I think most of us see the internet as part and parcel of the physical world, an extension of our 'natural' world created through the wires and displays of our computers. Much more interesting to me is to view it as its own world. A once empty space, a dimension separate from our own, that we visit and build little monuments of our existence in, that no one can trace back to our physical selves if we so desire...
\\PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION RECORDS\\
Just so you feel like you perhaps know me, my name is Jade. Third year undergrad at the University of Cambridge (History and Politics BA). Trans-feminine non-binary. Closing in on two years with my partner. Main geographic areas of engagement, to varying degrees, include the Celtic Isles (Great Britain and Ireland), the Levant (as well as the rest of what was once the Ancient World), and East Asia (which i also stretch to North and Central Asia).
\\INTERESTS\\
\\THE MANIFESTO\\
A LOT of websites a couple years ago (when this website first came into existence) would promote the idea of "Internet Revivalism". Beyond being the reasoning behind 'manifestos' like this one kind of is, it preached (or preaches?) the idea that the individual creativity of the old web has been lost to corporate uniformity and centralisation on a handful of social media platforms. The purpose of internet revivalism is (or was?) to regain that supposed lost sense of freedom that the old web once held. I was never really convinced. I felt it glorified web 1.0 and 2.0 whilst ignoring their original sins that allowed most of the problems in web 3 to emerge, which themselves were more symptoms of capitalism than anything else. I predicted it would become itself commercialised - all forms of anti-commercialism are destined to this same fate, even Grunge, the epitome of being anti-commerical, was turned into the very opposite of its "essense". Looking at how much design languages like Frutiger Aero are coming back, and promoted even by corporations, I think I was right. I'm not even sure if Internet Revivalism is still going. It's been a couple years since I checked. The movement could be dead in the water, which wouldn't surprise me.
That is all to say, what's the point of this 'manifesto' page (or indeed, the website as a whole)?
Ultimately, I guess to prove i've existed. I've been around the internet since I was nine or ten, but have never really contributed much. Making a Reddit account back in June 2019 and now a Tumblr in January 2022 was pretty much all I did for ages outside of Discord, accounts for various non-social media pages, and my personal instagram of course. I was a lurker (I often still am), and I liked my anonymity. And yet, in 2023 I made last.fm and RYM accounts, and then this.
A lot changed after I made this. The people close to me went through some of the worst traumas imaginable, I desperately let go of rationality in order to prepare myself for any possible outcome, and hold together everything I held dear, and I grew in maturity, just a little bit.
But I still have that fear of being forgotten. I still have that long-held desire to make something of worth. And I still like the idea of having my own website.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that this site exists for the sake of my younger self, who always wanted one, and my future self, who will hopefully appreciate that I took the time out of my day one cold, dark January evening to begin setting this thing up (and again one slightly less cold, dark December evening to try again). I hope you also find some enjoyment out of it (once it's truly my own).
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