The ongoing debacle that is Facebook et al social media has (again) reinvigorated a set of web folks to lament the way the intertubes used to be (webrings!) as well as why it isn’t this way anymore (boo walled gardens and your constant advertisements). I too appear nostalgic when the so-called thought leaders in the industry are selling you down the river in front of Congress. Hard to not take a position on that.

Subsequently, what’s old is appearing new again; the notion of a blog or just a website in general seems to be a thing again, RSS seems to be popping back up (Wired wrote a piece last year that called for the RSS revival), and all of the sudden the Web seems to be a destination that while never having gone away, people seem to be asking for directions.

So where is that content? Does the web still exist without the constraints of the app stores and social media feeds? Is every website just a series of newsletter overlays, cookie notices, and terrible notification UI asks? No, it’s really not.

As someone who doesn’t use the socials all the much, I find myself in bookmarks and places that I’m not sure folks know still exist. Some of my favorite sites on the web aren’t mobile friendly or cutting edge yet still churning out amazing new content. Some of the forums I still visit have been around for nearly 20 years yet the head count is never rising.

With that, I propose it’s time we all did a little more sharing beyond whatever the algorithms tell us is super trendy today. I’m calling it DiscoverTheWeb (hashtag ready for all your social sharing needs because hey, I may not use it all the time but I understand). The steps are pretty simple.

1. Dig out that cool site you still go. Maybe it’s a fan site you maintain, may it’s a forum you visit, or maybe it’s just a nifty blog. Popularity doesn’t matter, just something you find interesting.
2. Send it to a friend(s) via your mode of transport (email, social post, blog post, handwritten letter carried by a pigeon). Give them the short “Hey, discover something cool and new (but possibly old)! #discovertheweb”
3. Ask them to share one with you.
4. Repeat every Wednesday (because everyone needs a pick-me-up in the middle of the week). Really, use anyday you like. Just get out there and share!

Sounds good? Let me get the ball rolling.

One of my favorite sites to visit on a daily basis is The Online Photographer (TOP for short). TOP has been around for nearly 15 years and is edited by veteran photographer magazine writer and editor Mike Johnston and it’s one of my truly favorite places for people who really love photography. I once had a featured comment on there years ago, I was very proud. :-) The print sales from various photographers are also amazing if you’re into prints (yes, I love photographs as prints, shocker from the guy with the darkroom). It’s not mobile friendly and I do not care.

So, casual internet reader, what website do you have that you think is super cool that your friends should know about? Start sharing however you like (let us lay claim to #DiscoverTheWeb) and let’s discover the web, all over again.