Introduction
Hi, I’m Preston Shamblen — and as far as I know, the only one with this name. So I figured I’d own it online, too. This is my website, which is intended to be a sort of aggregation of all the content I care to have online. I could and may still write a bio here but for now I’d rather talk about something more important to us all, regarding the state of the internet, this website and why you need your own. At the end of this article I will even show you how to make your own website like this one or a similar one for next to nothing.
The State Of The Internet And Social Media
These days most people give away their content for free to our tech overlords, which they sell and control. If they decide they don’t like you or your content, you’re gone, it’s gone. They get to decide what you get to say and when you get to say it. They decide what you get to see, when you get to see it and who gets to see what you say and how it looks. They track everything you do that they can get away with. They reduce the quality of your images and videos. Some of the night sky lapses and pictures I post here wouldn’t even be worth looking at on a platform like Instagram etc. Personally I want my site and content to be beautiful in a sea of ugliness. The way most people use social media today completely betrays the internet’s original promise: freedom, creativity, and connection on our own terms. These days are the worst. We give away our content, our privacy and often our peace of mind in hopes to find old friends , new friends, both of which along with the likes and attention we get seems to trigger a dopamine release in our brain. Often we do not get even that. Often times we get anger, despair or loneliness. You likely have old friends you knew in person who have created in their head a new image of you that wasn’t worth having around based on the views they perceived you had and they’ve hit that “unfollow”, “unfriend” or “block” button. We all have. Often you aren’t gaining quality new friends and relationships, you’re losing old ones. Is that worth selling yourself short for?
Your Worth Online
Your content is worth something, which is why those companies are worth something. As a matter of fact, at this moment Facebook’s market cap is around 1.2 Trillion dollars and with 3 billion users that makes each user worth about $430. That is without considering how many fake accounts, bot accounts, and the multiple accounts people have. That’s an average and likely if you’re viewing this page you’re worth far more than that to them. This also doesn’t account for all your other social media accounts and internet activity in general. Our image, our content and our internet livelihood is essentially auctioned off as cattle, sheep, or old items you no longer need on eBay. Without trying to be too “wholesome” … Your are worth something! You’re worth quite a bit, even just your internet activity. Owning your own website costs way less than $430—and gives you back something priceless: control. This is a WordPress based website which is a free platform, beyond that you only have to pay for your domain and your hosting both of which I will explain for you. You can also do it all possibly for free which I will explain as well.
Should We Delete Our Social Media?
I’m not telling you to delete all your social media — just to stop letting it own you. Rather I think you should own your own site, your own content and post those links to your site on those platforms to draw them away. You can make your site look however you want, control what is on it, serve ads if you want and make money off your own content, your business or both however you want. These social media networks have gotten used to not serving us but rather herding us, so why have any allegiance? A little pressure and soon they would try and serve us better, but for now… we are just cattle to them.
Summary
I have owned this domain for a pretty long time, over a decade and these are some of the reasons why. I have also just wanted to own my name dot com as not everyone is able to do so. If someone googles me, I’d like to have more say and control of what comes up. I’d like to represent myself and my content how I want instead of trusting these tech giants and any opportunistic person online to do it for me. I want to show the beauty in life on my terms — and if I ever decide to sell anything, it’ll be by my rules, not theirs.
Let’s Make a Website (For Real)
It’s clear: if you want control over your content, your voice, and your future online, you need your own website. But how do you actually make one?
It’s easier than you think — and you don’t need to be a tech genius or spend a fortune. I’ll break it down step-by-step, including how you can do it nearly free. And yes — it can even earn you money. I used AdSense revenue from sites like this to help pay for my car. Owning your platform means you’re the one who benefits when your content gets clicks.
🔧 What You Need to Get Started
- A Domain Name – This is your web address (like
yourname.com). - Website Hosting – This is where your site “lives” online.
- WordPress – The free platform I use for this very site.
✅ Step 1: Choose a Domain Name
Pick something simple, memorable, and personal. If your name is available, claim it. If not, get creative — .co, .net, .site, and others are fair game. You can register one for around $10–15/year. Usually this can be included in your hosting(next step).
✅ Step 2: Pick a Hosting Provider
This is the engine behind your site. I personally use and recommend [Green Geeks], which:
- Runs WordPress perfectly
- Is fast and beginner-friendly
- Costs as little as a few dollars a month
- Offers free SSL (that little lock symbol for secure sites)
💡 Click here to get started with the same hosting I use → [Green Geeks]
✅ Step 3: Install WordPress (1 Click)
Once you’ve signed up, most hosts let you install WordPress with a single click. After that, you’ll log into your new dashboard — and you’re in. You can install a theme, customize the layout, and start posting.
I’m happy to help with that if you need it. You can reach me directly at Preston@PrestonShamblen.com or drop a comment below this post.
💸 Want to Do It for Free?
If you really want to start with no money at all, you can use a free platform like:
- WordPress.com (hosted version with ads)
- Neocities (simple, retro-style hosting)
- Carrd (minimal one-page sites)
These are fine for experimenting, but keep in mind:
You won’t fully own the domain, storage, or site — which defeats the point long-term.
🧠 Bottom Line
Your voice, content, and identity online are valuable. You can either hand that value over to Big Tech…
Or you can own it. Build it. Shape it. Monetize it.
Start your site today — and take back your internet.
🔗 Ready? Click here to start building your site now.
(Hosting, domain, WordPress — all in one place.)
