Why I Am Still Blogging#
More Inclusive and Open, Able to Express Freely#
Although the popularity of the internet has made creation and expression much easier than in the print media era, where everyone can be a creator, the current ecosystem of mobile internet is clearly very poor. Various content platforms are competing for traffic, making it increasingly closed and exclusive. The opportunities are also shrinking tighter, with too much that cannot be said, creating a very oppressive feeling.
Algorithms are constantly calculating people's precious attention, and with the rise of short videos, the endless stimulation of just a few seconds each, there seems to be no end in sight. Bad content drives out good content, leading to a plethora of eye-catching tactics, with some platforms even intentionally promoting divisive topics to stir emotions for traffic.
Blogs are a relatively clean space where one can express themselves more freely. Moreover, every word written belongs to oneself rather than the platform, allowing for freedom in formatting, editing, searching, and hyperlinking.
In my view, hyperlinks represent the fundamental freedom of the internet, the right to access information equally is something everyone should have. The continuous jumping of links while reading blogs is, for me, akin to the pleasure of finding books through other books; it constantly breaks my existing cognition and serves as a good channel for exploring new fields and knowledge.
As Zuo Erduo Haizi said in “The Posture of Article Dissemination”:
The internet is open and shared, not closed.
I hope my articles can be fed into various readers via RSS, I hope my articles can have a longer lifespan, I hope my articles can be indexed by search engines, I hope my articles can be modified.
I hope my articles can become part of the ecosystem. The so-called ecosystem is about mutual integration, not exclusivity. This is similar to the principle of open-source software; open-source software is not just about releasing the source code, but about being compatible and supportive with existing software, which is the essence of software design.
I hope my articles are searchable, which means that even if the articles were written many years ago, they can still be found, rather than being shared in social circles for 3-4 days and then disappearing, never to be seen again. Today, CoolShell (CoolShell.cn) has not been updated for a long time, yet many articles inside are still being shared, searched, reread, and recommended, continuously being read by later readers. This is the benefit of being searchable, shared, and reposted.
Most importantly, I hope my articles and viewpoints can be discussed, I hope my articles can be corrected and criticized, ideally sparking discussions and reflections, so that each of us can grow through communication. Often, the article itself does not hold much value, but the discussions and reflections it generates are far more valuable.
I personally believe that the correct posture for information dissemination is to be searchable, discussed, cited, organized, supplemented, and updated, rather than just being reposted, liked, followed, subscribed, and rewarded on social networks.
Making Like-Minded Friends#
Understanding a Person Through Words#
I certainly enjoy meeting friends and chatting, but I still believe that understanding a person through their words is much better, especially when reading someone's blog that has been updated for many years; it feels as if I have been conversing with that person for a long time. Therefore, for me, getting to know new friends through long-form writing and a person's written records is much deeper and more efficient than gathering around a dining table. It allows for exposure to broader and more diverse perspectives, breaking free from geographical and even national constraints, and is not limited by time and place; it can be said to be very liberating.
I really like this description by Liu Weipeng in “Why You Should (Start Now) Blog”:
Most of my admired friends are those who have been recording their thoughts through blogs for a long time, so even if we don’t meet face to face, we have an unspoken understanding; even if we have never met, we can sit down and chat enthusiastically.
Why does blogging have far greater potential for making like-minded friends than traditional conversation methods?
It’s simple. First, blogs have no geographical restrictions; the entire internet is just a click away from A to B, while traditional methods of forming friendships are limited by geography. Second, and more importantly, if you make friends the old-fashioned way, you need to chat and exchange views to gradually get familiar, which takes a long time. When you meet another stranger, you have to repeat the entire process, expressing ideas you’ve already shared with old friends. But blogs achieve “one expression, countless readings.” When I see a blog that has been written for several years, after reading it, I feel as if I have been conversing with that person for a long time; in the words of programmers, “blogs greatly enhance the reusability of discourse.”
Gaining Strength and Courage from Words#
I am someone who can gain courage from sincere and powerful written records, which helps me understand many things. Perhaps I become more open-minded, perhaps I see the ideal future of my life and work, perhaps I find resonance in my many small emotions, perhaps I see that the things I want to do and the paths I want to take are already being walked by others, and they have succeeded, thus gaining encouragement. Perhaps I discover that the world is indeed vast.
For me, socializing is not just about eating, drinking, and having fun; what I want is to meet fellow travelers, to collide with curiosity, to encounter others who are also walking the same path as I am while exploring what I love. I came here to meet those who hold a light and see themselves in me; at some point, we recognize ourselves in each other. We share a similar level of dissatisfaction with the world, and we each have different degrees of flaws and amnesia, yet we have not given up.
The environment is ever-changing, and perhaps this is a bit of certainty in an uncertain life.
Recording and Sharing, Establishing Connections with Others#
Accustomed to being alone and focusing most of my time and energy on myself, I have gradually learned to reopen my heart, pick up the pen again, and learn to record and share, to express my true self, and to connect with humanity, even actively seek like-minded individuals.
Han Byung-chul describes “the other” in "The Death of Desire" as follows:
Today, our culture is filled with comparison and classification, fundamentally disallowing the existence of “the other.” We constantly compare, categorize, and standardize everything, seeking “similarities” for “the other,” because we have lost the opportunity to experience “the other.”
