dispatch 002 // internet

The web needs more weird little rooms

A case for personal sites, unnecessary knobs, and digital spaces that are allowed to feel handmade.

1 min read

A personal site does not need a conversion funnel. It can have a hallway that goes nowhere, a button that changes the weather, or a page devoted to one very specific enthusiasm.

The modern web is extraordinarily capable and increasingly uniform. That uniformity is useful when you are paying a bill. It is less useful when you want to feel that another human being is on the other side of the glass.

Personality is a feature

Handmade does not have to mean difficult to use. A site can be accessible, quick, and clear while still surprising you. The weirdness works best when it lives on top of a solid foundation — like a neon mailbox attached to a well-built house.

Build the room you want to visit

Owning a little corner of the web creates permission to experiment without negotiating with a feed. Publish half-formed notes. Link to people you admire. Change the background because it is Tuesday.

The internet is infrastructure, but it is also a place. I hope we keep making places worth wandering into.