How it all started

In 2014, when blogging was a huge deal, I created a blog. I guess it’s still out there somewhere, because I don’t remember the email address I used or the password.

I still think about how much fun I had. I wrote about the most random things, treating it like a diary. I reflected on what I had done that day and reviewed beauty products (beauty blogs were huge at the time!), even though my reviews mostly consisted of a new nail polish color I liked or a shampoo that smelled nice, because I was 14 years old, after all. I don´t think anyone ever read it, but still, I remember how much I loved logging into the family computer in the living room and writing my silly little posts. The internet felt simpler and less serious back then. And every now and then, the nostalgia of this era hits me hard.

Eventually, I quit blogging and decided I wanted to become a YouTuber instead. Video content was taking over, and I guess I wanted to be part of it.

Years went by, blogging wasn´t really on my mind at all.

I wrote fanfiction on Wattpad for a while, and one story I wrote blew up, so I had my five minutes of Wattpad fame. I guess I missed writing in a way.

Fast forward to 2021. It was Covid Primetime, I was sitting at home during lockdown, and for the first time, I felt tired of the internet — social media, to be precise.

Going on social media used to feel fun and exciting, and suddenly, it didn´t feel that way anymore. It was a mix of everyone begging for attention, trying to sell you something, nothing felt unique anymore because everything felt like it had been done before.

I was craving an alternative but couldn’t find anything. That´s when the idea for this blog hit me.

The original idea behind the blog was quite different from what it eventually turned into.

My original idea was to quit social media and create little blogs instead. This was the core of my idea up until 2026, when I started questioning and letting it evolve alongside of me.

This is the original text of The Utopia, written in 2021. Even though The Utopia has evolved into something quite different since then, I felt like keeping the old text because it’s deeply intertwined with the blog. The blog as it exists today wouldn’t exist without this text. Letting it stay here, and keeping it as part of the blog, felt right to me.

The Utopia

Let me take you on a little excursion here, a little experiment of thought.

What if the internet could be fun again? What if Social Media was just Social Media again - a way to connect with friends, share photos and life updates. No pressure, no algorithms, nothing battling for your attention, planting little seeds of addiction just so they can monetize your misery.

Because I´m tired of it. So fucking tired of it all.

And it wasn´t always like that, I remember times when the internet was fun and exciting. And there could be a potential way to return to those much simpler times.

Then, this idea hit me. Maybe it´s not revolutionary, maybe it is.

What if we would all leave Social Media, and move on to creating little blogs for us, our friends and loved ones?

Let me explain further.

Instead of posting the life update we wanted to post on Instagram, we post on our blogs. We can write, or we can record videos and insert them. Instead of posting a photo dump of our latest trip to Italy, we post those photos on the blog. A digital diary, without any pressure of posting “cool” content, having the perfect feed or stressing about likes.

It´s like taking all the good parts of Social Media and erasing the negative ones. Instead of having one big space where everyone meets (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook …) there would be a thousand little sanctuaries all over the internet, protected from the downsides of Social Media.

There´s ways to set E Mail reminders, so you´ll get notified via Mail when your friends upload something to their blogs, so it´s easy to stay in touch.

There´s tons of free resources to create blogs out there, no need to pay money. And setting it up is easy as well, as long as it´s kept simple. I went a little above and beyond with creating this blog, to show you how fun and exciting a blog can be. But I also know that setting up a simple blog is easy, plus, there are so many ways to customize and make this blog your own, way more than any social media account could ever have.

I created a blog in 2014, when blogging was a really huge thing. I guess, it´s still out there somewhere because I don´t remember the Mail Address used nor the password. Anyways, I think about how much fun I had. I was writing about the most random things, treating it like a diary. I reflected about what I did that day, I reviewed beauty products (beauty blogs were big at the time!) even though they mostly consisted of a new nail polish color I liked or new shampoo that I thought smelled nice, because I was 14 years old, after all. I don´t think anyone ever read it, but still, I remember how much I loved logging into the family computer in the living room and writing my silly little posts. Back then, the internet was a simpler time. And every now and then, the nostalgia of this era hits me hard.

What an act of rebellion it would be, if would all just leave social media. Wander off to create blogs, and simply exist in our small designated corners of the internet. The ones where we are in charge, we decide. No AI, no algorithm. How lovely that would be.

