$ whoami
mtrav
$ echo "hello, world"
hello, world

If you’re reading this, you’re seeing the beginning of my journey on the indie web.

So, an introduction. My username is MTrav. I’m a computer science student who loves technology and despises big tech in equal measure. Those two aren’t a contradiction. It’s because I love what the web can be that I can’t stand what most of it has become.

That’s the whole allure of the indie web for me: the internet as a personal place, built and run by its own community, not a stream tuned by an algorithm to keep a capitalist machine fed. Something smaller, weirder, and more human. I want to help build that.

Here’s what I’m planning to put here:

• guides: practical walkthroughs of open source tech
• AI as a tool: using it as a tool, not to churn out creative slop
• philosophy: how I think about tech, ownership, and the web
• …and whatever else I’m chewing on

I’ll also keep improving this site as I go. The bigger idea I’m itching to build: a small project to map the indie web, a directory you can browse to see how large and alive this community really is.

If any of that sounds interesting, whether you want to talk about a project, argue about something, or just say hi, drop a message in my chat room and I’ll come take a look.

Thanks for being here. :)

> connection established
> MTrav