How are you convincing your friends to join your indie web activities?

[villiersterrace]

I was watching a video by Veronica Explains about how to set up an AIM server, and this is very much something I'd be interested in doing, but the people I know would rather just use social media or text. I have no problem with texting, but I like some variety. Do y'all just have a lot of friends interested in tech? Or is there a way to successfully get people to not use social media as much? I figure that people who want convenience just won't go through the trouble, even if they're interested in internet privacy.

[ainoumi]

probably not the answer you wanted, but i've had no luck so far. i suggest to my friends and partners, "why don't you make a website?" and their answers are usually;
1. "i dont know how to code"
2. "i dont know what i'd put on it"

and its really sad because, yknow, i was in the same boat for a while until i just... did it! but its not easy to convince people to just, do it.  especially if its different from their norms. which i can understand, to a degree.

[larvapuppy]

I don't feel the need to convince anyone to do anything. It feels paternalistic. If they are ok with the status quo of social media and other mainstream products, and don't find it damaging to their mental heath, why should they change? Sure, there are privacy concerns, and tech giants are fundamentally evil and don't treat their users well, but if they don't care that they're being exploited and that their data is being wrung out for every penny that it's worth, I don't think I can convince them to move on from their current habits.

I also am not an important enough figure in anyone's life (other than my fiancee's) for them to change their internet habits in order to communicate me over a different method. I think if I asked any of my internet acquaintances to email me instead of Discording me or whatever, I probably would never hear from any of them again. Like yeah, maybe it would be neater, healthier, and more convenient for me personally if everyone I know switched to indie web services instead of large social media services and chat clients, but I'd be inconveniencing all of them if I expected that. Maybe my lack of sway over others in my life says more about me as an individual than anything. But I don't have much of a desire to increase my influence over others, either. I don't like feeling like I'm manipulating people or telling them what to do.

I show non-indie webbers my site sometimes and they might say it's cool, but they never ask how I made it, nor do they seem like they want to make their own. (Maybe they assume I used some kind of generator or template, so it seems unimpressive to them. Maybe they don't see it as a legitimate form of creativity, or assume I made it with AI. And I don't have the energy to dispel any of those assumptions.) I'm available for support if someone does want to make one, but I'm not going to try and influence them if they show no signs of interest.

So I guess my advice would be, don't go out of your way to change others' habits, but maintain an open invitation for those who do show interest in the indie web.  If someone has a friend that is willing and able to support them entering this space, they're more likely to try it out because some of the barriers to entry have been removed. Make yourself a positive example of a web revival-er, and make it clear that they can come to you if they have any questions. Don't gatekeep or make them feel inferior for asking beginner or "stupid" questions, even if they could have googled them instead of asking you. If your friend sees you having a fun, positive experience the indie web, it becomes more enticing than just "use this less-convenient older technology just because".

Editing with more thoughts: Looking at my own experience, I didn't join this community because I was talked into it by a friend. I joined because making a website from scratch was always something that I wanted to do. I didn't have the technical knowledge, but I came across a list of resources that made it really easy and accessible for me to start. The hobby excited me, and that's why I started building my site. Not because of pressure from peers, not because it's what I "should" do, not because someone was trying to "get me to not use social media as much".

[ashParadise]

If this works is yet to be seen buuuut I'm working on curriculum to potentially teach an intro to indie web class via an alternative community arts center! I think people feel intimidated, but when creative types see what's possible with pretty basic knowledge, they want to dip their toes. For some people, the friction of even just going from the infinite scroll, algorithmic version of the internet to "surfing the web" feels really difficult. It's also hard because a lot of young people don't even own computers anymore... I'm either going to try to teach via our local library's tech classroom or find a way to make the class mobile inclusive (which might be okay for a basic intro page but adjusting the class to be mobile inclusive intimidates ME lol)

(Edit to add that I'm also making a zine that I'll hand out/put out at local spots about the indie web and some sites you can join even without having your own website - like this one! So less convincing people to do it, and more spreading the word about it so that people who might be interested can know it exists  )

[Watanabe_1994]

I was watching a video by Veronica Explains about how to set up an AIM server, and this is very much something I'd be interested in doing.

interested in internet privacy.

Putting this in the same paragraph is laughable, the OSCAR protocol has crummy authentication and ZERO encryption by default making it really easy for man in the middle attacks, session hijacking and all kinds of tomfuckery even a basic scriptkiddy can do. Pidgin with a secure protocol is objectively better than reviving OSCAR or AIM or whatever.

Have fun getting punted, mail bombed and flooded.

[lakes]

Putting this in the same paragraph is laughable, the OSCAR protocol has crummy authentication and ZERO encryption by default making it really easy for man in the middle attacks, session hijacking and all kinds of tomfuckery even a basic scriptkiddy can do. Pidgin with a secure protocol is objectively better than reviving OSCAR or AIM or whatever.

Have fun getting punted, mail bombed and flooded.

While I get that the OSCAR protocol wasn't secure, I do still think there's value in having an instant messaging server that's "LAN only" if you just want something to keep in contact with real life friends. Granted, I think you can a LAN only server on IRC too if i remember correctly.
Hell, a lot of people tend to assume older protocols in general are less secure. That doesn't mean there isn't value in using them, just that you have to be a little more careful about it.
Edit: Nevermind. I missed the part about internet privacy in the original post.