So, as I was saying …

— Posted inblogging, Productivity, Technology — 4 min read

I had shut down all of my internet accounts. I only kept the the necessary sites for example: Paypal and my bank’s app, email etc. I was definitely pleased that I no longer had to see or deal with the ignorance and stupidity that was happening in “mainstream” social media and “mainstream” internet in general. Please note that when I say “mainstream” I am referring to sites like meta and dead bird x (or whatever they call it now). The sites that make up the internet the majority of the world uses today. Yes, all of the big name Corporate Conglomerates looking to provide a rather shitty service in exchange for all your personal data they can get their hands on. My only way of being social on the net was through my messenger app. (Shout out to Signal)

I was happier but I felt like I was disconnected from the world. Despite two RSS feeds providing news, weather reports, sports scores and random pieces of data about other interests I still felt that I was missing out on something. Maybe it was interacting and chatting with other people or maybe it was the constant barrage of notifications and updates. But either way I decided to try again to find my place in the “mainstream”.

I found another social network that once was outside of the mainstream but has now become part of it as well. I was happy there but the bad parts of the net were starting to show. I told myself that social media was not necessary. As long as I had my messenger, email and the RSS feeds I would be ok. I shut down my account on this website. (I do not want to mention any names of websites so I don’t offend anyone or any conglomeration, I am sure you understand).

A short time later I found Mastodon in November of 2022. In all honesty, my first Mastodon account was only active for a matter of hours. I did not take the time to learn any of it. I have to admit to assuming it would be like other social media. I did not understand how Hashtags were used in the Fediverse. Thus my first Mastodon account was active for a short three hours. I shut it down in frustration. A few days later I was researching and reading about Mastodon and I found the information about the hashtags. I immediately opened another account and started adding hashtags … lots of hashtags. Everything from Philosophy to Fishing; From cooking to Hiking; and from Alternative lifestyles to Ethics. And this is where my journey begins. I found WordPress, The BBC, Signal Messenger and the Internet Archive. finding accounts like these made me feel at home. They were services I was already using. So there was some familiarity. I then started to learn about others Like The Electronic Frontiers Foundation (EFF), Gutenberg Project and the oh so wonderful Radio Garden.

I was a child in a candy store. The Fediverse was starting up with all of it’s different facets. (Peertube, Pixelfed, Mastodon etc.) At one point I had five different accounts and each account was its own world within itself. I first found Mastodon and it is now my home base. I have two Mastodon accounts and one loops account. I have been on Pixelfed, Loforo, loops and like 17 different Mastodon servers. That is not an exaggeration. I often frequent Owncasts and Peertube as well. Let’s not forget the others … like EFF. I also have a pretty solid knowledge base of how TOR works and I am now using TOR more often.

So here I am today starting a blog about the “Free Internet” the “Fediverse” and all of the other creative and beautiful aspects that make it what it is. From here on out all of my posts and messages will be about what I have found and what I have taken in as my own. I do hope what I share helps others find their way. I am still on a mission of moving all of my accounts to services outside of the US of A. So there will be more I can share with you all.

For an example what I am talking about here is a link to github listing a lot of services outside of the US. Please remember this is not mine it was shared to the Mastodon community and I made a copy of it for future reference. I am sure you can find the publishers information on the post at github. Once again it is not mine.

https://github.com/anitwek/alternatives-to-us?tab=readme-ov-file#social-media

Until next time fellow Explorers….

Back in the day…

— Posted inblogging, Technology — 3 min read

I have been stuck on how to approach this project for quite some time. After countless nights of brainstorming and contemplating I have decided that the best approach would be to go back in time for a little bit. I was born into Generation X. This refers to all children born between the years of 1965 and 1980. This is an important factor because we were born into a time in which there was major change happening in almost all aspects of Society. Community, our school systems, our public safety systems and the many ways in which we communicate with one another.

For example, almost all of America’s schools were incorporating computers into their curricula. The technology led us to incorporating the 911 emergency telephone system. There were advances in medical technology, space exploration etc.

I can remember a day when I was either in kindergarten or first grade (so it was either 1973 or 1974) and all of us kids were ushered to the auditorium for a “special meeting”. In this meeting we were introduced to two women one was a police officer and the other was a city employee if I remember correctly. Anyway, the entire meeting was about these Women explaining the importance of remembering the number 911. They instructed us that if we ever saw trouble or needed help all we needed to do was dial 911 and help would be there. Be it someone was hurt and needed medical help, a fire or if we needed the police. The 911 emergency number was first established in the United States in 1968, with the first call made in Haleyville, Alabama. Canada adopted the 911 system in 1972.

Another example I remember is how some of us kids, were put in computer lab classes. Simple DOS programs that were made to help us learn. For example one I really liked was a game in which I needed to answer multiple choice questions about how words were properly spelled. Another was a flash card type game that helped us learn mathematics. These classes were short lived. I think it was like the schools were giving them a trial run to test effectiveness. I loved those classes.

That what is was like growing up Gen X. We were just kids full of questions and wonder living in a world that was constantly changing due to the technology and innovation. And this was just the beginning. The seventies brought even more change and innovation. The technology was gaining momentum and that momentum brought many positive changes.

What Am I Doing Here?

— Posted inIntroduction, Uncategorized — 3 min read

What am I doing here? well, I am of the older generations, Generation X. I can remember a time (many others can as well) when the internet was a very beautiful thing. The internet was “young” we didn’t have the type of options that we do today (video, live streaming blogs etc). However, the internet was still strong enough and developed enough to open the doors to the world in many ways.

But as we all know … things change. Change is necessary, sometimes change is good, but change will not always be a good thing. So like all of you I just dealt with it the best I could.

It was late 2018 when I shut down all and I do mean ALL social media accounts and said apps as well. My net was now chat and a couple RSS feeds. I had my fill of the hype and ads, the drama, fake news … all that. November 2022 I found Mastodon.

I am grateful for Mastodon because it is very much like the young internet I remember. But now with a lot of new ideas and innovation. . I also started to find so many different parts of the internet as well. I found people working to rebuild what once was. I have found so much more than what the “mainstream” internet shows.

Back at the beginning of the year 2025; I decided to start working on getting all of my web connections and web accounts in order and to make sure all were secure. One day I saw a post in my timeline that showed me a really good plan, the mission would be to move all of one’s web services to Services outside the US. Not my idea but one I happily adopted. My browser, My email provider, my Translator, both of my Mastodon accounts… all of them. There is one still in the US, but this service is hard to replace.The best aspect of this factor is that the research involved opened up even more doors and portals. This research brought me to Vivaldi.

So, currently it is November 2025 and other than the one service still located in the US I am totally immersed and thriving in an Internet that is Open, Free and full possibilities … and yes awesome people as well. I am here to share the experience of being part of this internet regeneration. I am hoping to share what I have found and what I will find. I hope to create discourse in which are supporting each other by helping each other learn.