I deleted TikTok for a second time last week. The first time was earlier last year when it was announced that Trump “saved” the app (gross). Seeing the CEO suck up to that dictator put a sour taste in my mouth, so I left. I had already deleted Capcut for their rights grab agreement to allow them to use your content for their AI. Time to finally delete the actual app.
And then I thought about it. My following was slowly growing, it was a great way to get exposure for my photography. I made some solid connections and new friends on there. TikTok’s algorithm boosted my content more that Instagram. I should go back and boost my following – and I did two weeks after deleting.
Staying on the platform for the next year was… not worth it. I went back on my morals, and to counteract this I interacted with political accounts to help spread the word on how atrocious things have become. I just couldn’t stop shaking the feeling that I should have deleted the app for good that first time. Once it became official that TikTok was sold to an American company, I finally deleted the app. For good this time.
And this won’t be the last time something like this happens to a major platform. Meta and YouTube are evil corporations. If they follow the same fate of mass uninstalls, where would we go? How will we build our following and find our friends again?
That’s where having your own website comes in.
You own your website, your emailing list, if you’re old school and send letters to your followers you own that list as well. When all these social platforms go down, you still have your content. You 100% own that content and can do with it how you please.
This website is a WordPress site powered by Bluehost. My URL is from NameCheap. The template is from Etsy and you have the creative freedom of designing your own. You can make your website look however you’d like, just like your Tumblr and Myspace accounts. You can showcase your talents just like this website, share your interests, do whatever you want. Because you own it.
I initially planned to bring my blog back on Substack: one, because of the users that were already on the platform,; and two, the built in newsletter feature seemed easy. Then I remembered I have a Mailchimp account and I can connect the sign-up form to this website. I can make my email templates look however I want them to look and link whatever I want to link. And, I won’t get penalized for posting my content on another site.
I won’t lie that starting a website can get expensive, especially if you’re dedicating time to designing the whole thing from scratch. It;s worth it in the end. I’ve had more fun perfecting this site these last few years than I have curating my profile on IG. Plus, in the long run, you can place ads and monetize your website to cover the costs. You don’t even need to use WordPress, although it gives you more creative controll Wix, Squarespace, and other website builders are at your dissposal.
So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and build your dream site!
