Jordan Colley

I've been thinking about privacy and my recent decision to start a personal blog here at jordancolley.com. Why did now seem like the right time, given my increasing concern about privacy and digital surveillance? I'm still working it out, but I'm learning to trust that inner voice when it points in a certain direction. This was one of those times and I have a few guesses as to why.

First, I'm thinking a lot about participation and re-engaging with the world. One of the casualties in trying to reclaim some privacy for myself is that it can feel a lot like hiding. In The Right to Oblivion, Lowry Pressly says, “Hiding is for those who have something to hide. Privacy, we ought to say, is for something else” (92). I want to communicate and share interests with people. I recently joined an online philosophy book club, and it has shown me the value of opening up and letting people in a bit more. It's also teaching me the value of boundaries so that I don't lose myself in the process. I think this blog might be an attempt to stop hiding and communicate publicly in a way that still aligns with my privacy values.

For public communication, the dominant force these days is social media. I've grown more and more repulsed by the algorithmic domination of social media and the manipulative tracking and advertising that goes along with it. I enjoy connecting with friends, but I don't enjoy that experience nor do I want to subject anyone who wants to connect with me to that. There is a feeling of inevitability, that we're all just stuck with the platforms that dominate online discourse. I want to do my part to prove that wrong. I want to create a space where I can share whatever I want at any frequency and where people can read or see or listen free from all the clutter of the invasive tracking of the attention economy. My site is my little zen garden of thought, where I can choose to respect anyone that walks through the gate.

I also think that having this WriteFreely blog is a good exercise in running a server and owning my data. I am not a computer programmer and just getting the site up and functioning was a big lift. That being said, I've learned so much in the process and am much more knowledgeable about how servers, the command line and Linux work as a result. I hope that it better aligns my values with anyone reading. I pay for the server and can assure myself that nothing is running on it that I'm not intentionally running. That peace of mind feels good. It also feels good to be contributing to the fabric of the internet and helping to create a world I want to live in.

Lastly, this site allows me to focus on writing for my own pleasure. I'm not chasing likes or reach. I actually like writing. I find it to be an enjoyable experience when it isn't driven by metrics.

Pressly, Lowry. The Right to Oblivion: Privacy and the Good Life. Harvard University Press, 2024.