The independent web, indie web, old web, small web, wild web, etc, etc, etc. There are a lot of things these spaces online are called, but ultimately, they're all referring to pieces of the internet that actively strive to pull away from corporate social media. They are means of connection that are far more genuine than scrolling past the abundance of meaningless content designed for no reason than to sell you something on a daily basis. These spaces prioritize a kind of engagement that goes beyond just a like on a post; they require your interaction with a community, and your willingness to create something, especially if it's imperfect.
Here, right now, you are reading this on a Neocities website. Neocities, once a revival of the unfortunately defunct Geocities, is now a thriving community of groups and individuals who've used it as a source of creativity and self-expression. Here, you won't find the same blank templates of profile pages and bios. Instead, you'll see a vast array of all the different ways in which people have managed to be human. Different skill sets, different skill levels, different interests, color palettes, etc. Even when we are borrowing code or concepts from one another, everyone has a unique way to share their ideas.
Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, the three main platforms we just cannot stop hearing about. Companies that have permanently plastered themselves into our cultural zeitgeist and become unfathomably wealthy because of it. Ads every other post, every post secretly being an ad, everything desperately trying to sell you something, anything at all. Even if all the revenue you're giving is your time, it is feeding a beast that has proven it cannot be sated.
Security issues are more rampant than ever, in an age where we know more about cybersecurity than ever, because there is a profit to be made selling your data, selling you and your interactions as a product. Misinformation is the most profitable market we've created, selling outrage and fear. AI is becoming such a prevalent threat to real people and real artists, because it is so much cheaper to replace anything that can talk back with something that will affirm you every step of the way. Humanity and human experience are inherent threats to the ways in which this current system runs because the system itself is inhumane.
The internet is an incredible creation, a powerful tool with so much potential and possibility. Potential that has been adamantly stifled in the ways it has been overcrowded with meaningless, frustrating, pointless slop. But there are ways you can use it to be creative, to have fun, to make things just for the sake of making something. Whether it's really impressive, whether it's bad or just silly, it's a piece of you. A piece of you that can be shared for no profit other than the desire to reach out into the world, and maybe someone else might reach back.
HTML is the programming language websites use in order to run. HTML is also possibly the simplest, most beginner friendly coding language. It's also so versatile that once you understand the basics, there is no limit to what you can create with it. In tandem with it, CSS can add as much customization and personality to a website as you could imagine, and Javascript can make anything at all interactive and fun.
There are so many free, easy-to-use resources out there for anyone that wants to learn how to use these tools. I encourage (read: beg) you to take a look through some of this list of resources I've gathered for you, and just genuinely consider trying some of it out for yourself. Neocities is free to sign up, free to use, and you could have your own personalized website up within an hour.
There are some cool ways to engage with these corporate/commercial social media platforms. I personally still use them to find new artists, new music, people doing stuff that's alternative and weird and fun. The biggest draw right now for so much inundation with social media use is that's where everyone else is. I almost exclusively message friends I don't often see in person through Instagram, or use it to keep up with how those distant friends are doing. TikTok is, as much as I hate to admit it, an interesting and compelling form of video content that (when used correctly, by the right kinds of people) can be a beautiful way for artists to make something cool and unique.
I'm not saying to give up corporate social platforms right now, immediately. My personal hope and desire is that there will be a day in the (hopefully) (near) future where these companies have far less control over our connections, our friendships, our emotions, and our perspectives on the real world. I personally believe one of the most powerful ways to do that is creating our own spaces that reject commercialization, that reject sharing art and emotion only if the end result is to be paid for it. Creating and fostering these communities only happens if more and more people make the deliberate choice to become a part of them.
I will probably make an entire article about this someday, as well, but Open Access Unix Servers! A really cool way to interact with small, dedicated communities, and a wonderful place to learn new skills. (tilde.town + tilde.club are the ones I'm in!)
Onion Net! Often referred to/seen as the "dark web", but the Tor browser is just a useful tool to explore the internet without having all of your data tracked. Lots of resources for accessing pieces of media that either no longer exist anywhere else, or are prohibitively expensive. Internet Archive is also a great resource for this!
Godot and Ren'Py are free and open-source game design engines! Godot is a great alternative to Unity (and doesn't steal money from its users!) :]
Krita is a wonderful raster-based drawing program that I've been using personally for years now! A great free and open-source alternative to Photoshop/Procreate/etc and have publicly condemned AI use :]
(and speaking of how terrible a company Adobe is, GenP is a pretty cool resource, too ;])
RetroArch is a super easy way to get into game emulation! Have a craving to play a bunch of old-school video games you haven't touched since you were a kid? Want to play games that never even had an actual release in your country? Want to play something you can't get the console for anymore? Want to play something that doesn't even exist in a physical format anymore? Time to start emulating, baby!!