🍵️

2021-10-14

What to Put on Your Capsule/Website

I've probably mentioned before, but I've had blogs and homepages in the past that didn't go anywhere. I think I even had a GeoCities page at one point, though I didn't understand the structure of it at all.

I couldn't make animated gifs, so I built a page in frames with handmade pixel art images that reloaded every few seconds. Never published it on the web. I mean... Why would I? But really I should have.

Because here's what you should publish on your website/capsule:

• Some sort of identity and contact information. Doesn't have to be your real name, but it should be able to contact you by it.
• On your website front page you should put this in the head: <link rel='me' href='mailto:bjorn.warmedal@gmail.com' /> (with your own email address, of course). Because that allows you to use IndieAuth login with one-time codes. Awesome thing.
• Things you do or like. Write about your experiments, no matter how naïve or strange they are. Maybe even because they are naïve or strange.
• If you're blogging/gemlogging, then write about your thoughts. Write about your ideas. They don't have to go anywhere. I've done a bunch of things that never really took off, and written about them in the inception stage. Sometimes it helps to document your thoughts, and that documentation can be public.
• A feed (RSS or Atom, or even gemsub) so that people who follow you can easily see changes you make. This is easy for a blog/gemlog, but less obvious for other types of sites. It may be hard to decide what should appear in that feed. Put some thought into it.

But what should you NOT publish?

• Don't try to figure out what others would like to read. It's really not a popularity contest. Monetizing your content is not the point. Enjoying the process is.
• Hateful or agitating content. Because that just makes you appear less human.

We thrive on diversity, and your original (or less original) thoughts, ideas, and problems can help others to tackle similar experiences or understand their fellow human better. And their feedback can help you develop.

-- CC0 Björn Wärmedal