Year in Review

For the past several years I haven't felt like doing one of these but this year seems especially fitting to recap. High‑level, I largely exited crypto, tended more to my personal spaces (webb.page and blog.webb.page), lost my grandmother, and more. So it feels weird to say that in this moment I am happy and hopeful for the future.

Handshake

Since late 2019 I've been working in the Handshake blockchain space. It actually fulfills a lifelong dream1 so I was incredibly excited and incentivized to build the infrastructure for the future I want. I learned a LOT. Like how to write a DNS server! The heavy‑lifting was via a Node.js DNS packet module I ported to Deno/TypeScript2. Unfortunately, I never figured out how to handle cert files so I used PowerDNS for my authoritative server instead.

I presented my work‑in‑progress at HandyCon3, continued creating mini modules to support features like NIC pages4, and even got my first customers! One of them immediately used their domains5 and this was easily a top 5 highlight of my year. Next, I started work on a CDN6. What's interesting about creating your own versions of infrastructure we depend on daily is that you realize how complicated (or not) things are. And, how weird it is that modern literature on such things is absent.

Four years working in this space…and I decided to quit7. The TL;DR? Grifters and opportunists seek to subvert the blockchain that was designed for the many, to financially benefit the few. I cannot and will not support bad faith proposals or persons supporting them.

The thought of leaving all this work behind hurt a lot and I found myself wondering what I'd work on next. That's where Socii comes in.

Socii

I was working on Socii8, my social network concept, for about a year when I discovered Handshake. It only made sense to return to (re)developing it. When I was dusting off the codebase and trying to make sense of it, the U.S. election concluded and I was in a state of shock about the outcome. The fact that the entirety of crypto and Big Business was celebrating the win9 blindsided me. I was (and still am) disgusted.

In a self‑serving world of sychophants and apathy, it seems we've gotta make what we want to see/use/buy in the world. I'm under no illusions that I'll get explosive growth and a billion users on my platform and quite frankly, I don't want that. I want customers who are willing to pay for a social network that empowers them to do more with their online presence whilst providing a curated private space for them and the people they care to connect with. Building a sustainable business is actually not that complicated…it's just the opposite of what's celebrated in the market today and quite frankly…fuck the market.

Since the election, hordes of people have fled Twitter10 and I believe a subset of them would be delighted to use the spiritual successor11 to Myspace. We'll see!

Professional Life

I've utilized side projects my entire career as a way to better my skills and have fun at the same time. The main reason is because I have way too many ideas and I'm hella impatient. Why wait for someone to build what I envision when I can do it myself (and to my specifications)? Another benefit is simply keeping your skills sharp because technology advances regularly, even if the tools you use at work are in stasis.

How many times have you run npm install at work and seen a bunch of messages in Terminal warning you of deprecated modules?

Certain parts of the company I work for are using parts of the tech stack I use in my personal life, like Svelte/SvelteKit. I'm stuck using Handlebars and old build systems. Navigating corporate hierarchy to get onto other teams is an exercise in frustration. I've gotten either no response or laugh reactions to my questions about such in the company Slack (only for said reactor to rescind when confronted). Strange how being part of a trillion dollar company is lonelier than being part of a startup.

Aligning my values with what I work on is extremely important to me. I certainly have the skills to find work with a company that fits, if not launch my own! To that end, it is my hope that 2025 will see me working for myself and/or likeminded individuals/companies. To some extent, this is a privileged viewpoint and I pride myself on building up to this point. Our purpose in life is to be in service to others. I have these skills…why hoard them for myself?

Family

It's wild how death brings people together. My grandmother passed recently12 and I flew to Ohio for her memorial. Prior to this trip I had been estranged (or pretty close to being estranged) from my immediate family aside from my youngest sister (who, unfortunately, couldn't make the trip). My only focus was honoring my grandmother's memory. What I learned is that my experience was not unique. A cousin mentioned feeling frustrated about being kept away from grandma but was glad to have connected with her the last time they had a conversation with her. Another cousin regretted missing a graduation that occured a week prior to her passing. Yet another cousin expressed the unconditional love she gave despite his life choices that others judged him for.

My mom pulled me aside to recount the last conversation she had with grandma and how they were able to finally move forward. I told her grandma told me to forgive my mother and talk to her. These two events happening the same week before her passing is nuts…very TV‑like. Anyhoo, I enjoyed myself despite the initial trepidation and sadness. Remembering our grandma with my cousins was fun. Her love of fur coats and fashion and willingness to always help someone in need were much talked about topics.

One of my cousins is a music producer now and he credits me for inspiring him, which was bewildering to me. Apparently, my beat‑making and raps and how I designed my bedroom as a teen was enough to influence his career path. I largely stopped making music because it just didn't fit with having a family at the time and the internet wasn't as democratized for music as it is now. I'm excited to build with him, we've got some things cooking.

At my grandma's memorial, the pastor said we shouldn't use funerals as the only time to link up with family. Communicating with family is something that should be done all the time, on a regular basis. My problem is when people send weird energy my way. I don't like that. Don't be weird or sideways with me. Say things with your chest.

My Spaces

In 2022 and 2023, I wrote approximatly ONE post for the entire year. Why? I've been using Twitter as my (micro‑)blogging platform of choice. When I got banned13 it was a slap in the face. 15 years on a platform that kicked me off almost as soon as ownership changed hands. I eventually regained access14 (ha, our bad, our spam filters are too powerful) but after almost two years of using other services, why the hell would I go back? In fact, why am I posting all my good stuff on platforms I don't own/control?

I've been talking about my personalOS concept15 for many years now and have longed for my homepage to represent that. I've recognized that my default of "things have to be perfect before launching" is stupid so I decided to go ahead and relaunch webb.page and update things manually vs via an API. It's lacking features but who cares? YOU don't know what they are and even if you can figure them out…who cares?! Perfection is something corporations should strive for, not regular degular folks like myself.

My homepage is my canvas. My blog is my notepad. webb.page is my space.

2026

My grandma's last words to me were about forgiveness. Thinking about her life, she was fearless. If she had a goal, she made a plan and met it. She had a dual business (barbershop/beauty salon) and bought a house. No degree necessary, just hard work and dedication. I want to live my life the same way. I'm a self‑taught designer/developer and have built neat things thus far. But, while I am generally fearless, I am still held back but a few things: driving and swimming. I'm going to get my license next year and possibly learn how to swim.

Eveything else is easy‑peasy. Success is merely a matter of time.

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