Small Web July (but make it forever)
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If you haven't heard about Small Web July yet, here are some links:
=>
https://smallcypress.bearblog.dev/a-small-web-july/ small
cypress: A Small Web July
=>
https://straydogstrut.co.uk/posts/2025/06/29/a-small-web-july
straydogstrut: A small web July
=>
https://starbreaker.org/grimoire/entries/small-web-july/index.html
starbreaker: Small Web July
The point: To spend July exploring the small Web and/or real life
instead of spending time on the corporate/commercialized Web.
I'm not sure designating July as a separate small-Web month helps
me much. I started this process in January; since then I've deleted
every personal social media account. I no longer watch YouTube;
except for FloMarching, I don't stream anything at all. (And I
can't realistically drop FloMarching in July, because July *is* DCI
season.) I do still get my news from major sites, but I do it via
my RSS feed reader and Refdesk:
=> refdesk.com Refdesk
Since it's July, and thus summer vacation, I don't even have
contact with Google or Facebook for work. I chose not to teach
summer school this year, so I don't have to look at my work email
until August. (...Well, the last week of July. I do still have to
teach a band camp.)
As for building and spending more time in the real world: I gotchu
covered, fam. I have a chicken coop that needs to be finished by
the end of the month, a garden that needs weeding at least once a
day, and three rapidly-growing baby chicks in my spare bedroom who
are obsessed with MAMA MAMA MAMA (it's me, I'm mama). My parents
live on a lake and I know where they hide the keys to the
boathouse. I'm good to go!
And, perhaps the only useful point I can make in this Small Web
July conversation: I'm much more satisfied with my life than I ever
was on the corporate Web.
For that reason alone, I support doing more Small Web July stuff.
Get curious. Try life without social media for a week. Check DVDs
out of the library and save yourself $15 in streaming fees this
month. Whatever catches your fancy. It's worth it.
