The Good Web is an introduction to the independent web, a guide to becoming part of it, and a feed reader with a collection of feeds to get started.
What is The Good Web?
Most people today experience the internet through one of a handful of monolithic platforms, guided by algorithms that decide what they see.
But that isn't the whole internet.
There is a part of the internet that consists of interconnected independent websites, each made by an individual, community, club, artist, writer, researcher, or hobbyist. It is a place made by regular folks for regular folks.
Each of these websites links to a handful, dozens, or even hundreds of others, forming a connected network spread across the globe. You could almost call it the web—the good web.
This side of the web may be harder to find. But it's easier than ever to be a part of.
The Good Web is an introduction to the independent web and a guide for discovery, personal curation, participation, and owning your own space on that web. (It's also a feed reader with a collection of feeds to get started—more on that later.)
Further Reading:
How to Join the Web
Discovery
The first step is to find websites you enjoy. The best way is to start with a site you already know and love, then check out the links in their blogroll or follow the paths of any webrings they're part of. But, if you're just starting out, you might not already have any websites you like. If that is the case, check out the directories and feed aggregators linked below, as well as the webrings and search tools.
Directories and Aggregators
- Blog of the .Day
- Gossip’s Web
- indieblog.page
- Marginalia Search Explore
- ooh.directory
- personalsit.es
- smallweb
- theindex.fyi
- Warp Point
- Ye Olde Blogroll
Webrings
Search Tools
Good Web Search
Good Web Search is an extension for Firefox and Chromium-based browsers that automatically adjusts search parameters to surface more useful results and makes search engines behave more like they used to in the "good ol' days" of the web by reducing AI-generated clutter and enabling hidden search options.
Curation
Good Web Search
Good Web Search is an extension for Firefox and Chromium-based browsers that automatically adjusts search parameters to surface more useful results and makes search engines behave more like they used to in the "good ol' days" of the web by reducing AI-generated clutter and enabling hidden search options.
You've collected some websites you enjoy reading—blogs, digital gardens, art projects, wikis, and whatever else. You're a curator now. Congratulations!
You may have saved their URLs in a text document or bookmarked them in your web browser. Those are both fine methods. You can just visit the sites you like everyday to see what's new. And there's nothing wrong with that. But now that you've collected some websites you want to follow, it might be easier to keep up with them using a feed reader.
Most websites publish a feed containing their latest posts. A feed reader collects updates from all the feeds you're subscribed to and displays them in one place. Instead of visiting twenty websites each morning to see if anything has changed, the updates come to you.
Feed Readers
Feed readers come in a few different formats. Some web browsers and email clients have a feed reader built in (Vivaldi and Thunderbird, for example). There are also feed readers that are standalone desktop programs (Fluent Reader comes to mind). But since we're already on the internet using a web browser, we might as well use a web-based feed reader.
What follows are some options for web-based feed readers. Almost all of them offer a free plan.
(In the future, after you've made your own website, you may decide you want to host your own feed reader. When that time comes, take a look at FreshRSS or yarr.)
The Good Web Daily and Weekly Editions
As part of The Good Web, you can find both a daily and weekly edition of all the posts from my own curated collection of feeds.
The Good Web Daily is updated daily at around nine AM EST.
The Good Web Weekly is updated every Saturday at around nine AM EST.
(If you're feeling ambitious, you can even clone this whole project and use it to build your own feed reader.)
Participation
Now that you've curated, it's time to participate. The good web thrives on participation. Comment on blog posts, send emails to webmasters, share links with friends, and post in forums.
You're mostly on your own for this one. Where you participate will depend on what websites you've chosen to follow. But see below for two communities to help you along.
32-Bit Cafe
32-Bit Cafe is a community of website hobbyists and professionals helping to make the personal web "bountiful and fruitful". In addition to having a good collection of tutorials and other resources, they've got a lively forum for chatting about all things web related.
IndieWeb
The IndieWeb is a community of independent and personal websites, guided by a set of principles: "owning your domain and using it as your primary online identity, publishing on your own site first (optionally elsewhere), and owning your content." They host events and meetups and have discussions on IRC (and other platforms).
A Space of Your Own
The most important thing you can do to participate in the good web is to have a space of your own—your very own website. This final step can be as simple or as complex as you would like it to be.
What follows are some options, roughly from easiest to hardest.
Further Reading:
Drag & Drop
Website Platforms
Build from Scratch
If you're feeling ambitious, learn some basic HTML and CSS and build your own website from scratch!
Learn
Host
(And you also probably want a domain name. Check out porkbun as a good option.)