From Social Feeds to Personal Feeds

Published on 10 September 2024

I’ve become tired and bored of social networks. I used them a lot, sometimes too much. I deleted the apps from my phone a while ago, and now I only visit them via a web browser, for a few minutes — sometimes just seconds — a few times a week. I’ve stopped posting for a long time and rarely interact anymore.

Social networks have become boring, exhausting, noisy, cluttered, and unnecessarily complicated. They also lack personality, with everyone having the same space and the same way to express themselves.

What I love and prefer, however, are personal websites and blogs (and newsletters). The pace is slower and set by the webmaster. The content feels more thoughtful, simply because it’s published more intentionally. These personal websites and blogs are built and written in ways that reflect the personality of their owners, and they aren’t driven by algorithms. And the list of benefits goes on.

Blogs and personal websites offer :

• A better sense of time and serenity. Social networks often create a feeling of urgency and constant pressure to keep up, whereas blogs and newsletters allow for a slower, more timeless experience.
• Higher quality content and community. Without the pressure of algorithms, blogs offer more original and thoughtful material, allowing writers to explore topics in depth without chasing trends. The interactions are also more meaningful, with genuine conversations happening through pingbacks, comments, Webmentions, or emails, rather than superficial likes or shares.

Expressing oneself through a personal website is much more interesting and authentic than doing so via a social network.