Personal Websites and the Open Internet

Jess (@peachymist@colorid.es on Mastodon) wrote a post (Tooted, if that is the terminology in the world of Mastodon) that caught my eye:

you are not procrastinating on mastodon you are fighting for a free and open internet

This sentiment -- posting on an open platform is a way to fight for a more open internet -- applies to personal websites, too.

For every person that opts to have their own website -- whether hosted on WordPress or other CMS platforms, or built by hand -- the foundational values of openness and decentralization that define the web are reinforced. If you post on a platform that enables more control over your data, you have the possibility to design a web experience on your internet home that makes sense to you. If the platform's values change on which you host your content, you can move elsewhere.

By writing on your personal website, you take control over your content. You can get more creative with designs, explore new bounds. And, should you be interested, you can use code to build new experiences on your site that would otherwise not be possible. I am always learning about new, exciting, creative and strange things you can do in a web browser.

I become overwhelmingly excited when I discover new personal websites; profile pages, blogs, photo galleries. I have found many friends through blogging and making my site. There are plenty of people out there who are writing on their own sites or an open social media platform like Mastodon, away from the big platforms that define the medium of communication and user experience. The more of us who publish on personal sites, the bigger the community becomes!

Also posted on IndieNews.

Tagged in indieweb, mastodon.