This blog is my way of trying to get this idea out there into the world. Maybe this reached you, somehow. Maybe a friend sent it to you. Maybe you´re actually considering making a change. If you do so, feel free to send the blog to me as well (if you want!), I´d love to check it out.

If not, that´s alright too. Just know that this space is always gonna be open, when social media gets too much, you have a place to go. A place to calm your mind. A place where you can stay and explore as long as you want.

Creating this blog really saved me at a time when I was lacking motivation and purpose in life. Writing made me feel like I was doing something useful. I don’t think anyone ever read it, but it helped me cope with my life, which, at the time, was already enough.

I also don’t think 2021 was the right time for this blog. Writing this now in 2026, I feel like something has shifted, I see people looking for alternatives to social media, or at least for ways to exist online that feel a little different.

This is what my original blog looked like in 2021:

I wrote for a while, then eventually stopped again, as I do with so many projects I start. Life went on, and I didn’t really think about the idea again until the summer of 2025.

Bceause somehow, the idea came back. I don’t even know where it came from, but suddenly I really wanted to make it happen.

I created a completely new blog, but the name, Lou Miller, stayed. It´s actually one of the few things that has been constant from the beginning.

I was teaching myself basics on how to code, and built everything from scratch, I poured a lot of time and effort and love into this. Getting back into writing took me a while, but eventually, I remembered why I enjoyed it so much. After all, little 14-year-old me writing about her new nail polish on the family computer is still inside me. Maybe, in a way, I´m also doing this for her. And for the person I am now, too. I guess some dreams just stay.

In 2026, I went through some tough times, and they changed the way I looked at a lot of things.

Suddenly, I felt preachy, I wanted people to leave social media, I was pretending I left social media for good (I did have phases when I completely logged off) while I kept coming back to it. I thought about the things I love about social media that I actually don´t wanna miss out on. That’s when my thinking really shifted, I rebuilt the whole idea from scratch — and Lou Miller 3.0 was born.

Design-wise, I didn´t change much, it mostly stayed the same. But philosophy-wise, I changed everything.

Suddenly, I didn´t feel like I was building a platform but building a place instead. Everything changed with that decision. How can the internet feel like a place again?

For the first time, it felt like this could really go somewhere, even though I didn´t have my first reader yet.

I wrote my own brand book, which felt a little useless at the time, but looking back, I think it was one of the best decisions I made. Here’s a little excerpt that sums it up quite well.

Why do people come back to places over and over again?

The same vacation spot, the same coffee shop, the same writer or band we stay loyal to for decades. People don’t return to places for the place itself, but for the feeling they get there.

And when we view digital spaces as places rather than platforms, something interesting happens. The question shifts from “How do I write a successful blog?” to “How do I create a feeling that makes people want to come back over and over again?”

For me, these were the questions that shifted my perspective – even though at the time, I had no idea how to answer them.

Maybe it’s not just the feeling we return for. Maybe it’s the version of ourselves that comes with a place. Maybe in my favorite bookstore, I become more curious. At my favorite café, I become calmer. When watching a certain YouTube channel, I become more thoughtful. When I’m with a certain friend, I become sillier.

It’s never just the place, it´s the person I get to be there. That part of myself that is coming through. So, over time, I kept shaping the idea over and over again.

And eventually, I figured out that what I wanted to create was a place where people...

- slow down,

- become more curious,

- become more open,

- take their time,

- rediscover the desire to create something themselves.

In other words: They encounter a version of themselves that often gets lost in everyday life. And that’s exactly why they come back. Not because of me. Not because of the design. Not even because of the content.

I think many places on the internet thrive off making people feel not enough. Not productive enough. Not smart enough. Not healthy enough. The list goes on.

I want exactly the opposite. I want someone to close their browser and think: "Actually, my own life is pretty interesting." That would probably be the greatest success for me. I want people to feel inspired again to create something themselves.

One sentence that really stuck with me is: Because the places we spend our time shape who we become. I don’t think there’s anything more to add here.

Somehow, creating this blog helped me make the internet feel fun again. It still does that for me. And I want people experiencing this page feeling the same way.

Love, Lou

When Lou Miller 2.0 went live (2025)

Some images I found from Lou Miller 1.0 in 2021 - feel free to click your way through: