Own Your Space

It was not a long time ago that we experienced that the Facebook server went down which rendered Messenger, Instagram, and Whatsapp useless.

Me personally, I didn't experience any inconvenience. It was actually a breath of fresh air in my opinion.

Let's be real, social media platforms can be a noisy place where people are fighting for your attention. And let's not forget the constant battle with the algorithm changing.

What to do when social media platforms keep favoring content that focuses on quantity instead of quality? Or favors people with a big following?

The answer is simple: invest in your personal website. With your own personal website, you are in control, and you can do whatever you want with it. "It's vital to have your own space so you aren't constantly in each other's pockets.", said the English actor Michael Caine.

Matthias Ott wrote in his article Into the Personal-Website-Verse:

“It’s, of course, safe to assume that a web of personal websites will never be an equivalent substitute for a social network like Twitter. But that’s also not the goal. Personal websites are called personal websites because they are just that: personal. Thus, the primary objective still is to have a place to express ourselves, to explore ourselves, a place that lasts while the daily storms pass by.”

We all have our unique voices, but sometimes it can become a challenge to be "heard" or "seen" in the sea of social media. But by having your own personal website, you can customize it so it fits your taste. You can use WordPress as CMS (Content Management System) to build your personal website with relatively no coding experience.

I wrote an article about page builders for WordPress (though the article is targeted for design portfolio, it's still relevant no matter the industry). A personal website is also a great way to brand yourself with your unique quirks, and let other people into your world.

You also learn along the way. You will for example feel frustrated when things are not aligned correctly or the layout is completely broken. But that's the great feeling when you figure it out—it feels worth it.