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State of Blogging in 2020

The state of blogging in 2020 is not good. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to get off of social media. I’ve been pretty frustrated with the direction of social media and people at large. I’ve been keen on the idea of decentralization of the web for a while. Trying to get back into blogging has been a challenge. There isn’t anyone else doing what I want to do here.

Most Blogs Are Bullshit

A quick google search of “Best Personal Blogs” doesn’t reveal bloggers writing about their perspective and techniques. It reveals a lot of people trying to peddle influence and sell advertising dollars. The whole thing feels like a bunch of people being fake to increase CPM.

My intent in getting off of social media and back here was merely to continue what I would have posted on social media, onto my own platform. I’m not here to make money with this site. I use SEO plugins to help this site be found for what it is, but I’m not selling banner ads.

I don’t have a cute name for my blog. I’m not trying to form my content into lists and best SEO practices. I’m not here to make the reader feel good and keep coming back. This is my house. You’re welcome to stay and chat. If you don’t like what I have to say, you are also welcome to leave.

Decentralize The Web

I’ve been on social media for a long time. I recall using AOL Instant Messenger, MySpace, and Twitter. When Facebook opened it’s platforms to developers, everyone knew they were going to become the next major platform to connect people across the world.

But since those early days, things have changed very much. In 2007, Social Networks were about engaging in novel ways with people you didn’t usually get a chance to communicate with. In 2020, that novelty is gone. Today, the interactions online tend to be in groups that you repeatedly engage with.

Worse still, people are learning to communicate with each other in ways that are required to conform to TOS specs by private/public corporations that aren’t required to uphold first amendment standards. The result is a slow migration of people’s actual beliefs into something watered down to conform to the least offensive things possible.

The world is and should be, a wild and vivid spectrum of thoughts and beliefs. Nudging people into predictable and manageable directions is gross.

Owning your own site, speaking your own mind, and being honest about it is the new protest to conformity. I have written a number of things on this site that I wish I had not. Too bad. It’s where I was at the time. The honest reflection of thoughts and ideas is the antidote to the monotony of thought promulgated by billion-dollar corporations in San Francisco.

My Imperfect Plan

I think the solution to this is to use social network platforms to drive traffic to my own site(s). Conversations held on those sites are too prone to trolls and censorship to be meaningful.

On this site, the plan is to write honest content. Consequently, I’ll probably never make money on this site. That’s perfectly fine. I’ve never made a dime from my time and effort on Instagram or Facebook. It shouldn’t be the motivator.

I hope this idea takes hold. I’ve heard a number of right-wing pundits groan about being de-platformed. It’s a bogus argument. You can’t go into someone else’s house, piss on their rug, and play the role of victim when they show you the door.

I miss Google Reader. That was a great way to aggregate different websites into a single place. It was a lot like the experience Facebook serves now, with one major difference – there was no shepherding of content. It was raw and honest.

I might write something to mimic/replace it.

By ftpcory

I am a fitness, technology, and music enthusiast. I enjoy introspection and reflection. I believe in decentralization of the web and freedom of expression.

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