Blogs are just better
I love the idea of places like Twitter, Threads, Mastodon, Reddit, Lemmy, and [insert new “revolutionary” social media place here]. But that’s just it: I love the idea. I don’t actually like any of those places. Let me explain.
I’m one who would like to feel more connected to people. Like most, I want to have more friends and deeper more meaningful relationships with the few that I actually have. I want community and connection. But also, like most people, I struggle to find friends in my day-to-day life. Enter social media.
It sounds like a good idea, right? People everywhere, and a lot of them want to connect. I’m a FOSS lover, so Mastodon and Lemmy are a dream come true for me, and they have really great people too! But not really, though. Not for me.
Everything feels so empty and shallow in those places. It feels that way even in places where communities are healthy and thriving. And what am I supposed to do on the platform anyway? Scrolling through these things leaves me feeling like I’m wasting my life. The problem isn’t the place. The problem is the medium. The medium tends towards quick and low-effort interactions. The medium encourages meaningless or frivolous content.
But blogging is altogether different. Depth and meaning permeate the medium. Even if the posts are short, it feels as if someone really had to think and care about what they wrote. It’s in their place on their site. Visiting a blog is like being invited into someone’s home or into someone’s mind.
It sounds like I’m trying to gush over the idea of blogging, but I’m not. I’m just saying it’s better.
So yeah, that’s why I want to start my own.
-Mitt