How fast the index is actually growing

I spent three hours yesterday looking at a digital graveyard of dead links and abandoned blogs. It is a strange hobby, but someone has to track the pulse of the independent web before the algorithms finish devouring it. We like to imagine the internet as an infinite, expanding balloon, but the reality is more like a stubborn garden that requires constant weeding.

Last week, we saw 2,352 new sites added to the NeighborhoodTreasure index. That sounds like a healthy haul until you look at the week right before it, which brought in 4,643 sites. We effectively saw the growth rate cut in half over a single seven-day stretch. It is tempting to call this a slump, but I prefer to think of it as a much-needed exhale.

The index currently sits at 108,072 total public sites. That is a massive number of humans deciding to host their own corner of the world instead of renting space on a corporate profile page. Even with the recent dip in velocity, the aggregate weight of these pages is starting to feel significant. We aren't just collecting URLs; we are documenting a refusal to let the web turn into a shopping mall.

I don't mind the slowing pace. Rapid growth usually brings the tourists and the spammers who want to optimize everything until it is gray and lifeless. A slower week means the people who did show up likely had something weird or specific to say. I would rather have two thousand eccentric personal journals than four thousand AI-generated listicles about productivity hacks.

The numbers fluctuate because human interest fluctuates. We are currently holding steady above that hundred-thousand mark, which is plenty of territory to get lost in. If you want to see what survived the week, go to /new and start clicking.

The newest arrivals are waiting for you.