{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://mastodon.social/@vanderwal/117107766347635250",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>A halfway post for Blaugust <a href=\"https://www.vanderwal.net/random/entrysel.php?blog=2175\"><span>https://www.</span><span>vanderwal.net/random/entrysel.</span><span>php?blog=2175</span></a> </p><p>22 posts on 16 days, but that isn't important, but other things actually are.</p><p><a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/blaugust\">#<span>blaugust</span></a></p>",
        "text": "A halfway post for Blaugust https://www.vanderwal.net/random/entrysel.php?blog=2175 \n\n22 posts on 16 days, but that isn't important, but other things actually are.\n\n#indieweb #blaugust"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T23:25:04+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49260413",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

What to do about X

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "Manton Reece",
        "url": "https://www.manton.org/",
        "photo": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2025/22/3.jpg"
    },
    "url": "https://www.manton.org/2026/08/16/what-to-do-about-x.html",
    "name": "What to do about X",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p><a href=\"https://daringfireball.net/linked/2026/08/16/xcancel\">John Gruber blogged</a> about X and using XCancel:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>I understand not wanting to visit Twitter/X. But if you feel that way, I do sympathize, but that\u2019s <em>your</em> decision, and you should use tools to redirect Twitter/X links automatically. And if you\u2019re wondering why I don\u2019t just refuse to link to anything on Twitter/X, that just isn\u2019t practical. I wish it weren\u2019t so, but many people, including senior <a href=\"https://x.com/tim_cook\">Apple</a> <a href=\"https://x.com/gregjoz\">executives</a>, and many organizations post interesting content exclusively to Twitter/X.</p>\n</blockquote>\n<p>I\u2019ve switched all my links to XCancel.com because the signed-out experience on X is so user-hostile. I think about this because I know I\u2019ve been linking to X more this year than in previous years. As John says, there is too much exclusive content over there. For me, it\u2019s all the AI company employees. (To minimize visits to X, I let ChatGPT <a href=\"https://www.manton.org/2026/08/03/ai-news-without-using-x.html\">research posts and send me a summary</a>.)</p>\n<p>I think we\u2019re entering a new phase for X as a platform. It\u2019s a good time to reflect on what that means and how the open web and IndieWeb communities should respond. I would break down the various phases roughly like this:</p>\n<ul><li>2006-2011: Web 2.0, everything is amazing. Twitter was a great way to connect and we didn\u2019t worry much about silos.</li>\n<li>2012-2021: Developer lockdown, API limitations. This is when I stopped using Twitter. Documented at length <a href=\"https://book.micro.blog/\">in my book</a>.</li>\n<li>2022-2025: Elon Musk. Chaos. Right-wing shift. Many people leaving for Bluesky and Mastodon.</li>\n<li>2026: X has survived the upheaval. Some communities are still active there: sports, tech folks, governments.</li>\n</ul><p>Convincing people to leave X is difficult. What is easier, and what I tried to convey in <a href=\"https://www.manton.org/2026/07/13/reevaluating-the-twitter-x-api.html\">my blog post about bringing back X cross-posting in Micro.blog</a>, is a progression like this:</p>\n<ol><li>User posts exclusively to X.</li>\n<li>User posts to both their own blog and X.</li>\n<li>User posts to their own blog, Bluesky, and X.</li>\n<li>User posts only to their own blog and Bluesky.</li>\n</ol><p>Every step makes the web a little better, even if someone doesn\u2019t make it all the way through every step.</p>\n<p>This takes time. It won\u2019t help to shame people when they link to X or when they try to build tools to use X simultaneously with other platforms. It won\u2019t help to assume the worst about everyone who remains on X. It only alienates people who could otherwise eventually support more open platforms.</p>",
        "text": "John Gruber blogged about X and using XCancel:\n\nI understand not wanting to visit Twitter/X. But if you feel that way, I do sympathize, but that\u2019s your decision, and you should use tools to redirect Twitter/X links automatically. And if you\u2019re wondering why I don\u2019t just refuse to link to anything on Twitter/X, that just isn\u2019t practical. I wish it weren\u2019t so, but many people, including senior Apple executives, and many organizations post interesting content exclusively to Twitter/X.\n\nI\u2019ve switched all my links to XCancel.com because the signed-out experience on X is so user-hostile. I think about this because I know I\u2019ve been linking to X more this year than in previous years. As John says, there is too much exclusive content over there. For me, it\u2019s all the AI company employees. (To minimize visits to X, I let ChatGPT research posts and send me a summary.)\nI think we\u2019re entering a new phase for X as a platform. It\u2019s a good time to reflect on what that means and how the open web and IndieWeb communities should respond. I would break down the various phases roughly like this:\n2006-2011: Web 2.0, everything is amazing. Twitter was a great way to connect and we didn\u2019t worry much about silos.\n2012-2021: Developer lockdown, API limitations. This is when I stopped using Twitter. Documented at length in my book.\n2022-2025: Elon Musk. Chaos. Right-wing shift. Many people leaving for Bluesky and Mastodon.\n2026: X has survived the upheaval. Some communities are still active there: sports, tech folks, governments.\nConvincing people to leave X is difficult. What is easier, and what I tried to convey in my blog post about bringing back X cross-posting in Micro.blog, is a progression like this:\nUser posts exclusively to X.\nUser posts to both their own blog and X.\nUser posts to their own blog, Bluesky, and X.\nUser posts only to their own blog and Bluesky.\nEvery step makes the web a little better, even if someone doesn\u2019t make it all the way through every step.\nThis takes time. It won\u2019t help to shame people when they link to X or when they try to build tools to use X simultaneously with other platforms. It won\u2019t help to assume the worst about everyone who remains on X. It only alienates people who could otherwise eventually support more open platforms."
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T17:01:41-05:00",
    "category": [
        "Essays",
        "Artificial Intelligence"
    ],
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "49260388",
    "_source": "12",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://social.lol/@brennan/117107695536267042",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>WEBMASTER@ a manifesto for everyone</p><p><a href=\"https://brennan.day/webmaster-a-manifesto-for-everyone/\"><span>https://</span><span>brennan.day/webmaster-a-manife</span><span>sto-for-everyone/</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://social.lol/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.lol/tags/manifesto\">#<span>manifesto</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.lol/tags/web\">#<span>web</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.lol/tags/history\">#<span>history</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.lol/tags/webdevelopment\">#<span>webdevelopment</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.lol/tags/philosophy\">#<span>philosophy</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.lol/tags/essay\">#<span>essay</span></a></p>",
        "text": "WEBMASTER@ a manifesto for everyone\n\nhttps://brennan.day/webmaster-a-manifesto-for-everyone/\n\n#IndieWeb #manifesto #web #history #webdevelopment #philosophy #essay"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T23:07:03+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49260330",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://mastodon.social/@readbeanicecream/117107332124143831",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p><span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://h-net.social/@ClaireFromClare\">@<span>ClaireFromClare</span></a></span> Your site is too interesting to cut. You are in my priority History category.</p><p><a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/rss\">#<span>rss</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/history\">#<span>history</span></a></p>",
        "text": "@ClaireFromClare Your site is too interesting to cut. You are in my priority History category.\n\n#rss #indieweb #history"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T21:34:38+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49259965",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://mastodon.social/@barriteau/117107258598556021",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Three nodes are live right now:</p><p><a href=\"https://ciprnode.cipr.info\"><span>https://</span><span>ciprnode.cipr.info</span><span></span></a><br /><a href=\"https://ciprnode.guasa.art\"><span>https://</span><span>ciprnode.guasa.art</span><span></span></a><br /><a href=\"https://ciprnode.barriteau.net\"><span>https://</span><span>ciprnode.barriteau.net</span><span></span></a></p><p>Hope to see others joining ;)<br />Juan</p><p><a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/fediverse\">#<span>fediverse</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/censorshipresistance\">#<span>censorshipresistance</span></a> <span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://fosstodon.org/@kev\">@<span>kev</span></a></span> <span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://mastodon.ar.al/@aral\">@<span>aral</span></a></span> @Codeberg@chaos.social</p>",
        "text": "Three nodes are live right now:\n\nhttps://ciprnode.cipr.info\nhttps://ciprnode.guasa.art\nhttps://ciprnode.barriteau.net\n\nHope to see others joining ;)\nJuan\n\n#indieweb #fediverse #censorshipresistance @kev @aral @Codeberg@chaos.social"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T21:15:56+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49259966",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2026-08-16T19:39:11.873Z",
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tk6bkjdozskzgb47umfelfpq/post/3mt7wunybx72t",
    "content": {
        "text": "Quite happy with the way Plume evolved in just a few weeks !\n\n(to use this, you need a blog that support Micropub)\n\nhttps://rmendes.net/notes/2026/08/16/9a76e"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "rmendes.net",
        "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/rmendes.net",
        "photo": null
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49259124",
    "_source": "9305",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://social.vivaldi.net/@vintagerancher/117106241849583332",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>100 things you can do on your personal website from James. Great ideas to inspire you.</p><p><a href=\"https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/blog\">#<span>blog</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/smallweb\">#<span>smallweb</span></a> </p><p><a href=\"https://jamesg.blog/2024/02/19/personal-website-ideas\"><span>https://</span><span>jamesg.blog/2024/02/19/persona</span><span>l-website-ideas</span></a></p>",
        "text": "100 things you can do on your personal website from James. Great ideas to inspire you.\n\n#blog #indieweb #smallweb \n\nhttps://jamesg.blog/2024/02/19/personal-website-ideas"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T16:57:22+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49258134",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://caneandable.social/@WeirdWriter/117106232813305911",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>\"No one visits websites anymore,\" Hacker News says, as this post about why Substack writers need their own website stayed on Trending for weeks over there?</p><p>Then again, I consider Hacker News to be dimmer than milk, so enjoy this blog post instead!</p><p><a href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/2026/06/10/substack-writers-you-need-a-website/\"><span>https://</span><span>elizabethtai.com/2026/06/10/su</span><span>bstack-writers-you-need-a-website/</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://caneandable.social/tags/Substack\">#<span>Substack</span></a> <a href=\"https://caneandable.social/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a></p>",
