Where I Fit on the Web

The web is such a different place today than it was when I first started publishing a blog in 2006. It’s bigger and, honestly, dumber. Social ate websites, and BuzzFeed ate everything else. Sometimes I have trouble figuring out where I fit in. But I know I do fit in.

I’ve been fairly quiet around these parts because I get stopped up for the silliest reasons. I wonder if anyone is listening anymore. Worse, I wonder how I can break through the clogged arteries of the web. If something seems unlikely to hit, I back off and wait for the next inspiration to come.

I don’t know how long the candler blog will last, but here’s what I do know.

This website has given me a small side-career as a writer. I’ve interviewed some extremely interesting people, covered film festivals and forged relationships with people all over the world I never would have had access to if not for the words I’ve written here over the years. That’s not something I can give up easily.

Not to sound too out of touch, but I find many of the biggest trends in media to be passing fads. I don’t know if Facebook will make sense in 20 years. I don’t think nostalgic quizzes and listicles will have value in the long run. That doesn’t mean they are without value today, but I don’t think it’s wise to hitch one’s wagon to something that doesn’t look like it will last. This, by the way, is why I’m so reticent to give my words over to Medium. Maybe it’s because I’m old enough to remember the last dot-com bust, but the party can’t last forever.

My own website is a simple proposition. Here’s a space where I can put out the best writing I’m capable of. I own every pixel here. That concept will never go out of fashion, even if it fades from the limelight.

I honestly don’t know whether or not there will always be a Google or a Facebook to help readers find me. I do know that I’m in control of whether or not there’s a candler blog.

So I guess I fit in right here. Thanks for reading.