Investing in My Digital Self

January 20, 2026

I got pissed a couple weeks ago after I linked my Substack and anyone who opened it was shown a big popup: SIGN UP FOR SUBSTACK. Why couldn't people just access my content? Why make this so difficult?

So I decided to create my own personal website matthewmatthew.com. Not use Squarespace, Wordpress, Substack, or whatever other platform. Plain HTML/CSS and a bit of JS. It's been ages—and I mean ages—since I've had my own website for myself. Me, myself, I. For the last twenty years it's been focused on having a professional portfolio to show my UX projects. A portfolio has a sharp focus, which is: to get a job. This will always have a sharp focus: to be free.

But I'm writing a novel. I'm querying. I want the world to see me as more than a UX'er. I want my writing to reach creative people. To possibly help them.

So yes, I own this space. I coded it. And for some odd reason, I feel so happy about this. Insanely happy. Because for years and years I've only had the Instagram presence. The portfolio presence. The Facebook presence.

But not the me presence.

I'll be writing about my creative process, ideas that inspire me, and practicing being myself on this scary web.

This starts now.