Just under a year ago, I was half-asleep in a Tim Hortons scrolling through Cohost on my phone when the financial update released for that month. As it consistently isn't, the website wasn't turning a profit. Then, I knew Cohost wouldn't last, but I was hoping it would last just a little longer. I didn't know how much longer I was hoping it'd last until, but I knew it was past 2024.
I will miss experimental social media known has Cohost. From its anti-analytics design to its anti-corporate mentality to the pure existence of CSS crimes, no other social media currently out there can offer an adequate alternative. Cohost felt good to use, and even if another social media comes along, boasting what Cohost has, I'll probably not jump ship to there. If a website like that exists, either it, too, is a ship that will sink in due time, or it'll compromise on what made Cohost so good in order to turn a profit.
Cohost was genuinely the only social media I liked posting on. I secondarily post to Tumblr and Bluesky because more people—notably my friends—are there, sure, but Cohost was my primary posting place. With Cohost shutting down, I'm probably not going to just resume what I was doing here on other social media, because jumping ship to Tumblr or Bluesky or even Twitter would be a downgrade that I don't have to subject myself to.
Until this website goes read-only, I'll still be posting. I have a few draft shares/rebugs/rechosts/cochosts I still want to post, in the interest of keeping Cohost feeling fun, despite the feeling of dread looming over everyone here. If you want to find me on Tumblr or Bluesky, I'm there, but they're not Cohost. It's burning itself in there now, but come 2025, there'll be an Eggbug-shaped hole in my heart, where this website I loved once lived.
"In lieu of recent events" from cohost.org
September 9th, 2024 - 19:14 EST