A new year’s resolution, at its best, is a great impetus to convert a goal to a habit, but is likely to fail if its too ambitious or vague. Last year, I set out to achieve a perfect month of closing my rings in Apple Fitness. (As I said, ambition is usually the enemy of success). But I also set that goal knowing that its not sustainable while having a meaningful activity goal – rest is necessary for performance. This year, as we watch a billionaire light money on fire to destroy one of my favorite channels for expressive communication, I, like many others, are interested in reclaiming the use of our own online spaces.
They heyday of blogging in the 2000s encouraged more types of creative expression than the social media era of the 2010s. As we start to define the internet of the 2020s, I’d like it to include more personal publishing and a step away from centralizing communication within closed platforms. I am very enthusiastic about the Fediverse — at this point, Mastodon with Ivory are meeting a significant enough portion of the value I get from Twitter through Tweetbot. But a vibrant open web is essential for creativity.
So, I start with this simple goal: write here regularly, defined as a minimum of 5 posts per week for the month of January.
Since I going to accomplish that? The main way is through Appreciating the Indie Web — things that I like on the web (even if largely, but not entirely, on a platform like YouTube or Substack) that are independent projects. These are all sites that I subscribe to in RSS, including podcast feeds.
