Re: Reading Indie Blogs Right
Hi Loren,
The story of how I found your blog is an interesting one. It fits perfectly with why I'm writing this to you (and any other reader who stumbles upon it). I came across a post by Chris on Uncountable about the magic of reading blog posts on the original website. He linked to your post with the same title. This is how the IndieWeb is supposed to work: you visit someone's website via a link and then embark on an adventure through the indie jungle, arriving somewhere you didn't expect.
These moments are magical. Adventures like these lead you from one scenic website to another. It's like walking through an ancient forest that seems straight out of The Lord of the Rings, only to find a light at the end where you enter a place as stunning as Rivendell.
This post could have been a Fw: (forward) instead of a Re: (reply). I couldn't agree more with your statement:
"These bloggers put time and effort into making their websites – the design, the 'About Me' page, the Archives. In an app, all that disappears, replaced by a sterile, uniform layout."
The real magic is in this effort, the years of tears and sweat that people put into creating their websites. It's something you completely miss out on when reading everything in the blandness of an RSS reader. It's like watching Mad Max on the tiny screen of your phone instead of the magnificent and overwhelming IMAX cinema experience.
There is so much enchantment in taking that little extra effort to open a post on someone's website.
This is where the real IndieWeb comes to life.
With love, Yordi
