Category: WebsitesCategory: Websites

From a Substack Live I did on Sunday, Nov 30th. Welcome to a very serious intellectual exercise, where I open postcards on the internet.

Okay, yes… it’s a live “unboxing,” but really it’s a peek into how Noah Kalina treats his Patreon supporters, and why his whole setup is basically a masterclass in how to make the internet work for you instead of draining your soul.

We use Noah’s approach as a launchpad to talk about other questions from creative people, like selling online with Gumroad or Big Cartel. And then we get into how a beginner can spin up a clean, one-page CV site with Carrd or Notion.

From the ‘Butch Is Not A Dirty Word’ Kickstarter:

“Our entire library lives scattered across platforms we don’t control — where every algorithm tweak and policy shift edges us closer to erasure.

If our Instagram disappeared tomorrow, ten years of work and community memory would vanish with it.”

We can’t trust the tech-bro platforms. This is why we must build our own websites and platforms that we control, outside of the greedy claws (and watchful eyes) of the Unholy Trinity.

“We’re divesting from Big Tech and building our own independent digital archive — a permanent home for a decade of history, built by us and belonging to us.”

Social media can act as an outpost, a billboard, but don’t let it become your home. I like to say that we meet our fellow freaks and weirdos at the food court at the mall, but then we grab dinner and head back to our bedrooms and back porches, to our own spaces free of corporate influence and control.

Instead of “just launching” a new product or offering, see if people care first.

See how Mel Mitchell-Jackson does this to gauge interest on upcoming classes; they set up a section called Future Classes, which full descriptions and an email sign up for interested folks.

On today’s Substack Live I covered a bunch of topics, from the punk rock flea market where I handed out Social Media Escape Club flyers, to our earliest internet memories — AOL, IRC, dial-up, even real-life pen pals.

We also talked through the real numbers behind social vs. email, why flyers and bulletin boards still work, and what it looks like to deepen ties with the people already in our creative orbit instead of chasing more followers.

The conversation bounced between quitting Instagram, starting local event newsletters, the value of a blog over a static website, and even the compounding power of a simple daily walk (got my 10 miles in today).

I got to be a guest on the Off The Grid podcast – a dream come true!

We spent this episode tracing our 20+ years of being online, from back in the days of AOL and Tumblr, through the chaos of Twitter, and into today’s mix of Instagram, TikTok, and Substack. Yikes!

“We were doing things that just were interesting to some people, not 10,000 people, whatever. I didn’t have a massive following or whatever, but it was enough to like get neat conversations going.”

Along the way we talked about how our early internet experiments shaped the work we do now, like when Ameila left social media years ago:

“When I left social media in 2021, people thought I was going to be back. They were like, ‘This is not a viable option if you want to be a small business owner and I proved them wrong.’ … But in 2025, everyone’s like, ‘Oh yeah, we all got to get off social media.’ Like, nobody questions it anymore in the way that I used to face a lot of fear, anxiety…”

We also talk about the importance of having a website, and how email became the lifeline for our creative projects. I also shared why I shifted my paid subscribers off Substack, what worked, what didn’t, and some lessons learned about paywalls.

Amelia Hruby, PHD will be our special guest on Thursday’s Escape Pod Zoom call with Social Media Escape Club Members. Start your trial membership and join us – details here!