Above all, a digital garden is whatever you want it to be. Its less a blog; more of a loosely structured, interconnected web of thoughts/projects/notes/whatever else you want. A sort of personal wiki. I’d even include many portfolio websites and personal homepages in the category, but what do I know. If it’s handcrafted and interesting thats good enough for me. Part of the point is that they are always growing, so expect every page to be a WIP and subject to change or even removal. Indieweb tries to nail down its definition - but its better explored by example. Here are a few of my favorites:
I expect you can find more strewn about as links on this site.
Why do I have one?
A man who loses his privacy loses everything. And a man who gives it up of his own free will is a monster. — Milan Kundera in “The Unbearable Lightness of being”
You will own nothing. And you will be happy — The WEF
God forbid a fella appreciate The earth & feel The need To Create a intimate Gallery for peers To Connect w you more — @pcstandfor on Twitter https://x.com/pcstandfor/status/2072726031081820362?s=46\&t=fvun2ZIjGnKIpyQ8DgYUkQ
This site is self-hosted and open source. Digital gardens don’t have to be, but to me it feels like you are missing the point if yours isn’t.1 Principles like decentralization, open access, and transparency are becoming less and less common on the web.2 Digital gardens are one way to espouse the tenants of a better internet by example.
It’s mostly not that serious though. For me it’s just fun to have a dedicated dumping ground of interesting things. A dump that can be looked upon (enjoyed even?) by anyone who happens upon it’s URL. A dump whose continual maintenance, upkeep, and expansion delights it’s garbageman. Don’t we all want to be garbagemen? Perhaps not, but someones gotta be.
Social media sucks. It’s annoying and far too prescriptive for what is and isn’t acceptable to be shared. Aren’t we all tired of having huge companies define how we access and use the internet? Further, it’s becoming evermore ostracizing to be a digital recluse - having a digital garden frees me of this worry while not subjecting me to the whims of our digital overlords.
Footnotes
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Especially when it comes to open source. It’s not always easy or practical to self-host. ↩
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As is so often the case, Cory Doctorow talks about this. He calls it technocarcinization ↩