We need to search for alternatives for the current platforms. The current platforms aren’t fulfilling what they set out to do for the users and are instead only fulfilling their own goals. There’s nothing wrong with that, a company should look to increase its value but the levels reached to achieve that have become pretty horrendous. The narrative has changed and the means to search for more ‘off-the-beaten path’ sites has become exceedingly difficult.
Platforms want as much engagement as possible and have created many roundabouts to keep the user within their space with no chance of an exit or detour to another space/platform unless they are in agreement or own an offshoot of it. Search engines have also recently made searching for blogs incredibly difficult dependent on if the blog site has met a criteria for the ‘SEO’.
Don’t get stuck in the ‘Platform roundabout’. Find an alternative. How does one do that? Well, luckily there are two resources I’ve stumbled upon that can help.
Alternativeto.net – a website that allows a person to input a website name and will list various available alternatives along with user reviews. Different social sites, different media platforms, various work search sites, food delivery services, every type of site option has an alternative to the mainstream platforms. Check it out and discover what can be found.
For Search engines related to Blogs, I’ve found Marginalia to be a unique search with its goal being to locate personal blogs, articles, reports, and other sources that AREN’T from a mainstream service but from an individual person sharing their experiences, work, and creations.
Knowledge on alternative platforms and search engines seems vague and hidden but the popular platforms in the front control the narrative and they will actively hide other options to keep us engaged in their roundabouts and believe they are the only choice.
Do research, start exploring the alternatives, and get ready to find new, amazing sites that offer more than imagined.
Stay Knowledgeable.