April 28, 2026
From random to recommended: exploring the indie web
I’ve been interested in the concept of the indie web for a few years now, but have struggled to take part in a meaningful way.
I wrote about an early attempt in 2024 when I discovered that you can get a random RSS feed from indieblog.page. To this day, I continue to get 10 random posts every day in my feed reader.
The problem, though, is that those posts are rarely of any interest. They tend to be extremely niche. Typically, they are about a technology I don’t understand or something personal suitable mainly for friends and relatives.
I haven’t given up, though.
Kagi Small Web is another way to randomly find indie web posts. I find that it’s good for filling in a few minutes of boredom, but I’m pretty sure I’ve found only a few articles that I enjoyed reading.
There is a more recent effort called Blogosphere, where you can go through the latest posts of indie sites chosen by the developer. With a fair bit of scrolling, I can find one or two articles worth reading — so it's not bad. You can also sign up and follow your favourites, but why not do that with your feed reader?
The latest I’ve come across is Bubbles, which came out about a month ago. It allows for up-voting and comments, both of which help surface articles worthy of your attention. It’s like getting recommendations from like-minded people. There is also a daily briefing for the top posts, and a hall of fame for the top blogs.
It might seem a little too close for comfort to the corporate world of Reddit, but I’m willing to live with that. If the indie world is going to flourish, it needs a way to make itself known. Bubbles might not be the best way to do this, but it’s the best I’ve found so far.