The BIG issue

So I've spent most of my time since I've had a computer fiddling with things, making half-baked concepts and generally creating a large pile of unfinished biznezz (aka doo-doo feces).

Most of the things I create are digital in nature but I've never thought maybe it would help if I could display and discuss my stuff in a way that fits me the best. I've always tried to format and fit my words and work around the limitations and formats of the platforms I choose to use.

Have you ever tried posting something on twitter that isn't just one image or 200 characters? And to follow that thought: Have you ever had to edit/change what you were posting/showing because you knew the limitations of the platform you were using?

These two questions are what made me realize I've been using the internet wrong for the last 10 years.

Your own website

I don't need a website, the amount of stuff that I make does not warrant it. But listen to me when I say this: Everyone needs a website.

Before Wix, GoDaddy and SquareSpace you had to do it yourself. And surprisingly alot of people who didn't really know what they were doing managed to do it and had a little corner of the internet to call their own. A byproduct of people winging it is that all of the websites had their own personality and flare. I'm not saying websites don't have a personality anymore; it's just the hand-made ones feel personal and special.

So you have a whole bunch of websites made by people who do wildly different things on those sites. They engage in writing, conduct research, and gather information related to their varied interests, hobbies, current events, personal perspectives, and professional endeavors.

How are all these people with different goals and skill levels able to create coherent and accessible places to show off all this cool stuff without running into any noticeable issues?

To be honest, I had a few worries when planning to create a website; the path of least resistance is to use social platforms that are already available to me. Then I don't have to go through all this hassle to get feedback or eyeballs on my stuff. There's a few questions I wanted answered before I started down the path of website creation...

Some questions I wanted answered

First of all: How can a person who does nothing but go through history and write about the different types of calculators invented and created throughout time use the same building blocks, techniques and tools that someone else is using to create a place to discuss their favorite types of ice to chew?

Because websites are just documents. Pages, text, images. That's IT.

The tricky part is figuring out what you want to do and how you plan on doing it.

Second of all: What if my website looks bad, I'm using this place as a way to show the world what I do, what if my tiny nugget brain can't make something look nice and approachable for anyone to view?

Get that thought out of your head right now.

The best part about having a website is you get to choose how it looks and flows, if you think it should look a certain way then that's how it should be.

When I made this website I spent a terrible amount of time thinking about how it should look, this site should have been at a usable stage within 2-3 months of me creating it; I spent most of that time toiling over everything looking pixel perfect... Don't bother doing that, focus on what the site needs to do and then worry about how everything looks; just like how you would write an essay, get all the ideas and words out and then format it. And if worse comes to worst you can just find a style template to use.

Looks don't matter.

Third of all: If someone creates a website that fits their requirements... do people actually visit or read things on their website?

This thought is what made me avoid creating a website, what's the point in putting all of this effort into a website when I would have gotten more feedback and insight by just using some other platform.

The reality of it all is that there's so much more to a personal site than the number of hits you get, so here's the deal.

If people do visit and read your stuff then great! This website is a resource and a place that you've created that others find value in.

If people don't visit... then why bother? If no one is visiting and reading then what's the point in having a website? Why not just put all the stuff on social platforms?

Well here's my list of reasons as to why question number three shouldn't even be a concern, just stop being a massive loser and make a website. (sorry)

Personal archive

The main reason to create, host and maintain a website is for personal archival purposes. Some resources or information might disappear from search engines one day, but since you have a website you can keep that information alive and well. A social platform might explode in the middle of the night and all of your memories, likes, opinions and work will explode with it. Not with your own website though, it only explodes if you choose to blow it up.

One of the benefits of your own site is that you can use it as a vault of information and data that is hand-crafted and personal to you. It's your very own one-stop shop.

Self-reliance

You've always heard about self-reliance, it's the thing you do when you want to be less reliant on others or a system. Most self-reliance you see is about how to collect rainwater, generate your own energy and make your own food (all very important skills). But what if I told you that having your own website is a form of self-reliance.

Establishing and maintaining a place to show off who you are, what you do, what you make and how you feel without relying on external platforms is in itself an act of self-reliance.

You get to express freely how you feel or how you think without being subject to the limitations of guidelines imposed by others.

Your post on facebook can be taken down, but your post on your website cannot.

