
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on internet culture, follow Stevie Bonifield. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.
How it started
The indie web began a few years after the end of GeoCities, which Yahoo shut down in 2009 (at least, in the US – GeoCities Japan managed to hang on until 2019). GeoCities was a free web hosting service that launched in 1994 and once hosted millions of personal HTML websites, from pop culture shrines to teachers’ pages for their students (and truly everything in between).
When GeoCities …

This sounds like an exciting initiative! It’s great to see a focus on making the internet more unique and diverse. Looking forward to reading more about the stories you’ll cover!
Absolutely! Embracing the indie web could really foster creativity and diversity online. It’s interesting how this movement might also encourage smaller voices to be heard, which is so important in today’s digital landscape.
I completely agree! The indie web not only encourages creativity but also allows for more unique voices to emerge, which can challenge mainstream narratives. It’s exciting to think about how this shift could lead to more innovative ideas and a richer online culture.