Blog: indieweb

Why I Attend Weekly IndieWeb Meetings

2024-06-20 by Pablo Morales

This post was written in en

Image without description A screenshot of Homebrew Website Club featuring David Shanske, Angelo Gladding, Tracy Durnell, Kevin Yank, and me!

Many dread attending video conferences due to their job or don't like it for some reason. I don't mind it for many reasons. Especially after the pandemic, the methods I use to interact with people have drastically changed.

Attending online meetings is fun for me especially if I enjoy attending meetings on topics I enjoy! Attending anything IndieWeb-related via Homebrew Website Club. Topics discussed are the IndieWeb technologies, technical solutions, receiving advice on building something, and more. Of course, the meetings are not always technical. One of my favorite things we do in Homebrew Website Club is showing off the changes we've done on our personal websites! I love it when someone shares that new feature on their site or that blog post that someone finally finished! It makes me happy that people are proud of their work!

We also share those articles we like or share that cool website with that cool font or the picture someone took today. The meetings are for everyone to share a topic that is interesting to them. The conversation possibilities are endless. I've received great advice from fellow IndieWeb members on how to do XYZ. I also love picking the brains of others on XYZ especially when it comes to my personal website. I am very grateful for this. Some days I don't participate as often but I'm always attentive to what I can learn from others.

I always look forward to events beyond Homebrew Website Club meetings! These are something to look forward to! These events usually have a specific goal or topic in mind. For example, I love attending writing meet-ups for dedicated writing time. It helps provide a dedicated time to write a blog post that's been marinating in my drafts for a while. Maybe you get the inspiration to write something completely new. I also enjoy the Build a Website in an Hour event to create a new page on your personal website or launch a completely new website. The event ideas are infinite! It'd be nice to see more variations on events. My goal is to host an event soon! Stay tuned!

Everyone and anyone is welcome to attend these online events. You don't need to be part of the IndieWeb. If you're curious about joining one of the events, just come hang out with us! You don't have to have a personal website or be tech-savy. We'd be happy to answer your questions! Attending these meetings is a great way to connect with people located on the other side of the world. Maybe you'll meet someone who lives in the same city as you?

This blog post has been posted on IndieNews

Hosting IndieWebCamp Sacramento and Calls for Co-Hosts

2024-06-16 by Pablo Morales

This post was written in en

IndieWeb Logo

Hello, I'm Pablo Morales from Sacramento, California! I'm a participant in the IndieWeb.

What is the IndieWeb?

The IndieWeb is a people-focused alternative to the “corporate web”.

It is a community of independent and personal websites connected by open standards and based on the principles of: owning your domain and using it as your primary online identity, publishing on your own site first (optionally elsewhere), and owning your content.

I am volunteering to host and organize the first IndieWebCamp Sacramento (IWC). It is a great way to bring together your local IndieWeb community and people from the greater IndieWeb community. As the pandemic changed how we interact, online meet-ups have kept the IndieWeb going. It would be nice to meet many of the familiar faces we've seen through the last few years in person!

Organizing and planning an IndieWebCamp in person involves various parts such as finding co-organizers, planning where to have the event, and the many aspects of event planning.

I'm looking for a co-host or co-host. A co-host would be someone who could assist me in planning for a successful event. It can be someone local near Sacramento or someone who can assist remotely. Having a co-host would help in making the event come to fruition and have the event be successful.

IWC Dates:
The new plan is to host it during the fall or winter when the weather starts cooling off!

  • Late September
  • October
  • November
  • December

If you or someone else is interested in helping plan IndieWebCamp Sacramento, I'd love to have you! Send me an email by clicking here.

Let's have this last half of the year be full of fun events and one of those can be in Sacramento! If you are interested in attending, more information will be available soon!

Anyone and everyone is welcome to participate in the IndieWeb.

This blog post has been posted on IndieNews

My Site Redesign is Good Enough - IndieWeb Carnival April 2024

2024-04-30 by Pablo Morales

This post was written in en

Pablo Morales

I recently redesigned my website and let me tell you, It was long overdue. The redesign was on my to do list from a long time a go. Things were a mess in the code. It's still a work in progress. I was using multiple style sheets (I'm still reducing this). I was using a theme I had modified and I was using Tachyons, a CSS framework. Having to add more CSS classes for specific purposes was getting overbearing. Sure my blog posts were getting pretty with various designs and looked a little nicer. I hate to say it, I was often more worried about what my website looked like instead of focusing more of the quality of my posts. An RSS reader simply pulls the content and none of the styling that comes with CSS classes.

I was starting to lose it. I simply needed to strip my website of any unnecessary CSS and classes. I was also limited on time so I couldn't commit to something from scratch. I found a simple CSS framework that provided me the bare minimum that made my website look very simple but more put together.

The name of the CSS framework is...wait for it... called, simple.css. It's a CSS framework that has no classes built in. Simply load this and boom! Your website is mostly organized without the "extra" stuff. It's super simple to override the CSS code to add something specific.

Using simple.css was good enough for me. Simply, it was a no brainer. It allowed me to address the issues, and it was good enough to implement. simple.css is simple and fast. At this time, I don't feel the need to commit to designing from scratch the CSS to make my site pretty. Going minimal is good enough for me.

This is why 'Good Enough' is enough to get things done.

This blog post is in response to Aaron's, known as RisingThumb, IndieWeb Carnival April 2024 post on good enough. Thank you for hosting this month's carnival. Everyone and anyone is welcome to host an IndieWeb Writing Carnival.

How I Want to Write

2024-04-08 by Pablo Morales

This post was written in en

This blog post is my participation to Homebrew Website Club - Writing Edition hosted by Sara Jakša. Thank you so much for hosting! You should read Sara's blog!

I'm writing this post on topic mentioned on the event description.

Any topic connected to writing can be covered here. Some of the possible topics include the process of writing, the joys of writing, the frustration some could have, how to improve it, what to write about or people can just showcase what they have written (or see it written on the web) and why they like it. You can also bring your own questions about writing that we can discuss or even trouble shoot. Or you can just listen to other people's ideas. All ways of participating are alright.

The joys of writing.

Writing helps soothe

My (sometimes) chaotic process

Since I started to write again, my writing has improved significantly. I've been more expressive as I share with the reader. My writing journey is only just starting. I've broken a few barriers with myself. I still feel that I need to break another layer of myself. Often, I find myself holding back. What am I holding back? Honestly, I over think things too much and that is frustrating. That leads to me sitting on a post for a few days before I touch it again. That if I am determined to finish it, even if it takes me a while look at it. Here is the typical stage of what my writing process goes.

  1. write a few words
  2. Delete
  3. Overthink
  4. scream
  5. walk away
  6. try again,
  7. repeat
  8. eventually finish the post.

I will admit my writing process is a bit chaotic. Not all of my writing is like this, Only a few posts. This is only one part of my writing process.

One Year of Me Joining the IndieWeb

2024-03-23 by Pablo Morales

This post was written in en

Hooray!! I joined the IndieWeb a year ago! I'm really excited and happy that I joined this community. By joining the IndieWeb, I've increased my presence on the internet and have slowly been retreating from using centralized media. It's just a good time. I'll keep my excitement short!

Things I've done or participated:

  • Met so many amazing people
  • Hosted an IndieWeb Carnival
  • Attend Homebrew Website Club
  • Started Blogging again.
  • Started more development

What is the IndieWeb?

The IndieWeb is a people-focused alternative to the “corporate web”.

It is a community of independent and personal websites connected by open standards and based on the principles of: owning your domain and using it as your primary online identity, publishing on your own site first (optionally elsewhere), and owning your content.