I think I need to keep being creative, not to prove anything, but because it makes me happy to do it… I think trying to be creative, keeping busy, has a lot to do with keeping you alive.
Willie Nelson
It is difficult to ponder, but I’ve been thinking of a time in the future where I no longer own a smartphone. Even more difficult to think about, is no longer sharing my life on the World Wide Web. Granted, both of those scenarios are much further down the road, but they have been on my mind. The spark for those thoughts comes from having a presence on multiple platforms, thousands of followers, and then realizing that it matters not. There was a time when I did care to interact and share ideas with my network of friends, some were IRL, most were social media. It has presented me with numerous opportunities to meet physically, to share ideas and share some commonality out there.
A lot of us have worked out that social media is no longer relevant, but where do we go to have our voice heard, if that is still something we want? The feelings go toward, “If I don’t have an online outlet to plug into, do I even exist?” If so, what’s the point of writing if no one is around to read it?
Social media is dying, and this is a good thing. Social media has been dead to me for quite a while, and not soon enough. I’ve been around long enough to see countless changes, some good and mostly horrible. People look at me with amazement when I tell them, no, you cannot follow me on Facebook because I am not there. “I like your photos, what is your Insta?” “I don’t have an Instagram account, but here is my website” and they are all of a sudden disinterested. Am I left behind?
Before the social media platforms we only had SMS texts, e-mail and our self-hosted websites. All was well and good. But stop to think, if social media was so great, why do these trios of basic communication still exist? Because we have control over what we choose to send/receive. We have control over our websites. I vowed a long time ago not to use tracking tools, or advertising. Who did I think I was anyway?
Good website owners write for themselves. However, being human, we do like some return on our efforts. Websites and blogs exist to be read. I write for myself to remember, to learn and to grow. Sometimes people join me and I am grateful. If I were to shutter this website tomorrow, would anyone notice? I would, and after twenty+ years of self-publishing I’ll keep doing this, probably for another twenty years.
Not for you, but for me. Thanks for reading and sticking with me.