New smolweb symbol could be <w> in monospaced font

2025-04-20

The angle brackets < and > recall HTML tags, giving a nod to the DIY, hand-coded nature of many smolweb sites. It signals that the web can be understandable and writeable by humans, not just something consumed through complex platforms. It carries the scent of rawness and control, not abstraction and obfuscation.

A single, lowercase w stands in for “web” in a modest, almost shy way. It’s not the grand “www” of the mainstream web, but a small w, lowercase and self-aware. It hints at an alternative web, not the bloated, surveillance-driven one, but a quieter, slower, more intimate one.

<w> is compact, echoing the idea that less is more. That brevity is not a compromise but a strength. It suggests that meaning and value can come in small, lightweight package, just like a well-crafted static HTML page.

The whole symbol feels like something you might type into a terminal or a text editor. It invites tinkering. It feels like the smolweb: accessible, understandable, and remixable.

<w> quietly says a lot: it’s webby, small, and stripped-down, no frills, all signal. Perfect shorthand for the smolweb !