Reclaiming Content: A Manifesto

I've been thinking for a while now about trying to get away from using a hosted blog, but I wasn't satisfied with WordPress — I found it too complicated to do what I really wanted with it, plus it opened me up to all kinds of comment spam and malicious attacks of other sorts. Yes, I realize that I could keep it patched up and minimize my attack profile, but it would still be there. That's the hazard of using something that's widespread: it makes an attractive target.

Beyond that, I'd also like to archive the URLs to things I share online, e.g. on Twitter. There are services that help with this sort of thing: del.icio.us, bit.ly, etc etc etc. But anytime I'm giving my data to someone else, I'm a little uneasy, for a couple of reasons:

1. What are they going to do with that information? Google and Facebook have both gotten really good at targeting ads at me, and I don't like it.
2. What happens if their servers suddenly dump my data, like Twitter recently did to my @-replies, or like Google Buzz did a few weeks ago to Leo Laporte?

So, here's what I'm going to do about it.

Manifesto of the Independent Voice

I reject the notion that free on the Internet can only be achieved through selling one's soul to corporate interests. I declare that search engines and blog services do not own the rights to my voice and my words; I do!

I hereby declare my intention to divorce myself from all third-party content management systems. If I cannot find a suitable open-source blogging platform or content management system, I will build my own.

Small.

Fast.

Simple.

Free and Independent.

Mine.