If you’re bothering to visit this site, you might ask yourself “Why would anybody start a personal blog now, instead of just using social media?” If that’s you, then you have a valid and important question. In fact, it’s a question I’d like to address right up front.
To create long-form content
Personally, I like to thoroughly explore an idea, thought, or argument. I almost always choose an article over a meme, a book over an article, a movie over a TV episode, or a 20-minute video over a short.
Most social media sites are built for short, snappy content. They don’t have great tools for creating and editing long-form content. Although I’ll also post shorter content on occasion, it’s not my main interest. An old-school blog is better suited for my content-creation needs.
To maintain full ownership of what I post
By keeping my own blog, I maintain complete ownership and power over anything I decide to post. I can take it down or leave it up. I can share as much, or as little, as I decide. And no matter what happens with any social network, I can trust that my little corner of the web will stay exactly as I like it.
Because social media is harmful to society
Social media sites are huge money machines. They make their dollars by selling user attention and data to other businesses. They employ algorithms designed by some of the smartest people in the world with one purpose in mind: keep you looking and exposing as much personal data as possible.
To accomplish this, they take design cues from gambling and addiction psychology to keep you “hooked.” The most effective recipe for keeping people hooked turns out to be
- Step 1: keep them fighting with one another
- Step 2: keep them chasing hits of dopamine from entertaining but mindless content.
Since the introduction of social media as a major force in our lives, we’ve seen increased hate and social divide, decreased quality of relationships, increased depression and suicide, and decreased life satisfaction.
So, I’m choosing not to be a cog in that machine anymore. I may maintain my accounts just to share links back to my blog, but I will no longer be posting content directly on social media or scrolling it as a user. Eventually, I hope to delete those accounts completely.
To create a “no ads, no notifications, no distractions” experience
We all deserve a break from constant ads, pop-ups, notifications, clickbait, and other distractions that chew up our time and attention. Anyone who ventures into my little corner of the internet will find a clutter-free place with no third-party ads or distractions.
Most importantly, to have a direct connection with my audience.
If you find this stuff interesting, you can subscribe to the newsletter and get everything I post. No relying on an algorithm to decide for you. Likewise, you can unsubscribe or decide not to visit anytime you change your mind. You’re always invited to my “home” but never forced to visit.
And if you don’t find it interesting here, there’s no reason to have social media shoving it down your throat every time you open the app.