My Thoughts on Indie Web and Web Revival

When I decided to create this blog and finally launched my first post two weeks ago, the only motivation was to reclaim my personal space on the web. I have been talking to my late Millennial/early Gen Z friends and we all share the same thoughts on social media: we are all sick and tired of it. We all miss those times when the internet meant freedom, the online spaces allowed us to be more creative, no algorithms were used to define what we should or shouldn’t read, etc.

Shortly after that first post, I did what I always do: I browsed the web to see if more people were doing the same thing. I found this video by Luvstar Kei where they tried to convince viewers to create a website. I saw their website, and it immediately gave me lots of inspiration. I’m not really an artist, but I knew I wanted a blog. And then I saw something I hadn’t seen in ages: A LINKS SECTION! And then I clicked on some links, then more, then more… and then I fell into this rabbit hole of personal websites and haven’t gotten out of it.

My husband showed me the Indie Web manifesto, and now everything makes sense to me. There is a whole community of people who also sensed a problem with how the internet is set up these days. And these people are actively trying to change it by creating their own websites. They took their dissatisfaction to the next level, and it became activism against big corporations and data ownership.

I know there is no consensus on how and why internet freedom should be achieved. Some might want this movement just because they miss the late 90s and early 2000s aesthetics. Some might relate to minimalism as a movement, and their motivations behind leaving social media have to do with more productivity, fewer distractions, or a fun environment where they can express themselves without judgement. Some might have political reasons behind it; hence, decentralising media and building open-source communities are all ideas deeply rooted in left-wing concepts.

I’m not new to blogging: I created my first blog in 2004 and, although I have lost track of how many blogs I created throughout these years, you can definitely expect more than ten. Some were personal diaries, some were focused on pixel art, some were fashion and makeup blogs… And the list goes on. My last blog was a failed attempt to take blogging seriously, like those people who make money online do. The blog’s name was my actual name. The layout was all black and white and professional. I had a strict posting schedule and I would post twice or three times a week. I had collaborators who would write in their personal columns. And, of course, I desperately tried to play Google’s game and include as much SEO as possible in my posts.

Posting was fun, but it became stressful because people would say “Your blog is nice, but I don’t read blogs anymore, I want videos”. Then I created a YouTube channel. Then the same people would say “Your videos are nice, but I don’t have the patience to watch long videos anymore. You should post on Instagram and TikTok”.

If my experiences in this post resonate with you, I invite you to share in the comments how you feel about these communities and what aspects of them you feel connected to. I would love to read your thoughts.

Belfast — My Newest Loved Destiny

I have been to Belfast twice for a few days, and it’s already one of my favourite cities. It was my very first time travelling by train, and now it makes me really sad how there are no trains in Brazil — it’s simply the cheapest and most comfortable way to travel long distances. The landscapes are breathtaking and there are no worries about the size of your luggage.

After leaving the train station, we went to St George’s Market. It has got everything from antiques to handmade scarves and local food. I bought myself a scarf since I didn’t have one (it’s in my profile picture!). Now I am all focused on creating a whole new wardrobe of winter clothes.

Our next stop was the gorgeous and amazing City Hall. There is a museum inside it and it’s free, definitely worth the visit.

I know Belfast is famous for the Titanic Museum, and the James Cameron movie is one of my obsessions, so of course we went there. However, to my surprise, it wasn’t the most remarkable thing about our visit. I was expecting more displays of actual objects found in the sea, but there were very few. The museum is focused on an “interactive” exhibition, with information totems, buttons, and even a tiny roller-coaster inside. It was very crowded, so it was impossible to explore all of them.

Most museums are like that these days because it’s more “Instagrammable”, but it’s such a loss for our culture. I want to learn from museums, I don’t want to take pretty pictures and completely forget about them later.

Me and my Rose ❤
Prettiest bus ever
Ulster Museum

My favourite museum is certainly the Ulster Museum. It’s so big you need more than three hours to see everything. Unlike the Titanic Museum, it has loads of antique objects, the history of Northern Ireland and even a mummy. I tried to take some pictures, but the lighting always reflected in the glass shields. I might as well say I didn’t take any pictures because I was having so much fun.

Our last stop after the Ulster Museum was a lovely café. I had rhubarb crumble and pumpkin spice latte for the first time. It was delicious, but again, no pictures. 🙁 In my defence, now that I am running this blog, I will try to take more pictures!

I’m glad I could write a post for this blog, you know, the first post never counts. Now the good part starts! Yay!

Why another blog in 2024?

Hi, folks. It’s me again in 2024, twenty years after creating my first blog. For me, there is something really magical in creating your own space on the internet, and I missed that.

I’ve been here and there, trying out all blogging platforms. Most of them do not even exist anymore, so lots of content were completely lost but I won’t complain, they were really cringey. After years of research and trial and error, I finally chose WordPress as my preferred platform. I spent quite a long time with the free version, WordPress.com, but I knew only WordPress.org would satisfy my needs.

It’s funny how some things haven’t changed. My first blog was also pink. I’m so glad I’m over the teenage years of internalised misogyny when I tried to pretend I didn’t like pink and now I can be proud of who I truly am. Duds posted about being in your 30s and enjoying things you liked when you were 13 but without the shame. I’m not 30 yet (only two years left, though!), but I relate to that in so many ways! They were also my inspiration to finally claim back a personal space of my own since the internet is so chaotic and hostile these days.

My husband and I are rewatching Cardcaptor Sakura, an anime I was completely obsessed with when I was 10. Our house is entirely decorated with my Sanrio and his Pokémon plushies. I wish I could see my younger self reacting to my life now. She would definitely feel good about what we have accomplished.

If you liked this post, feel free to leave a comment below with suggestions for future posts. See you!

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About Me

Sakkie, Brazilian living in Ireland. Blogging since 2004. For an algorithm-free, decentralised internet. More?
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