I just noticed that the “On this day” feature at the top of the blog is giving me suggestions from twenty years ago. This blog has been live for twenty years. Go me!

2006 was still a time of specialized forums and personal blogs, when individuals and small groups had control over what they posted, who could read it, and where it appeared. The focus was on creativity and sharing, rather than influencing or hating. The web was a happier place back then. So was all of society, actually. More innocent, optimistic, honest and social.

I’m glad I set up my online presence before centralized social media like Facebook etc. It is important to me that my posts will not appear next to ads for busty blondes, or hate-inducing content from Russian troll brigades. I don’t need to worry about losing everything I have ever posted because the platform goes bust or gets acquired or decides to lock me out.

Some years ago I did wonder whether I should start cross-posting to Instagram, to make it easier for people to see my posts, but never got around to it. Then it got acquired, added videos, and now it’s gone the way of all other social media – full of marketing instead of connecting with your friends. I thought I was missing out but that problem disappeared on its own by just waiting. Instagram came, rose, appealed, and got enshittified within, what, ten years?

Some forums still exist. Blogs technically exist but these days they are mostly a thing that companies add to their websites for marketing and SEO purposes. More and more often filled with AI-generated swill.

Will we ever find our way back to honesty and good will online? There’s enough awareness that the current state of online “social media” is damaging that perhaps the pendulum will swing back one day.