The friends I have met have given me the courage to eliminate “self,” allowing me to discover the existence of others, preventing me from being perpetually aware of only “self” in any time and space, and preventing me from drifting in an abyss filled with “self.”
At some crossroads where I hesitated or in valleys where I wanted to give up, they provided me with immense encouragement and affirmation, making me feel that I was never fighting alone. Thus, people like me dare to take step after step, gradually stepping out of my little world, and when picking up a sixpence, I also look up at the sky.
Day after day, working in a fast-paced city, I sometimes feel confused and empty, but when I think of writing and painting, things that ignite my passion, and the existence of like-minded friends, I still muster the spirit to live and work well, continue doing what I love, keep earning and saving money, hoping for more choices in the future, to do what I like more freely, and to realize my small dreams.
Remember the path I took, and continue writing and painting.
How to Build an Open Source Blog on the Blockchain#
First Encounter#
I first learned about xLog from Pseudoyu in this article “Weekly Report #25 - Personal Information Output and Synchronization System Based on Crossbell”, discovering that Crossbell now has several applications like xLog, xSync, xChar, and xFeed.
Later, I accidentally saw a post by DIYgod about xLog on Okjike, clicked on the homepage, and found that this person was the founder of xLog, which piqued my curiosity. I then read his article “The First Open Source Blockchain Blog System xLog”, which elaborated on the functions, technical implementation, existing issues, and future plans of xLog:
I don’t want my precious data to be held hostage by centralized platforms, nor do I want the hassle of maintaining a database or server; it needs to balance data ownership and convenience, so I chose blockchain.
xLog is an open-source blogging system based on blockchain, built with Next.js + Tailwind CSS + TypeScript + TanStack Query. All blog data, including website configuration, articles, follows, comments, likes, etc., are signed and stored on the blockchain in the form of NFTs, which can only be controlled by you, who holds the private key. You can follow your favorite blogs on the blockchain, comment on, like articles, or mint articles as NFTs. Highly customizable, with custom domains, navigation bars, custom styles, etc.
The blockchain used is the EVM-compatible blockchain Crossbell designed for social activities, which is faster and gas-free. It can also seamlessly connect with other ecological projects of Crossbell; for example, you can view all the dynamics of the xLog you subscribed to in a feed format on Crossbell.io feed.
Each blog is an NFT that belongs to you, and its configuration and articles are stored in a format compliant with Crossbell standards within the NFT. Creating a blog is like minting an NFT, publishing an article or comment adds content to the NFT, and following a blog modifies your follow list NFT. It is completely open-source, and if interested, you can directly check the source code on GitHub.
I also read Songkeys' article “Have a Decentralized Blog on Blockchain and IPFS in Five Minutes”, which provided a simple introduction to xLog and detailed steps for setting it up:
xLog is an application product based on the Crossbell blockchain. The underlying technology framework includes Ethereum, InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), and smart contracts designed for social content creation.
In simple terms, your information is stored on the blockchain (which means security and permanence); your privacy is protected; the chain's ecosystem makes social interactions full of endless possibilities.
At the bottom of each article, you can see the transaction hash, IPFS link, and other Web3 information. It’s simply cool. In the settings page, click on the Export data section, and you can export all user data with one click, including your blog posts, and even save it in a well-formatted Markdown.
Setup Process#
So I followed this tutorial to start building my website on the blockchain:
Install an Ethereum Wallet#
First, I need to prepare a wallet. I chose a popular one, Metamask, and installed a browser extension from its official website, remembering to save the mnemonic phrase.
Get a Free $CSB#
Since activities on the blockchain require transaction fees, the fee on the Crossbell blockchain is $CSB. Currently, you can get a small amount of $CSB for free at the Faucet. Just fill in your 0x address in the address field, and 0.02 CSB will be credited. Since this is my first encounter with these concepts, some steps and ideas were unclear, but thankfully GPT patiently answered some very basic questions I had. The following images show some of my inquiry process.
Create a New Site in xLog#
In the xLog dashboard, I created a new site, and I could also change the avatar, banner, domain name, etc. Now I can start writing!
User Experience#
Overall, I find xLog quite good; the setup cost is relatively low, the default theme is quite nice, and the experience is good across devices. The features basically meet my current needs for blogging, allowing for custom domains, homepages, navigation bars, etc. Whether it’s writing, editing, commenting, liking, or rewarding, it’s all very convenient. It supports importing MD files and can export in MD format with one click. Most importantly, all the data is controlled by myself.
Moreover, this is not just a place to create blogs; it is also a community with a good interactive ecosystem, and it can seamlessly connect with other related projects, and articles can also be opened via the intranet. The founder DIYgod mentioned in this podcast episode here that he checks the community daily to see the articles everyone writes, likes, comments, etc., wanting the community to feel more human. He believes that if more people see the blogs while writing, it might provide more motivation.
After writing my first blog post “Weekly Report #1 - Art, Curiosity, and Beyond Code”, I was pleasantly surprised to receive likes and comments!
I will continue writing and happily exploring!
Finally, here is the link to my xLog blog: https://hellotangman.xlog.app/, where I will share my reading insights, photography works, programming studies, sketches, outdoor hiking, and ancient visits, exploring things I find cool with curiosity. I hope to meet more friends and spark more ideas by sharing what I see and think through an electronic newsletter.