tech
Search Engine Hostility
Every website owner requires the use of search engine optimizaztion (SEO) for their websites. unsolicited spam e-mail
I recieved this email yesterday and it sent me thinking about the corporate vs personal web again.
I'm not quite sure how to start this. I don't want to imply that a personal page with no secret motive for monetary gain can't benefit from SEO – most indie site webmasters I know make use of SEO and I sometimes even see their websites when I google something unrelated and it makes me smile.
But I personally have always practiced more of a SEH approach to my site. My robots.txt basically reads "no". I don't want my site to appear on Google nor anywhere else. How do I maximize my audience then? I don't. How you found me is between you and the evil overlord (Musk) or whatever gods you pray to.
Here's the situation: I love playing around with websites. For example here's one of the many externally hosted websites I made before "self"-hosting. Here's another one. Or one that's not on neocites. Wow! You are learning so much about me.
And if that wasn't enough for you, here are some old designs of this site; just to get you really convinced that webdesign is my passion (I need to stop saying this like I mean it, since web design is kind of my job and bringing it up with these makes it seem like I'm really bad at my job. Front end development is my passion?).
Why no SEO?
So anyway imagine if you will a guy who really wants to play around with the web and who loves sharing facts about himself so much that he does random university surveys when he's bored, and now imagine that this guy also knows how the internet doesn't forget and isn't really happy about it. Of course it's not just the permanence of it but also the fact that everything you make public online might be seen by anyone; you have limited control over it.
I don't worry too much about "future employers will see what you post online 😱" because what this popular warning perhaps fails to consider is that your future employer probably doesn't really care about what you posted on Instagram when you were 16. This is an exaggeration of my point, but basically what I'm saying is that it's unlikely anyone will obsessively read everything you've ever said online. They have better things to do.
However there's another thing about the web that's maybe Germany specific — we are legally required to share certain personal information on our sites. This is in itself pretty annoying and a huge barrier but it also means that you can't really make an anonymous website. And there are certain things that I would say or share more freely online if my name weren't attached to it. This means just random things too, things that may be embarassing if someone brings them up. Pretty much all of the old sites I showed above fall under this category.
As it is now I don't really need people to see this website either. If a collegue finds this site the world won't end but I also don't need them to. I don't need people to Google "Johanna Langenhan" and find this website so they can keep up to date with my latest Doctor Who reading list. What I post here I post mostly for myself, because I like reading myself write or something. The only people who find this site are usually those who share my love for the personal web, who appreciate the wacky individuality even if we don't share many interests. What could page 1 on Google possibly add to this?
I am not a content creator (in my free time, anyway)
Every website owner requires SEO
This wording specifically got me. Because sure, every site owner may benefit from SEO. More people get to see what you post! But what this wording really assumes is that every site owner is in it for the money. And that's sad.
Of course I don't want to get too hung up on this quote from a spam mail. It's only this definite in its promotion of SEO because the message they were trying to convey was "Please, please, pleaseeee click on my phishing link".
But I think this mindset is shared around most of the web. What do you get out of it? What's the monthly balance? Do you get a return on your investment?
No! I don't! I am practically throwning money out the window, into the cloud even. My art is not "content" — it's contained within my site, sure — but it's not a good to be sold. I don't share it to get something in return, but I don't share it to add to the giant heap of "content" for someone to enjoy either. What you see and read and hear here or on my other sites was made by a person. And I think that we need to shift the focus back to the people we interact with and not reduce them to a wall of "stuff" to interact with and judge.
Talking about a personal website or blog, if it's the same type as mine, like it's an investment is like talking about a novel or a painting set or a video game like an investment. Do you see how silly that seems? I don't get any money out of it. I get enjoyment, I get a hobby, I get community and I get fun. Isn't that enough? Can we not just accept this as enough?
I've talked about this before on here a few times and I practically shout it off the roof tops every chance I get, but here it is again: We seem to just accept that the web belongs to companies. Sure, it's a great opportunity for them. No one is saying that we can't have company websites anymore, that they have to move back to newspapers and those revolving posters you see at the roadside. But that doesn't mean everything and everyone has to revolve around how the companies are doing it and what the companies have come up with now and that we should let the companies put whatever garbage they want on our devices and sell whatever personal data they want. Because what are we gonna do? Quit Instagram instead of paying 11€ a month to keep what little personal info we've got left private?
Yes! That is literally an option. I am lying to your feet begging you to consider owning your data. I can't say a personal site is something for everybody but if you think it might be fun just try it out; for the love of all that is good and sunshine and ice cream. There are so many benefits beside my very fun and wacky unprofessional angle outlined here. Think about it.
Also posted to Indienews.
Tags: indieweb
Category: tech
