Facebook was fantastic as a college kid: it was just an exclusive club for your an your dorm mates. Then everyone got on Facebook and the content became less and less relevant. Twitter was fantastic as a way to connect with techy astronomy colleagues. It felt like our own little back channel. Then Twitter became a political battle ground, and although the conversations were powerful, they were also overwhelming. Instagram was an oasis where there was no politics, just photos of your day. A way to connect with faraway friends. Now Instagram has become Skymall. Does the utility of all social media platforms self-implode at some point under the weight of growth and ad sales?

I feel like I’ve lost the tune with social media. I haven’t used Facebook or kept up with my Twitter timeline in years. I keep feeling bad whenever I open Instagram. And that’s fine. I have more time for meaningful work. But I also feel like I’m disappearing off the face of the internet by no longer engaging with social media.

So here we are in 2021. What should my social existence on the web look like?

I’m going to try going back to the basics. I’m going to resolve to own my own corner of the web with jonathansick.ca and no longer rent space from social media companies. I’m also going to see how this micro.blog site fits in. I initially signed up in 2017. The concept of the indie web didn’t fully connect with me back then, but now its clear that building my own site and paying directly for services and apps is the way that I want to exist on the web going forward.