the old web revival: a field guide
cybersoda isn't the only thing being built like this right now. there's a real, active scene of solo developers rebuilding pieces of the pre-algorithm internet: guestbooks, webrings, top 8s, hand-coded pages, RSS instead of a feed. this page is a running list of the ones worth knowing about, not a competitor list, a map. most of these aren't competing with each other for the same attention, they're the same small movement wearing different clothes.
social platform revivals
SpaceHey
a MySpace replica down to the profile song and the Top 8, built by a 23-year-old German developer, An. genuinely the closest thing to cybersoda in spirit, browsable profiles, real customization, no algorithm. different enough in focus (MySpace-specific vs. guestbook/webring-first) that it's a natural neighbor rather than overlap.
Neocities
the GeoCities revival, and the biggest of all of these by far, over a decade old, 100,000+ sites. free hosting for hand-coded personal pages, no templates, no ads. its community (r/neocities and the sharing threads there) is some of the most genuine "here's what I made" energy left on the internet.
Friendster (2026 relaunch)
bought back and relaunched in 2026 by Mike Carson, explicitly "no ads, no algorithm." worth knowing about for the philosophy, though it's a different shape of product, connections happen by tapping phones in person, not by browsing profiles, so it's more a kindred spirit than a place to cross-link.
webrings cybersoda is actually part of
the honest way to prove a webring page isn't just decoration: link to the actual rings. click through, they're real.
- 個人サイトウェブリング — a Japanese personal-site webring, and cybersoda's single biggest referral source so far.
- The Old Web Project — preserving the independent web, badge-and-directory webring, same mission as this page in a lot of ways.
- Retronaut Webring — a lightweight, self-serve indie webring.
- Web1.0同盟 — a Japanese Web1.0-aesthetic alliance/webring.
- いえつく — a Japanese personal-site-building support directory.
blog directories, no algorithm required
a parallel scene to webrings: humans (not ranking models) curating lists of blogs worth reading. no follower count decides what shows up, someone actually looked at it.
- ooh.directory — over 2,300 blogs organized by topic.
- Blogroll.org — hand-curated, sponsored by Micro.blog.
- BlogScroll — an open directory of personal sites, maintained entirely on GitHub.
know a project that belongs on this page? email hello@cybersoda.blog or find shoggi's profile and say hello.