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Author: chaimburstein

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+<!-- BEGIN ARISE ------------------------------
+Title:: "Pencil"
+
+Author:: "Chaim Burstein"
+Description:: "How to Fix the Internet."
+Language:: "en"
+Thumbnail:: ""
+Published Date:: "2025-07-25"
+Modified Date:: "2025-07-25"
+
+---- END ARISE \\ DO NOT MODIFY THIS LINE ---->
+
+How to Fix the Internet
+
+# How to Fix The Internet
+
+## TLDR
+
+I'd like to help build a better internet. I'm not really sure how to do it, but I'm pretty sure that Meta isn't gonna be a part of the solution. That said, they did build a cool site or two where you can..
+
+*   **Post Your Ideas** - I wrote this blog post and you can read it!
+*   **Post Your Photos** - I built my own InstaGram. [It's awesome.](https://chaimburstein.xyz/photoblog)
+*   **Slide Into DMs** - I have an [email address!](mailto:[email protected])
+*   **Like & Subscribe** - There's a [RSS feed](https://chaimburstein.xyz/rss_feed.xml) that you can subscribe to!
+*   **Share Stuff** - Copy / Paste? - I'm pretty sure this is still a thing.
+
+## The Problem...
+
+> An urban legend states that NASA spent a large amount of money to develop a pen that would write in space (the result purportedly being the Fisher Space Pen), while the Soviets just used pencils.
+
+All of the stuff that social media does, already exists in the form of a pencil. We've just stopped using pencils and have chosen to use these clunky proprietary pens that require us to only write on very special paper.
+
+### Step 1: Grab a Pencil
+
+This is my website. Instead of Meta or X or CCP owning my data, I own my data. I'm king here. I decide what gets posted, what gets taken down and who can see it. Think of your website like your home on the internet. This space is MySpace. Pretty cool.
+
+#### But where will people find me? I want to be where everyone else is. I want a town square to shout out to...
+
+People will find you on the _internet_. If you search my name on the most used site on the internet (Google) my website pops up. It's a pretty fantastic town square. Everyone I know already knows how to use it and if Google ever decides to shut down, there are other search engines that can find my website just as easily.
+
+#### But it's expensive and I don't want to learn to code, coding is for Nerds!
+
+Correct, coding is for nerds. But, if you don't want to learn to code there are services out there that will handle all of it for you. I spend less than $20 a year to maintain this site and that includes the electricity to run my server. I'm not sure what you spend on your phone bill or in subscription fees to other services but the freedom to own my own information is totally worth it. Also, it doesn't need to be that expensive.
+
+#### Here are some suggestions...
+
+*   Try micro.blog - it's $1 a month.
+*   Try mmm.page - there are both free and paid versions.
+*   `Learn to code`. It's kinda fun to roll your own. Start a github account, and use github copilot to help you code your site. It's FREE.
+
+Go search google and you'll find 100 other ways to build a low/no code free/cheap website. It's not that difficult.
+
+#### Do it for the kids...
+
+Think of how much better the kids will be if they don't have to deal with InstaHate / FaceSpam. Think about the children.
+
+### Step 2: Figure out what's important
+
+Maybe you're not actually all that social and don't want to share anything with the world. That's cool. Maybe you just want a page that provides your contact info so people can get in touch with you via the world wide web. That's cool too. Maybe you're a social butterfly and want everyone to know everything about you all the time. Good for you.
+
+#### You do you with the you you are and let us all know what you do do.
+
+Here's what I'm choosing to do for now, not because I really want all these features, but because I want to show people what's possible.
+
+*   Wanna private message me? [Email Exists!](mailto:[email protected])
+*   Wanna see all my cool photos? Go check out my [PhotoBlog](https://chaimburstein.xyz/photoblog)
+*   Wanna like & subscribe? I have [RSS feed](https://chaimburstein.xyz/rss_feed.xml)!
+*   Wanna share this stuff? Copy & Paste still works.
+
+### Step 3: Celebrate
+
+The internet isn't broken, just a bit bent. You just helped straighten it out. Congrats!