Websites Gone? and suggests we are nostalgic for the curators of old. People come and go but small independent websites are still around, you just need to take more time to seek them out.

Parimal Satyal in Rediscovering the Small Web in a much longer essay discusses how they built their website (by hand in plain HTML) and also a more historical look of the vintage websites of old late 90s and early 2000s (the small web). This idea influenced the design direction of my own writing blog. Parimal also points to the new but old platform of Neocities and even in the real world I have an acquaintance, trigger object who uses Neocities for their artist website.

James G is more direct:

To have a personal website is, presently, an act of rebellion. It is a statement. You are saying: I want to define my experience on the web. I’ll let you in on an open secret: Big tech companies aren’t the only ones who get to decide how we share ideas on the web. The web is yours. You can put up a website where you share whatever it is that you want to share with others.

The feeling of rebellion and pushing back is shared by many, but yet most people stay on the corporate web and don’t venture beyond. The ironic thing I find is many, many people share the same sentiment. Rachel J. Kwon offers a rather exhaustive overview on the subject. What does it all mean? There are many people who feel the same way. What is there to do about it? Keep creating for ourselves and each other and not the corporate web.