I've decided to use Gemini as my log for how I use the web. By "use" I mean predominantly how I *connect* with others, *consume* content, and *contribute* back to the web, in my own way. I've decided to use MyGemini.Space to write these posts, as I see it as a perfect starting point for my first foray into contributing to the protocol. In time, as I explore Gemini, I may move to a new host to fit my needs as they evolve, however the intention is to leave a trail of breadcrumbs as I do, linking forward from here, and back from there. So, in that spirit I will now link back to my previous web journey.
For context I was born 1985. Around 1998-2002 I was into a bit of FrontPage web building, mIRC (predominantly for #warez channels, ICQ, and the odd network games of GTA1 and GTA2 around at my mates place. I never had Myspace, but was aware it was around. I got on the Facebook and Instagram wagon, but stopped in 2020 after I was finding the negative effects surface - I was never a heavy user of either, though in 2019 I ramped up my Instagram posts as I did a trig bagging adventure in my new country of residence, New Zealand. I dropped off IRC way back (and still haven't ventured there again yet). I never had LinkedIn, Snap, Twitter or the likes either, and coped fine without.
In April 2024 I got Covid for the first time, so I had a bit more time on my hands as I recovered. I found this thing called Mastodon, so I joined up out of curiosity. And wooop I was impressed immediately. I found out what the Fediverse was, started following #hastags, which just led me from one to another -> #fediverse, #smallweb, #smolweb, #blogging. I was inspired by all the creative writers and artists, found new styles of websites, blogs and webrings. I was so inspired I wanted to build my own blog.
Using Obsidian as my note-taking application I looked at ways I could publish from there. I tried the Obsidian Publish and Digital Garden plugins and Quartz 2.0, hosting on GitHub or Vercel, syndicating to Mastodon with EchoFeed, MastoFeed or IFTTT. I enjoyed the experience, but was losing interest in Obsidian at the same time. I then tried the fairly out-of-the-box platform micro.blog which does everything for you, including theme customisation via CSS, so I started to tinker there.
After trying Hugo and Jekkyl briefly, for my main website I've landed on the Zola static site generator and Neocities for hosting, mixing markdown files with a bit of HTML and CSS. This is my main blogging platform if you will.
I've also got a place on smol.pub. Like MyGemini.Space, I find it a super user friendly smolweb space that allows me to get in and get out. It was also where I first heard about the Gemini and Gopher protocols. The intention of my smol.pub page was to log my journey into Linux which I also begun around April 2024. I haven't kept this web space up to date, but it's still live.
Which leads to this. With all my Linux tinkering, I'm getting quite comfortable in the terminal. In 6 months I've tried 3 distros - Mint, Ubuntu and Alpine - across 2 machines. I've started replacing regular GUI tools for CLI - Obsidian to Helix text editor and marksman markdown LSP, Mastodon with tut, bookmarks in my web browser with buku etc. And now I feel comfortable enough to explore the Gemini world with amfora. Not a bad 6 months I must say. Things are moving quickly, which is why I want to keep this journey logged.
I should say also with this tinkering I have gained many many new interests. I'm learning about software and hardware, networks, ssh, hosting and all that. I've enjoyed it so much that I left my job as a Business Process Advisor and start a new one as an Installation Technician for smart home systems in 2 weeks time. They're starting me as a junior role and pushing me through some training fairly quick to get me up to speed. So, things will ramp up quickly, and my knew knowledge will likely influence the direction I go in the web too.
This is my journey. I'd love to have you follow along. Please get in touch:
Coming soon...
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