The Reason why...

I decided to redo my manifesto and write a little more about everything. My first one felt a little short (for my liking). So then.. why Neocities, and why making a site to begin with?

First off, I´m not a fan of most social media. And generally (how many like to call it) the "web 3.0". Basically the web from today. I first started using the internet back in 2009 I think? My memory is not that great and I´m not very good with "what I did when" specifically. But I would say 2009 sounds about right. Back then I used the world wide web to play games and be on Facebook, which I hate today. However FB was different back then for me. That was it. It was simple and fun.

With that said, I was always a fan of having my own special space, where I can just throw in whatever I enjoy and can decor it how I love it. Back in 2012-14 I had a website before. It was dedicated to animal crossing wild world/ New leaf, just very random graphics & info about my town or villagers. I was even able to find it again through my old facebook blog (god lord..). But a few things don´t really work anymore or need log in (why tho). That was basically my very first "own site". However it was not coded and hand crafted, for the most part at least. This was kinda like how wix and weebly work. You have everything, adjust a few settings etc. A simple builder. But even if it wasn´t fully done from scratch, it was still a very fun thing to do. I remember having the time of my life on this little site. Even if almost nobody saw it. It didn´t matter much to me.

Since around 2017/18, I realized how I wasn´t enjoying social platforms that much anymore. I had a pretty good time before but as time when on I started getting very focused on numbers, popularity and fame. I had been sharing my artwork since 2013 and really enjoyed that. As soon as I finished something I wanted to post it and I always had lots of people who liked my work. And I liked their work back. We were just having a very good time, not caring much about anything, simply having fun. But a while after this "old awesome feeling" vanished, I abandoned about 80% of the social platforms. Which was the absolute right decision. Since I did, I started getting a lot better mentally as well and started to really enjoy doing content again. I also switched my content a lot in that time as well and just did the stuff I want instead of pleasing others or getting on a trending page. This stuff was important to me. However I don´t need huge numbers who tell me I´m a good artist. Numbers don´t define you at all. Yes, it is very demotivating when your content gets no reach, especially if you want people to see it. However it doesn´t affect me much anymore and I´m proud of myself. It´s a cool bonus if it happens but it´s not the reason why I create and it shouldn´t be the reason why you create either.

Since I left a lot of places I was thinking... hm what can I do? I had this wix site since 2015 for my gallery.. my commissions and an "about me".. but you know what I really don´t like it as much.. (and I hate relying on wix with that "pretty" ad banner) I wanna built my very own site and wanna have my own domain. However at that time, I was unaware of Neocities so this thought about a fully selfmade site was just sitting there rent free in my head. I also didn´t really know how to go about it. But as of march 2022, I stumbled across Neocities for the first time because of another person's site and was blown away. Luckily at that time I already had a pretty decent understanding of HTML and CSS. I really wanted to try & code my very own site to have all the freedom and just have a place I can call my own, which is full of my creations, things that interest and more... And THAT is the main reason for this website. My very own place that shows my creations. No algorithm, no ads, nothing. It´s just me. And I much, much prefer to be surrounded by this exact thing from other people as well, rather than a twitter profile or an instagram post. It feels more personal, and more "you". You feel alone and unimportant on social media. You´re just a user on a giant site.

Now... personally I don´t get a nostalgic feeling from both, doing and browsing personal sites. It wasn´t something I had as a kid or was very focused on. However I still noticed the change of the internet over time and how much it started to get worse. I noticed how I lost fun. I noticed how I lost connections and how people around me aren´t really there anymore. They´re on twitter, on Tiktok, on Instagram and everything seems to vanish kinda.

Who am I?

Just some nobody. Some loner. I enjoy designing my own space and I love to draw. I want a place to be happy on, to spend time on. I don´t like using Instagram and I don´t like following trends. Everything is either exhausting or unenjoyable to me.

Now you have probably already noticed that my site also has a commission section. While I do have this site mainly for fun and it´s meant to be a personal fun project, I also use it to host my art commission information. Which, I can also just make as creative and funky as everything else. It´s a part of me and what I love to do.

One intention with my site is also to reach people of course. I want to share my creations, get opinions and make connections the "old" way. I just want to show off what interests me, discover others and connect with people who share and do similar things.

Now..

Go & share this. Tell people to do the same. To make their own home.. in any way they want. Lot´s of struggles with all these social platforms every day. Drama, Negativity. Whether it be artists, writers, photographers or someone who loves collecting rocks. Super_masterxx has more likes than you? Who cares. Close your Twitter app for a second and relax. There´s much more to the internet than modern platforms that limit you, eat your information and stress you out.. As someone who speaks from experience and has/ had an audience, trust me when I say: It´s not worth it. Especially when you realize it has much more negative effects on you than positive ones.

As someone who was very social-platform sick, I fully understand that you often times need to use social platforms. For your sales, your job or your friends. I am someone who still uses some myself today. They are useful, help me with sales but they have many downsites. And they can never give you the same feeling a personal site will, which is why this is something I will always favor and something I find the most joy in.