First Post (Finally)
I tend to move slowly. When someone tells me I need to watch some movie, it can take me more than a year to finally get around to it. That's why I'm writing this first blog entry now. This website has been up for over a year. I first found the 'yesterweb' over a year ago. Eden's excelent article on the personal web finally convinced me to start a blog of my own, and even then, it took months to get around to writing the first post. I took so long that the yesterweb forum has shut down. Part of that delay was writing up some php to handle the actual blog, but most of it was just coming up with something to write.The first post seemed importnat. Like it should be about blogging itself, not some topic that caught my attention. It's not that I didn't have ideas, it just didn't feel right to start this thing out with my opinions on travel times in DnD, or my thoughts on the merits of consequentialism. An easy answer is just to write about why I'm doing this in the first place. I think there are a lot of merits to writing a blog, and very few of them have to do with people reading that blog.
I usually like to keep personal details out of my internet posting, but this is a special occasion (and very few people are going to read this anyways). I kind of hate sharing my creative works with other people, especially on the internet. I have a box full of drawings in my closet that have only I have ever seen. I've made plenty of art, music, and even games, that have sat on my harddrive, untouched until I got a new computer. So I'm used to putting work into a creative endeaver, only for it never to be seen.
Why write something that won't be read?
Maybe this is just cope, but I genuinely believe that the point of a blog isn't necessarily for it to be read. Sure, there are a few dozen writers on Substack who can earn a living from it, but the market for blogs is small, and the competition for attention is tight.Still though, I think writing a blog is a good way to organize your thoughts. A lot of thoughts float around disconnected in your head, filled with gaps. It isn't until you have to put those thoughts into concrete words that you fill those gaps, and find out if those thoughts made any sense at all. Some times the gaps can't be filled, and you realize your ideas weren't actually that interesting. Other times, those gaps are filled with things more interesting than the ideas on their own. Other times entirely, you feel a certain way, but don't consciously know why until you force yourself to spell it all out. In all three cases, you're better for having written it out.
I would compare it to a journal. Journaling, I've heard, is very good for one's mental health. No one (that I've heard of at least) keeps a journal with the intent of finding a large readership, and earning a paycheck.
So why not keep a journal? Why go through the trouble of hand writing a website and paying hosting fees? Because I like small websites. Same reason someone might decorate their journal with stickers or highlighters.
Another benefit is practice. I mentioned the box of sketches in my closet. No one would question why an aspiring artist would make a drawing they aren't going to share, it's for practice. Not sharing may even allow you to experiment more with different styles and techniques, without worrying about the quality of the final product. As Walt Stanchfield said "We all have 10,000 bad drawings in us. The sooner we get them out the better." Similarly, writing blog entries is good practice that you can do without needing to worry about being professional. Writing is an important skill for most jobs (as well as for your personal life) that I think a lot of technical workers like myself don't get much practice in.
I believe that it would still be worthwhile, even without these practical benefits though.
There is inherent value in making something. I don't really have a strong argument for this, but I do believe this is the case. I think the world is a better place if there is more art in it, even if that art is never seen. Diamond planets are cool, even if we never get to see them, and personal websites are the 'diamond planets' of the web.
Love Letter to Personal Websites
I don't like algorithmic feeds. Not a very hot take, I know, but still, browsing the internet isn't much of a thing any more. Clicking hyperlinks, and moving around is browsing. Doomscrolling an endless feed, algorithmically designed to appeal to the widest possible audience is not browsing. Tim Berners-Lee's original idea of a web of information makes reading pages feel like active exploration, not passive media consumption. I love when a blog or article is filled with interesting external links, and I can get lost for hours, clicking a link, finding a new link in that page, and repeating until my browser starts running out of memory. Big social media sites are actively opposed to allowing this sort of browsing.Personal websites can create actual communities that social media just can't. Social media can create celebrities with fans, not interpersonal relationships. Personal website communities can self-police, and avoid all the toxicity because a real person needs to share your site. This
Good Bye (For Now?)
I hope I stick to writing here, but I can't guarantee that I will. I've started many projects, and finished only a fraction. Some times shouting into the void feels worse than just keeping quiet, other times feedback creates expectations that scare me away. Other times life just gets in the way, and by the time I next get free time, all the motivation is gone. Still, I'll try. Check back this time next month, or watch the rss feed. Hopefully I'll have something new (and maybe something more interesting) to read.Thank you to Voicedrew and Eden who's writings actually convinced me to start this blog. As well as Matthias Ott who inspired me to make a website at all.
If you have any thoughts, or your own websites you want me to see, send them to me: admin@argustarts.com. Or even better, write your own blog post in response. That's what the soul of the internet is after all.