Created with you in mind

The goals and outcomes you want from your website will change the requirements of said website. If you are a photographer, you will need to display images in a much nicer way than say; someone who is creating a website to compile an archive of old DOS games.

The function and form of the site is dictated by what you need it to do and how you think it will best suit your needs and uses.

Not only that, but the way you present this information or creation is completely up to you!

You don't have to modify your thinking, format or creation processes to fit the platform(s) you use. The best version of your work can be found on your website and a link or preview of it can be posted on any other site.

Milestones and progress

Now this is a big one for me personally.

Being able to look back on things you did a year ago is a great way to boost your confidence and feel like you've progressed and gotten better at whatever it is you're doing. Much like how a diary lets you see what your mindset or thoughts were when you wrote it: by maintaining a dedicated space to document and showcase your achievements, you can easily reflect on your journey and keep a tangible record of your growth and accomplishments.

Now who doesn't like to see a little bitta growth and progress?

Accountability

I have strict self-set rules when it comes to posting things on the internet that I'll discuss in a later post but what it boils down to is this: I don't delete any of my posts, comments, replies or opinions.

That rule forces you to take a certain level of responsibility when saying or doing something.

You don't need to follow this silly rule but... the accountability part is important.

If you are doing something that will be publicly viewed by an unknown audience and not just close friends... this idea forces you to put some extra grease of the elbow into your words/work because it may be the first time people have ever seen something you've done; this pressure alone has helped me finish and flesh out alot of projects.

Freedom of speech and expression

Having a website you call your own automatically lets you have the unrestricted ability to do and say whatever you feel like.

It allows you to be able to share ideas, opinions, and perspectives without censorship or limitations imposed by external entities.

When a minority of users can band together and have your access to an account revoked, then you need to start thinking about whether or not that platform or space is really a place that you should be putting alot of stock into.

Middle out

The middle-out approach is one that is so simple that I didn't even think about it until it was right in front of me being explained. Up until this point you may have gotten the sense that I am very anti-social-media but I'm not really, it's a good tool, I just think that people rely on it too heavily and use it wrong. If something happens (locked out of account, exploded, hacked, banned) all of your ideas and work will be forever lost in the sauce.

So the middle-out approach is a way to rid yourself of the reliance on these platforms, while still utilizing and participating in them.

The idea is as follows:

• You create things on your website and host em.
• You own and always have the thing you've created under your control.
• You post a link, preview or the whole dang thing on other sites.
• No matter what method you choose, it is important to link back to the original
• Those sites have a copy or preview but it all links back to your site.

Sounds simple doesn't it? Well, that's because it is, but now you've removed your reliance on these platforms while still allowing yourself to use them.

Goals for my website

So you've either done two things, you've read up until this point like a freak, or you've skimmed to this part and are reading this very sentence right now. Both of those ideas weird me out.

I've never really done this before; writing to and at people. I've never really been a write stuff down kind of person, but hopefully I get better at it.

But before I start talking about what I want to do with my website I want to iterate once again for those who haven't got it into their heads yet:

Take the leap and start making a website

It doesn't matter how you do it, use Wix if you want, but I'll be creating tutorials on how to create and host a site for free and without alot of brain power.

A website is a dynamic thing I'm beginning to realize, I'll be diving into the stylesheets and changing them regularly, adding new sections and updating old ones. Implementing new functionality as I learn and find out about new thangs.

But for the sake of future Ben, I'm going to put down the things I want to achieve on this site so he can refer back to them.

My aim for this website is to:

• Show off all the stupid stuff I'm doing.
• Recommend tools, software, resources and workflows that have helped me.
• Talk about cool things I've found.
• Make tutorials on how to do certain thangs.
• Build up a collection of information and resources.

These are extremely generic and hopefully, I'll flesh them out or add to them but that's what I'm aiming for right now.

Closing thinks

I think that having a personal site is one of the most important things you can create right this very second. Even if you work or hobbies that aren't digital, being able to fit an entire lifetime of resources, ideas and knowledge onto a 16GB USB stick where you know where everything is because you made it is a hell of a lot more convenient than trying to find that scrap of paper you wrote on 4 years ago.

If you want any help or guidance on where to start, send me a message on twitter or email me (both links are in the footer of the page; which is the bottom of the page if you are my mum).