Explaining Myself.
Reactivating the Web on BlueSky
07/05/2026
Let me explain.
I was inspired to create a BlueSky account that serves as my effective bookmarking system for the discovery of new personal blogs and websites making a go of it on today's enshitified World Wide Web.
The point of it is to have a formal place to call out these discoveries and make them in some way discoverable by others. And, by doing that, accelerating what I'm am referring to as the web's "reactivation".
I'll use the account to highlight such findings. I may have to refine this later but for me to post a new entry to the account:
- First, I have to encounter it (I will make a point to hunt and gather)
- The site has to be be personal and not exit directly for profit branding
- The site has to look good first on the "desktop web", mobile second (if at all)
That one about looking good on the desktop web means it has to look good to a person viewing it from a desktop or laptop PC. I call a series of sites like that as composing an ecosystem of the new "desktop web" and is critical to the label. The desktop web is a network of presentations, all interlinking with each other, in a pretend world where mobile flat out does not exist. Fuck the uniformity of responsive design that has killed the creative human beauty and variety of the web, not to mention the simple publishing logistics involved that mean publishers have to be professional at it or turn to some cookie cutter bullshit service (which of none I won't call out by name but you can probably think of a couple).
This movement speaks to the people who get it upon reading these very words.
If you have a site you want circulated on the account (or for me to link to), feel free to use my contact form to drop me a note and I'll give it a review. Keep in mind I have a very specific taste and vibe so if I reject anything I'll offer up my critique whenever I do. The conversation over rejected sites is as important to me as simply throwing up glowing examples of what hits right.
By Dave for Personal Blog.
webreactivated bluesky desktopweb
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Done With the Social in 'Social Media'
06/27/2026
That's it, I'm out. I'm done with social media because social media is done with me. Meaning, everyone really.
What's worse is that everyone but me seems to have already concluded this a long time ago. Meta for example is coasting on the "idea" that it is some social hub for your friends and family, but it hasn't been for a good many years. And for that matter they are proud of their trajectory away from.
Let me explain.The large social platforms wrecked it for themselves because they needed to grow. The mandate for growth meant futzing around with algorithms and the re-constitution of what a newsfeed is exactly. And what it is it turns out to have nothing to do with a profitless chronological ticker of what your connections are doing. There's no money - or at least enough of it - in that. And for that matter, ironically because of this doom loop, there's no people in it either.
To be sure, Facebook and the Xes of the world as they are have their place. I'm not deleting any accounts just yet. Meta Facebook is still a rich engagement hub for groups, news, and drama commentary. And it has become a great publishing platform for brands and businesses that for some reason can't trust an HTML WWW website to represent them. Without overtly stating as much, it's become great for just about everything except an efficient clutter free way to keep up with specific individuals you care about. That seems to have been replaced by private group chats using straight up text messaging apps. If you aren't in any, you're either old, a loser, or, if like me, both.
So I'm moving my impulse publishing to BlueSky and working harder to re-affirm this platform, one I wrote many years ago before AI and the vibe.
"But who will see what I post?", one may ask. Sadly, the answer is increasingly no more or no less than that if I stuck with Meta, X, or my PornHub Community (wonder on). My goal if I must be seen by randos at large will be to simply become genuinely interesting, achieved, relevant, or whatever. I will make that the challenge if I wind up caring or in pure happestance.
As for BlueSky, it is an open protocol (and a much easier to grasp version of one over Mastodon at that) operated as a "public benefit company" -- something that should shield it from the destructive perverted force of capitalism. A force that has all but nearly destroyed the utility of the greatest network ever invented.
Most recently BlueSky has continued their build-out with the ability to go live which will be important for a later project I am envisioning. When they launch their tier service later this year as anticipated, I'll sign up. But I won't be doing it expecting a social media experience. I'll be doing it for the service of impulse publishing on a singular and technically competent hosting platform.
In making this great declaration I have a lot of editing on this site to align with the change. In the meantime download BlueSky here. And for that matter consider joining yourself and let me know. For other information on following via this blog and in general me check out my follow page.
By Dave for Personal Blog.
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