Your website is your real social media

Everyone's asking me about social media lately. "Stephen, should I be on Instagram? TikTok? LinkedIn?"

Wrong question.

Here's the right question: "Why am I letting other people's platforms control my voice?"

I ditched social media years ago. Best decision I ever made. Not because I'm anti-technology or anti-connection, but because I'm pro-ownership.

Think about it: You spend hours crafting the perfect post, building an audience, creating value. Then the algorithm changes. Your reach drops to zero. The platform decides your content violates some mysterious rule. Poof. Gone.

You were sharecropping on someone else's land.

Your website is your land

I have a simple website log. Not a blog - a log. I write whatever's on my mind. Business insights. Random observations. Things I'm learning. No schedule. No keyword optimisation. No engagement metrics to obsess over.

It's mine. Completely mine.

When I write something, I know where to find it in five years. When someone wants to know what I think about something, there's one place to look. When I want to share an idea, I control exactly how it appears.

The magic of owning your platform

Here's what happened when I started treating my website as my real social media:

My writing got better. No character limits. No algorithm favouring controversy over nuance. I could take time to think, revise, actually say what I meant.

My audience got smaller but better. Instead of chasing vanity metrics, I attracted people who actually cared about what I had to say. Quality over quantity, always.

My stress disappeared. No more checking likes, comments, shares. No more wondering if I should post today. No more FOMO about what everyone else was doing.

How to start your own log

Get a domain. Your name if available, or something close. Make it yours forever.

Keep it simple. One page with your thoughts, reverse chronological order. No fancy design needed. Focus on words, not widgets.

Write regularly, but not religiously. When you have something to say, say it. When you don't, don't.

Link to other people's good ideas. The web was built on links. Use them.

Ignore best practices. Don't optimise for search engines. Don't worry about social sharing buttons. Don't track analytics obsessively. Write for humans.

But what about reach?

"Stephen, how will people find my stuff without social media?"

Good stuff gets found. If you consistently share valuable ideas, people will find you. They'll bookmark you. They'll tell their mates. They'll link to you.

Real reach isn't impressions or followers. It's impact. One person who deeply connects with your idea and changes their behaviour is worth more than a thousand passive scrollers.

The compound effect

Your website log compounds. Every post adds to your body of work. Ideas connect across posts. Readers can dive deep into your thinking.

Social media posts disappear into the feed. Your website posts become a permanent record of your growth, your thinking, your contribution.

Five years from now, you'll have built something substantial. A real representation of who you are and what you believe.

Start today

Don't overthink it. Don't wait for the perfect design or the perfect first post.

Buy a domain. Write one paragraph about something you learnt this week. Publish it.

Congratulations. You now own your corner of the internet.

The rest is just adding to the pile, one thought at a time.

Your future self will thank you for starting today instead of waiting for tomorrow.

And you'll never again have to wonder what happened to that brilliant thing you posted three platforms ago.

SF.