About This Site
Yogo Magpie was created in June 2023 when I was in the midst of grad school and wanted something to do during homework breaks. This is a place where I can goof around and collect my thoughts and interests in one place. And maybe connect with other people who share those same interests.
I've never done much coding outside of customizing my Neopets' pet pages, my Myspace profile, and premade Tumblr themes. With Yogo Magpie, I decided to learn HTML and CSS properly, following Jon Duckett's 2014 book "HTML & CSS" and tutorials on W3Schools. I handwrote the code for this site myself with very little copying and pasting and I'm still kind of surprised by how much this place has developed since I began. Next up: Javascript?
My hope for you is that you enjoy my site and that you are inspired to create something as well, whether that means drawing, painting, gardening (digital or real!), or building your own personal website.
what is a yogo???
Yogo refers to Yogo Gulch in Montana, which is known for its yogo sapphires. I'm from the area and miss it very much. Sapphires also happen to be my birthstone. I wear a ring with a yogo center stone that shifts from purple to blue.
why personal websites?
Why build a website? Why CODE a website from scratch?
Sure, there is nostalgia for the 90s-00s web. But I think this nostalgia stems from our frustrations with the Internet's current social media-centric culture. It's degenerated into a sea of voices all screaming over each other. Anyone who cannot scream loud enough or often enough drowns. The small web is a breath of fresh air! It's calm! It's relaxing! Here are some other reasons why I think more people should build personal websites, too!
1. Authentic art and expression
It feels gross to churn out "content," create things based on what's popular, and chase trends. On a personal website, I can post whatever I want without worrying about it flopping. This is no singular topic covered here.
No pressure to be on-brand! No fear of irrelevancy!
2. NO FEED. NO ALGORITHM.
I hate missing new work from the people I follow. Oftentimes, there is only a feed, and that feed is sorted based on an algorithm that calculates what would be most engaging, i.e., which screaming voices are garnering the most attention. I also don't like that social media posts seem to have an expiration date. After a week or two, a post will stop circulating. On my own site, there is longevity because I set the rules. I don't sort anything chronologically in an effort to push against the idea that older works are somehow outdated or irrelevant. Instead, I sort everything by theme.
3. Customized, fun web design
Social media sites, blogging platforms, and website builders are often restrictive in that users share the same formatting/template limited customization options: profile picture, short bio, external link, header/banner image. The possibilities are endless with a personal website. I coded Yogo Magpie completely from scratch to make every little detail look exactly how I want it.
4. Sincere interactions
THERE IS NO PRESSURE to follow, bookmark, set up notifications, buy something, etc. in any way. Please know that if we interact, I'm not secretly trying to figure out how to convince you to do any of those things.
5. Exploration and curiosity
Most personal websites have a links out page with buttons to other websites, or are part of a webring, fanlisting, etc. Clicking on random 88x31 buttons and exploring new sites is so fun. I have accidentally discovered so many interesting people this way. People who I would have never found through social media. This is what surfing the web is all about.
6. It's good for you, probably
They're called languages. I wouldn't be surprised if learning how to code is good for the brain. Note to self go see if there are any studies on this
