This post was originally written for my website at miko.ademagic.com/blog/now
I've been interested in the Indie Web as a new (old?) way to connect with a community on the Internet without an algorith holding my hand (amongst other reasons, but that's for another post). One of the things I found a lot of people setting up was a Now Page. I liked the idea, so I made my own a while back. If you have a personal website, I think you should too.
A what now?
Yes. It's a page you put on your site with short-form, frequent(ish) updates similar to what you'd put on a post microblog. Read the about page, it explains it a lot better than I could.
You let Derek Sivers know you have one, and he puts it into a directory, and people find you (or you find people). No recommendations, no promoted listings, no ranking, no preference or order – all just based on location and a bit of random ordering. It's beautiful.
Why's that good?
Total creative freedom over what you want to build. No standards or structure to feed an algorithm. Share as much (or as little) as you want. Have it indexed, it's up to you. Then find like-minded people, see what they're doing, and learn from them. Or, don't make one and just browse! Pure old school Internet.
Since creating mine, I've already connected with others who have one. I've even made improvements to it and got inspiration for more.
I've had to make changes to my Now page a few times before, or have had questions about it, and all I've had to do is email Derek. He's responded like he was sitting next to me and I tapped him on the shoulder. Quick, straightforward, personable, and even constructive. This doesn't feel like it's a labor of love for him (though it might be, sorry Derek) – it all just seems natural. No revenue, no passion or ego behind this... he just seems to do this because this is what should be done.
But also, when's the last time you felt that the results you got from a search were totally unbiased? Not dependent on outside factors, like what's selling well, who's paying for engagement, or what people like you have viewed before? At the very least, there is a refreshing purity to this network that I haven't seen in a while and I want to get behind it.
But most of all, it's just fun. Get a now page, and let me know you have one!
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