It’s been a long time since I truly felt invested in using a website. Probably not since the heydays of Tumblr came to a close, and even then I missed the days of Livejournal. Migrating around didn’t seem to land me anywhere that felt like a home. I believe that Twitter and Bsky are unhealthy as a format. It’s not good for us to be tapped into everyone’s stream of conscious and sharing gut reactions. On top of that, it’s the worst format for art! Then Instagram is a huge mess of ads and algorithms. I still use Tumblr and Pillowfort, but not with the same vigor.
It left me feel a bit homeless on the internet.
That is, until I was hit with the thought “what if I put a blog on my website?” Suddenly the hyperfixation hit like a fucking truck towing big happy cows, and I couldn’t think of anything else for days. Soon after, I got curious how easy it would be to install an oekaki board, and before I knew it I was installing one. While working on that I joked, “what if I made a forum and it could be a great spot to share art and get feedback.” It didn’t last long as a joke as I was researching how easy it would be. It was the best kind of haze of focus I’ve had in a while.
I built my own house, and holy shit it’s cozy.
I missed the time of the internet before smartphones, so I decided to make changes to ruin any sort of reason to use it. No social media, no email notifications, no apps except for required use such as bus passes, GPS, and stuff for work. It’s wild to reflect that when smartphones started to gain momentum, I was very resistant to them.
Random changes we’ve made include cancelling just about all streaming services.
It’s made such a difference to my every day life already. Instead of scrolling through social media with everyone’s half baked thoughts, hot takes, advertisements, and algorithms; I’m reading books, working on projects, and sometimes just staring into the abyss which is vastly under rated activity.
There’s suddenly less noise and I have more energy for the things I care about.
And here I get to share with you what that brings.
Welcome to my home.
If you like what I do, please consider supporting my Patreon! If not, join the forum or doodle on the oekaki board. (those’re free!). Every little interaction and post makes me so incredibly happy, and I’d be so excited for you to be a part of it.
