Leading question
What does it mean to have your own personal space on the Internet? What fits the bill?
I came across an event from the National Library Board about crafting a handmade web and signed up for it. In preparation for that chat, I decided to go down a rabbit hole behind one of the speakers’ Are.na pages — and as I dive deeper, the clearer the idea of a personal internet spoke out to me.
I’m particularly drawn to one of the websites in her collection: A Website is a Room. It acts as a directory that points to other sites that contains some quality of “slowness, quiet, and/or gathering”. So is a personal internet one that contains soul?
A personal internet has been in my circle for a while already, and I’ve even written a bit about it (found it only in Jan 2026 after re-reading my blog posts)! Maybe 2026 is the year when I learn more about what a personal internet can look like — and create that own space I’ve craved for so long on my own.
Discussions from Beyond Text: The Handmade Web: Reclaiming Digital Spaces
The discussions have moved over to its own separate note — have a look!