The Art of Hyperlinking
What’s going on, Internet? Something I’ve been thinking about lately is how we link things on the web.
Eden shared a post that talked about something that I totally get behind: when you link to a website or article, it should mean something. Not just a URL dropped into the void, but a reason. Why are you sharing it? What did you get out of it? What makes it worth someone else’s time?
I notice this most on personal websites with button walls and links pages. Big collections of 88x31 buttons, often the exact same ones you’ll find on every other site. Which is fine, buttons are fun and I’ve got them too, but do these webmasters actually know each other? Is there a real connection there, or just a collection? Links pages are the same. A list of site names with no context does nothing for me. Give me something to go on. Make me want to click.
Same goes for Discord. Someone drops a link into a channel with no message, no explanation. Why? What am I looking at? A single sentence of context changes everything.
I think about webrings the same way. The original idea was great: a web of connected sites sharing a theme or interest. I remember things like the Tori Amos Bootleg Webring, specific and purposeful, a genuine community of people who cared about the same thing. A lot of webrings today are more like catch-alls, and you end up seeing the same sites across all of them. That’s not really a community, that’s just another big list.
Alex shared Tracy’s post on Barriers to a more social IndieWeb which is worth a read if you’re thinking about how social norms work across the independent web. Communication between personal websites has its own weird social dynamics that social media never had to deal with. It’s a big read, but worth it.
Anyway, I’m always trying to practise what I preach. My Bookmarks page exists specifically to give context to the links I save and share. Not just a URL, but a reason.
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Mentioned on:
- https://stream.jeremycherfas.net/2023/i-agree-that-part-of-the-art by Jeremy Cherfas
- https://tracydurnell.com/2023/11/30/building-community-out-of-strangers/ by Tracy Durnell
- https://tracydurnell.com/2023/12/02/weeknotes-nov-25-dec-1-2023/ by Tracy Durnell
- https://www.lazaruscorporation.co.uk/blogs/artists-notebook/posts/blogrolls-reprise by Paul Watson
- https://yequari.com/blog/2023/12/re-the-art-of-hyperlinking/ by yequari
- https://minutestomidnight.co.uk/blog/giving-context-to-a-blogroll/ by Simone Silvestroni
- https://flamedfury.com/posts/relics-of-the-web/ by fLaMEd
- https://distinctivequality.com/links/
- https://shoo-sar.com/%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%88%d9%8a%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d8%ba%d9%8a%d8%b1-%d8%b9%d9%88%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%a5%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%ac%d9%88%d9%87%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d9%86%d8%aa%d8%b1%d9%86%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84/
