2024-10-10
People working to build the personal web: Annie, Lou and Ela
A few days ago Lou wrote about his connection to online people, specifically stating that he values those relationships equally and does not distinguish them from IRL relationships.
In the modern Internet era, where our interactions with other people can be primarily or exclusively online, I've stopped distinguishing between IRL and online human beings. You are all real people to me.
His closing paragraph is the best part but I won't share it here, read it there.
Annie responded with an equally meaningful post exploring her recent difficult experiences in online relationships and community:
I've had some struggles over the past two weeks that I haven't talked much about. I might have hinted at it in some of my posts on 100 Days of Blog but I haven't felt it my place (entirely) to openly talk about it. I've felt ashamed and extremely alone in my thoughts. I've had bouts of profound sadness and moments of resolve. It all has to do with online community and it's hard to know how to process it completely or who to talk with it about who'd even commiserate. People who rely less on online community can't understand how crushing it can be to lose a safe space to just be yourself.
As a hermit who lives and works from a remote cabin in the woods I just wanted to post in agreement with both. I can't say that I have found any particular online community to settle in with. Though I try to be gentle and honest in my communications I know I'm fairly difficult. We live in a deeply troubled time and face a variety of crises that are never far from my mind and are often reflected in my postings. As a result I'm generally not concerned with my personal happiness and while I don't consider myself to be overly grumpy I suspect I may sometimes come off as unfriendly or too serious.
In her post Annie also links to Ela's recent post, Online Community, in which she talks about finding or creating her online space.
The connections feel ambiguous and surface-level, even with people I like and respect. This is probably my anxiety and depression talking, but I worry I don't know people well enough to talk to them more, or that if I tried I wouldn't have anything to say. I feel like I need an excuse to say hi.
I want to be more social, but not in the social media way. I don't know how to get there, but I feel inspired to try.
Her solution? She built her own website, of course! But not only are folks building their own sites, they're taking the time and making the effort to reach out and connect with one another after doing so. In Ela's case, she's built and shared an incredible page of well organized bookmarks. She goes on to share a brainstorm of the various features, actions and tools that she's considering specifically with the goal of community building.
This is what the personal web is all about and it's such a beautiful thing.
I don't have comments but I love email or you can find me on Mastodon.