Swap Attention for Connection
tiny web
I've fallen down a huge rabbit hole of late - investigating the idea of the tiny web, a pared down version of online tools, a less overwhelming way to engage. Fewer newsletter subscriptions, lighter weight apps, reduced input and increased output.
It's not the first time - I've been here before. But, what I'm discovering, thanks to Lightpage and Sublime, is that there are others.
I've been doing geeky, techie stuff for the past 30 years. But many of the women I know who are my age, didn't go down the same path. They are savvy in so many ways but not tech savvy. Women who might have decided to branch out when they hit 60. Or, post-menopause, had an urge to do something new, and that might involve building some sort of online presence.
In the past, my initial reaction would have been to suggest a website -
possibly WordPress. Most often, this would have been a done for
you project. As soon as the website was live, and despite my
guidance on what to do next, many of those sites stagnated. Only a few
got to grips with the technology and moved things forward.
I
set up one writer client on Substack. This is an easy starting point. An
established community. Social media style timeline (Notes). A
blog/newsletter platform. Other like-minded, similar age subscribers.
Despite creating the foundation for her, the account remains unused.
Perhaps the answer is to start smaller. Maybe we need a return to the
good old days of the 90s.
I log on to Substack far less now. I plan to write a monthly roundup letter linking to other blogs (like this one), logs and writing. And that's it. It's not the place it once was and, I could be wrong, but I think commercialising Substack will suck the heart and soul from it. Sites need to make money to keep the lights on but they always follow a similar path. It's never the same afterwards.
I wonder (and I hope) that there may be a bigger scale return to a simpler web. With small communities built on shared interests. Joyful and colourful blogs. Quirky, slightly eccentric content.
For someone who's not tech savvy, this would be a great way to begin. It's how we all started back in the day.
The algorithm rewards those who garner the greatest attention, for whatever reason. The more eyeballs you attract, the more the algorithm will send in your direction. It's no longer about good content, great writing or meaningful themes. It's really just about the money, money, money.
In this process, we've lost something. Connection, community and conversation. We need to find a way to bring back some of the positives of the World Wide Web. There are still some corners of the internet where you can locate sites and people who share these values.
I'd like to believe that we will find some balance as people seek out alternatives to the always on, permanently connected web.