Okay, blogging might not be quite jumping in an X-Wing, but having your own digital presence is one small way of joining the rebel alliance against the domination of Facebook, Google and the like..
It’s strange to think almost 15 years since I started blogging, back when I was beginning my studies as a student at Cardiff University (you can still find those posts in the depths of my archives). For the first couple of years when I was a student, it seemed like everyone and their dog had a blog, but then this thing called “Facebook” came along and changed everything.
In recent years this site has mainly lain dormant, with most of my thoughts and experiences being posted on social media instead. But I want to get back to blogging more frequently – let me explain why…
The early promise of the Internet was of a free and decentralised platform. Anyone, with just a little knowledge, could contribute and set up their own site, linking to others and hopefully getting links back.
But there has been a massive shift towards large, centralised platforms. The Internet is now dominated by a small number of enormously powerful corporations, particularly Google and Facebook. While the services they provide are often wonderfully convenient and often free, they come with many hidden costs.
So I’d like to play my part in supporting the free and independent web by going back to using my own, self-hosted blog as the main expression of my online identity and place for publishing my own thoughts and articles.
One topic I intend to tackle soon will be surveillance capitalism and the attention economy – or why social media is ruining everything, and what we should do about it. Stay tuned!
If you want to get the latest updates to my blog, why not subscribe by RSS feed or email? These are great ways of connecting – unlike following me on social media (which you’re still welcome to do, of course), you’re not at the mercy of an algorithm but receive content directly as its published. Think of it as joining the Rebel Alliance!