re: blogs as third spaces
I recently read James'post about blogs as third spaces and it was really interesting to think about, and I wanna thank James for posting this question. My first reaction to the premise was admittedly a negative one, and I dug deeper as to why. After reading the post, I think I definitely agree on the fact that blogs are at least halfway there to becoming a viable third space, but some things are lacking for me to ultimately get it there.
One thing I took issue with is about fitting the definitions, I guess. The original term described as "[...] where you relax in public, where you encounter familiar faces and make new acquaintances. These places are cheap or free. They’re open to people from all walks of life." mentions it, but the Wikipedia summary doesn't outright: They are cheap or free.
Many website or blog spaces are limited when free (like Bearblog or Pika), or not free (like how you can make an account at micro.blog, but not post until you pay). This is understandable, after all there is a cost to hosting things. But as long as there are restrictions on free accounts or payment tiers (which again, I find justified to exist), the rest of the standards of a blogging platform or blog as a third space fall apart for me.
First of all, the advantage of a free, real life third space is that I don't need to give up my data to do so. I can go there anonymously and hang out, and no one needs to know much more than that, and no one from outside the group even needs to know I'm there. But online, I have to offer my email address, create a username, a password and possibly fill out more to be inviting and participate in the culture (like a bio, a profile picture, etc.) and it is possible subject to AI scraping, archiving, and being seen by many more than who you think are present, and possibly forever. Meanwhile, the real life third space can be more intimate, verbal only, what is said ephemeral in a good way, and less subject to surveillance.
Some of this discomfort can be circumvented by making a throwaway email address, a random profile picture, and a made up name. Still, this is an extra effort and something that can be alienating if you want to show up authentically, and the problem of intended audience is not solved this way. I think knowing that many more people can read you, even people you are currently not actively talking to, and the fact that this can be preserved somehow can alter how we talk. We might not be as open as in real life (of course, the anonymity of the internet could also cause the opposite).
Also, the community might not come across as open and inviting if also needs payment info. It ties participation to being able to afford that, to share this sensitive info, to even have supported payment providers1. The way people can engage with the platform itself and each other might be different based on payment tiers, which means not everyone is on the same level or invited to interact the same way. I thought about if this is possibly circumvented by self-hosting, but in my opinion, it isn't, since that relies on technical knowledge, paying for a server + domain as well. That's the reason why services like Bearblog, micro.blog, omg.lol and others are the most newbie friendly options, attract more people, connect them with each other and are the most inviting; possibly the closest to becoming a third space.
The biggest thing for me though is the asynchronous conversation. E-mail is slow, blog responses are slow, even replies in a tweet-like feed can be slow. It can take weeks or months for someone to read a post and choose to respond. The good thing about a third space is you can go there and actually have a conversation almost immediately. There's a back and forth, and you can socialize for hours; not just for the few minutes it takes to read a response. I think the only thing real life third spaces and blogs have in common is fulfilling the urge to sit in the presence of other people while not having to talk yourself; lurking, essentially. You can overhear others' conversations and updates on life without having to say anything.
Reading the Wikipedia summary, I just kept thinking: Not enough. If I took this at face value, my local supermarket could qualify as a third space, since it fits all of it; I can come and go as I please, there are regulars, people are talking and laughing in the aisles, everyone is the same, it's local, I guess I belong there. But no one would consider the supermarket to be a good place to hang out and meet people and include it in a list of viable third spaces. If it were, we wouldn't read opinion pieces everywhere about how third spaces are dying (which of course I agree, they are).
So even if blogs were all free and equal, I think the communication aspect is lacking too much for me. In that scenario, it means if I yearn for connection and make a post, I hit send and then just sit there, waiting, in silence, alone in my room or apartment. That can't be a solution to community and loneliness.
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Published 14 Feb, 2025
I know for example that Ukrainians (and Russians too) are struggling with payment providers.↩