Awkward Fiascos and other stolen ideas.
But—and this is a very big but, that's why it's italicized—that can backfire in the instances where the person with whom you want to discuss is more of an acquaintance, rather than a friend. In that case, a direct, honest conversation might come off as an unhinged, parasocially-driven rant, the delivery of which, regardless of how well-intentioned, may just make what is ultimately a very benign and not-that-important situation into an unpleasant, awkward fiasco.
by Keenan , i really like everyone on my blogroll but im sorry to say that it must die
Awkward Fiasco would make a great blog name.
Bone-deep resonance. A little too on-the-nose if we’re being honest, which we are, because self-delusion takes energy I do not possess.
I am incredibly awkward. Chronically. Systemically. Existentially. The idea of just showing up somewhere—even digitally—without being explicitly summoned feels like a cosmic transgression. A breach of some unspoken law carved into the fabric of the universe by cooler, chiller people who instinctively know how to "just drop in."
It causes problems. Real ones. Especially with friends. Because I never assume I’m wanted. Or needed. Or even casually tolerated. I'm the sort of person who will sit on the sidewalk outside your party until someone texts me, twice, to come in. I don’t even blame anyone for this. It’s just... the Thing. The Thing We Shall Not Unpack Right Now.
Anyway.
I bring all this up because a post I stumbled across recently, noted above. Remember blogrolls? They're sweet in theory—a cozy way to share the sites you love. In practice they start to feel like MySpace Top 8 trauma all over again. A quiet ranking system. A badge. A social minefield mapped out in hyperlinks.
Of course, I thought about making one earlier this week.
Instead, I’m trying to find ways to just share neat things without accidentally triggering an existential crisis. Something like a semi-regular roundup of links, ideas, fragments from weird corners of the Indie Web. Like this post from yesterday, which feels like a phantasmagoria of premonition today.
This blog? This whole experiment? It may very well be the Awkward Fiasco.
And I mean that lovingly.
With the one hand I have on my heart and one foot already out the door, just in case.
Anyway. Thanks for coming to my weird little corner.
You were absolutely invited.