Sunday, June 28, 2026

The many ways to explore blog posts from personal sites

I have a new page in the main navigation, but it took me three tries to give it a name that seemed right.

It’s basically a list of links to feeds that allow you to explore and discover blog posts from independent, personal websites.

In my opinion, you’ll find lots more interesting stuff to read there than you will on Facebook and the like.

In the end, I decided to call the page Indie. It’s the boring choice, but also the most likely to be understood.

(Edit: I decided to go even more boring: Links. It’s what they are, it’s what everyone understands.)

At first, I thought “alt web” would be cool, but I’m also pretty sure no on would understand it. And there is already an alt web that somehow allows you to publish directly in links. Hmm.

Then I thought “open web” would be a good contrast to “walled garden.” I might have stuck with that, but a bit of searching turned up a platform that is looking to commercialize the term.

Which is the opposite of what I am recommending. I don’t like the distorted kind of writing that comes with advertising and newsletter subscriptions.

These feeds highlight regular people saying the stuff they regularly say. It’s refreshing.