Dear Diary,

Let’s take a trippy trip down memory lane. In the early days of the internet—Internet 1.0—it was a decentralized, protocol-based network. Think of it as the Wild West of the digital world: open, experimental, and full of possibility. Back then, the internet was built on open protocols like HTTP, FTP, and SMTP, which allowed anyone to create and share content without gatekeepers.

Protocol networks from Read, Write, Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet by Chris Dixon

Websites were simple, often hand-coded, and hosted on personal servers. Email was the killer app, connecting people directly without intermediaries. Forums and chat rooms were the social networks of the day, fostering niche communities where people could connect over shared interests.

It wasn’t perfect—dial-up modems screeched, websites were clunky, and spam was already a thing—but it was ours. The internet felt like a public square, not a shopping mall.

Fast forward to Internet 2.0, and everything changed.

A small group of corporations—Facebook, Instagram, Google, Amazon, Twitter, and a handful of others—stepped in, promising convenience, connection, and a better user experience. In the beginning, these platforms spent enormous amounts of time, energy, and money attracting users. Early adopters and content creators flocked to them, building communities and driving engagement.

Read, Write, Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet

But here’s the catch: as soon as these innovators started seeing results in their own businesses, the platforms shifted. They moved from a growth model to an extract model, seeking to monetize the very people who helped make them successful. Algorithms changed, organic reach plummeted, and users found themselves plateauing unless they invested in increasingly expensive ad schemes with little transparency.

It’s a classic bait-and-switch: lure you in with the promise of free reach, then charge you for access to your own audience.

We’re told that social media is non-optional.

As small businesses, we must. We’d be CRAZY not to. But if everyone is doing it begrudgingly, what is going on??

The truth is, you have a choice. You don’t have to play their game. You don’t have to spend hours crafting posts that disappear into the void or chase followers you’ll never reach. Instead, you can focus on what you truly own and control: your website and email list.

Take my business I just closed, for example. Over the past three years, my email automation campaigns alone had generated $380k. My abandon cart automation alone brought in $155k. And single email blasts? I’ve had ones that pulled in $43k a pop.

Now, I’d love to see someone step forward with social media numbers that even come close to that—without a following in the hundreds of thousands (which, let’s be real, most of us will never achieve because they won’t let us hit those numbers without playing their advertisement games).

The data is clear: social media is great for discovery and a certain type of engagement, but your website and email list are where the MONEY happens. They’re where you build relationships, nurture trust, and drive real results—without worrying about algorithm changes or ad costs.

And you’re not alone in this shift. Brands like Lush have left social media entirely, telling their customers they wouldn’t ask them to meet in “dark and dangerous alleyways.” Platforms like Substack are thriving, with newsletters like the Social Media Escape Club encouraging people to declutter their digital lives and reconnect with analog ways of building business connections.

So, if you’re feeling stuck in the social media hamster wheel, it’s time to shift your focus. Invest in your website. Grow your email list. And remember: you have a choice in where you spend your energy and time. The average ROI is $36 for every $1 spent on email. DUDE. Social media is stupid in comparison.

It’s also good to know that while internet 2.0 is here for now, and we’re seeing the havoc is reaping on our culture, mental health, and our government, that there is a hope for an internet 3.0.

What I imagine their Ketamine induced hallucinations looked like at the Rotunda.

Internet 3.0 will be a decentralized block-chain system that makes it nearly impossible for this type of overlord nastiness. If you’re curious, the book Read, Write, Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet is a great overview, it changed my mind about crypto and a lot of other stuff I had filed under nerd cyber bro shit. If we want to reclaim our minds and souls, reclaiming the internet is gonna be an essential step.

You, right now can follow the data of your business, by asking yourself questions about which activities are actually bringing in dollars, connection, clients, and joy.

Understand that the only things you own are your own domain and your own email list. Anything hosted through a platform like Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter (X), Facebook… all that is not your property. It’s fine to use them, just know that whatever you build on someone else’s land is subject to their rules, taxes, fees, politics, and absurdities.

Let the internet giants play their games, and remember this: your website and email list are your digital homestead. Tend to them, grow them, and watch your business thrive—on your terms, in your space, and with your soul intact.