My name is Prof. Tilman Zitzmann. I have been creating websites since 1998 and I have been teaching web design at the Ohm since 2008. In my design research I am looking for new ways of personal expression on the world wide web.
The web is re-inventing itself once again. The old social networks lost their appeal and users like me are looking for a better ways to publish their thoughts and creative works. But where do we go? Join Mastodon, BlueSky or build a website on the Fediverse?
I believe that running your own website under your own domain is the most future-proof way to show yourself on the internet. But where do you start? Do you need to learn HTML, CSS and JavaScript? Which service, content management system or site generator is right for your individual needs? Should you distribute by ActivityPub, old-school RSS/atom feeds or a newsletter?
We are navigating a confusing jungle of options, each with its own pitfalls. Your content might get locked up in just another shiny commercial service. You might end up with broken software or just a bad user experience. But a new wave of personal websites proves that it is possible!
I dedicate my research to find paths to great websites for creative individuals like me. So far this research explores three key directions:
I use my own website tilman.me ↗ as a field for experimentation and play. If you want to follow my life as a design teacher and researcher more closely, head over there ↗. There will be errors and bugs.
Hetzner, one of Europe's largest data centre operators, has started a research cooperation with us. If you are studying or working at my university, the Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm ↗, you can take advantage of their generous sponsoring and get web space for four years for free, including your own domain name!
Max Häßlein ↗ and me were experimenting with a new breed of website software and called it Knot. It is a system of modules to run a personal website and a feed reader, based on the micropub ↗ and IndieAuth ↗ protocols. I currently use it myself, but development has stalled in alpha and it is definitely not ready for new users. Anyhow, if you want to take a look: https://github.com/knot-system.