A Smaller Internet
Look, we’re all aware of how things are right now. I don’t need to reiterate how bad it’s getting out there and how in danger many of us could be if this shit continues. It’s all on our minds non-stop and it’s responsible for many nights of lost sleep and a brain fog of anxiety that is ever-present and all-consuming.
You know, I know, we all know. We persist, we resist, we do what we can to lift each other up.
So more than ever I feel like it’s so important to find those little escapes; to create, to inspire, to laugh, and to find connection and safety with our friends, family, and communities.
As a part of this, I’ve started to disconnect from mainstream social media and to embrace a smaller Internet. I may be dating myself, but I remember designing websites in the mid-90s into the early aughts. Everyone had a geocities page (or an angelfire, or a tripod) and we connected through webrings, guestbooks, and simple forums. It was a time of creativity and discovery and the connections we forged were so wholesome and meaningful. We didn’t have this potential unfiltered audience of hundreds of millions, but we didn’t need that. The embedded page counter went up a few ticks and we were excited someone out there had seen us.
An effort has been underway for a long time now by the world’s elite to monopolize the spaces online where we congregate. To crowd us all into as few spaces as possible. To dismantle anything small and new. To take our photos, our art, our likes and dislikes, our identity, and everything that makes us unique and feed it into an algorithm of 30-second videos, Temu ads, Amazon sales, and news articles meant to divide, enrage, and control.
So I’ve divested myself of Twitter and Facebook, cancelled the Prime, and am working to disconnect Google from most aspects of my life. I’m sticking to newer social sites like Bluesky and Cara that have a smaller community feel, but ultimately my presence is primarily HERE now, on my own website, where I’m unconcerned with reaching massive audiences. If I can meet a few cool people here and there, share some art, gush about some niche passion with another human, I’ll be happy. Let’s join some webrings! Exchange some button links! Hell, maybe I’ll make my own forum.
And yeah, I’m not so naive as to think I can exist on the Internet or even as a citizen of the modern world without ever having to utilize some tool or shop or network owned by an evil tech corporation. We use google sheets and Zoom at work. I’m not tech-savvy enough right now to fully ditch Windows for Linux (will get there eventually). But it’s a process, isn’t it? Filter for local shops when you buy online. Pull your artwork and photos from the worst of the data-consuming empires. Use a different search engine (I’ve been using DuckDuckGo for the last week and it’s mind-blowing how much new and more relevant content I’m finding). Employ ad-blockers and privacy browsers. Try out a newer, smaller social site, or return to the ones once forgotten. Make a website! Use a template or learn to code (it’s actually nowhere near as difficult as it sounds, check out W3Schools). Neocities is free! If you have the skill and the means and you see a niche being monopolized, collaborate with your fellow coders and artists and make an alternative.
Doing our own thing makes it harder for tech oligarchs to assert control. Embracing a multitude of smaller spaces online is a great way to reach people you might not have otherwise. We won’t be able to fully avoid their reach, but whatever makes it harder for them is a step in the right direction.
I’ll refrain from getting overly preachy and leave it at this: Hi! I’m Beelzy (AKA Sarah), and welcome to my website! If you have your own personal site or just wanna chat: leave a link, a comment, or sign my kickass guestbook.
