Why Have a Web Site in 2019?

+ Adam, why on earth do you have a website? Wait... Is this a + blog? It's 2019, why don't you just use Facebook?! +

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+ I've wanted to have my own website for a long time mostly because I like + playing with technology. I think it's cool that I can make a few files + on a computer in my closet available for the entire world to see. The + web has become a near-necessity in our daily lives and it's only been + around for a couple of decades. That has always fascinated me enough to + drive me to see if I can do it on my own. I started self-hosting my own + web server about a year ago now and it's been an awesome study in the + way all of the tech we use on the web works. +

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+ A written website is also a good way to keep up on my writing skills. + I've graduated college and won't be writing essays for the foreseeable + eternity. Which is fine except that I have no reason to write creatively + or formally anymore. Having this site encourages me to continue turning + thoughts into words, even though it's more casual than a term paper. +

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+ This extends into the professionalism of a personal website. Normally + you can't point your employer towards your Twitter profile as the + distillation of your online footprint. Having a website, especially one + that separates professional and personal interests, is ten times better + than a resume, especially in the world of technology. It lets you tell + people exactly who you are and what you do, without forcing them to + navigate through an auth wall or a bunch of puppy photos. Your + professional and personal lives don't bleed together quite as much and + it makes for a kick-ass business card. +

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+ Most importantly however, I enjoy the level of control that I gain with + creating and operating my own website, something I have also sought for + a long time. In high school I set up an old Dell from my school's + recycling center with Windows XP and Microsoft Internet Information + Services. It didn't have SSL or even a domain name but it was reachable + over the WAN. I set up an upload system so that my friends and I could + 'post' memes and funny messages for each other on raw html pages written + with Microsoft Word. That was the extent of its functionality. It was + slow, insecure, and went offline every time the router got a new IP + assigned to it. But I didn't care. It was a site the school couldn't + block. It had no name and no rules and nobody could tell us what to do + with it because it was ours. And we called it the + Troll Nexus Center because that's what you do when you're 15 +

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+ My reasons then for building the Troll Nexus Center still stand now. + Having your own website is having your own piece of internet + property. + I first heard this wording from + Luke Smith over on his YouTube channel + and it's one-hundred percent true. Tumblogs, Google Sites, Facebook + profiles, and GitHub Pages are all like renting an apartment. Sure, + there are some really nice apartments out there but it's not the same as + owning your own home. You have to pay rent obviously, and rent is + subject to change once your lease is up. If anything breaks you text + your landlord and wait to have it fixed. You aren't allowed to fix it + yourself and sometimes it doesn't get fixed at all. And of course you're + limited by how much you can customize things to your own liking. Whether + it's painting walls or knocking them down. +

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+ These limitations may or may not apply to you. Whether you're paying for + storage, server space, metrics, or watching an ad every five seconds, + these services aren't free either. And you certainly can't fix + everything that goes wrong with them. I started on Google Sites. It's a + truly fantastic system. Building a site is like putting a PowerPoint + slide together. I just plain outgrew it. There were too many things I + wanted to do that I simply couldn't. I was also at the mercy of Google's + constant change. After I finished constructing my first site, Google + announced they would be shutting down the old Google Sites in favor + of an entirely new platform under the same name. Weeks of work got thrown out the window. You might also not care + about ads or customization. You may be intimidated by doing things + yourself and prefer that the landlord take care of everything. + Personally, I like the challenge and the craftsmanship that comes with + doing something myself. And I like being in total control of my server, + site, and content. Not from a tinfoil hat perspective but from a "gosh I + really wish I could just share more than 15 gigabytes of family video + with my relatives in New York and Ohio" perspective. +

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+ So that's why I created my own website. If you want to know + how I host my own website, look for another post about my + server setup where I'll explain everything I'm hosting and how I got it + all hooked up. And that's a wrap. Now you know why I'm here instead of + somewhere else online. Sure, I do have Facebook and YouTube accounts but + I don't frequently update anything on either of them. This site is my + home online. It's where I keep all of my interests, hobbies, and + memories for sharing with others. +

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+ Now you know where to find me. If you want to keep up with me, be + old-fashioned and subscribe to my RSS feed. +