        "text": "\"No one visits websites anymore,\" Hacker News says, as this post about why Substack writers need their own website stayed on Trending for weeks over there?\n\nThen again, I consider Hacker News to be dimmer than milk, so enjoy this blog post instead!\n\nhttps://elizabethtai.com/2026/06/10/substack-writers-you-need-a-website/\n\n#Substack #IndieWeb"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T16:55:04+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49258096",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://cupoftea.social/@mrchimp/117106089267232511",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>In the mood for a folkloric, dreamlike, speculative fiction short story in four parts?<br /><a href=\"https://mentalplayground.co.uk/posts/crows-part-1/\"><span>https://</span><span>mentalplayground.co.uk/posts/c</span><span>rows-part-1/</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://cupoftea.social/tags/fiction\">#<span>fiction</span></a> <a href=\"https://cupoftea.social/tags/shortstory\">#<span>shortstory</span></a> <a href=\"https://cupoftea.social/tags/speculativeFiction\">#<span>speculativeFiction</span></a> <a href=\"https://cupoftea.social/tags/fantasy\">#<span>fantasy</span></a> <a href=\"https://cupoftea.social/tags/indieWeb\">#<span>indieWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://cupoftea.social/tags/writing\">#<span>writing</span></a></p>",
        "text": "In the mood for a folkloric, dreamlike, speculative fiction short story in four parts?\nhttps://mentalplayground.co.uk/posts/crows-part-1/\n\n#fiction #shortstory #speculativeFiction #fantasy #indieWeb #writing"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T16:18:34+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49257742",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2026-08-16T15:10:20.969Z",
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tk6bkjdozskzgb47umfelfpq/post/3mt7htwe7zd2o",
    "content": {
        "text": "Damn\u2026 There isn\u2019t one single actively developed IndieWeb/Micropub mobile app on the Android playstore. Even IndiePass has been discontinued. I don\u2019t want to start from scratch but I\u2019m considering if I should do something about it. I\u2019m fine publishing on mobile using my browser but IndiePass was qui\u2026"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "rmendes.net",
        "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/rmendes.net",
        "photo": null
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49257157",
    "_source": "9305",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://rmendes.net/notes/2026/08/16/971cf",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Damn\u2026 There isn\u2019t one single actively developed IndieWeb/Micropub mobile app on the Android playstore. Even IndiePass has been discontinued. I don\u2019t want to start from scratch but I\u2019m considering if I should do something about it. I\u2019m fine publishing on mobile using my browser but IndiePass was quite handy and better integration with Android Share to targets.</p><p>\ud83d\udd17 <a href=\"https://rmendes.net/notes/2026/08/16/971cf\">https://rmendes.net/notes/2026/08/16/971cf</a></p>",
        "text": "Damn\u2026 There isn\u2019t one single actively developed IndieWeb/Micropub mobile app on the Android playstore. Even IndiePass has been discontinued. I don\u2019t want to start from scratch but I\u2019m considering if I should do something about it. I\u2019m fine publishing on mobile using my browser but IndiePass was quite handy and better integration with Android Share to targets.\n\n\ud83d\udd17 https://rmendes.net/notes/2026/08/16/971cf"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T15:08:59+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49257111",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://fosstodon.org/@redux/117105327926643785",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>I've released a new post on my blog that goes over an issue present on FOSS development.<br /><a href=\"https://fosstodon.org/tags/blogging\">#<span>blogging</span></a> <a href=\"https://fosstodon.org/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://fosstodon.org/tags/opensource\">#<span>opensource</span></a><br /><a href=\"https://reduxflakes.nekoweb.org/blog/developing-open-source-software/\"><span>https://</span><span>reduxflakes.nekoweb.org/blog/d</span><span>eveloping-open-source-software/</span></a></p>",
        "text": "I've released a new post on my blog that goes over an issue present on FOSS development.\n#blogging #indieweb #opensource\nhttps://reduxflakes.nekoweb.org/blog/developing-open-source-software/"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T13:04:56+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49256240",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2026-08-16T13:05:07.885Z",
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:f2a6ua2rrjjlhwkp5ztfxkv5/post/3mt7atzbfws25",
    "content": {
        "text": "I've released a new post on my blog that goes over an issue present on FOSS development.\n#blogging #indieweb #opensource\nreduxflakes.nekoweb.org/blog/develop..."
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "reduxflakes.bsky.social",
        "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/reduxflakes.bsky.social",
        "photo": null
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49256237",
    "_source": "9305",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2026-08-16T10:48:10.872Z",
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:nakfpdxnnwf2inben55kuhzh/post/3mt6z74vz2u2r",
    "content": {
        "text": "Foto-Portfolio hat jetzt ordentlich \u2019nen neuen Look.\nhttps://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/\n\n#indieweb #opensource #minimalismus #webdesign"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "krisu.eu",
        "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/krisu.eu",
        "photo": null
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49255408",
    "_source": "9305",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:nakfpdxnnwf2inben55kuhzh/post/3mt6z74vz2u2r",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Foto-Portfolio hat jetzt ordentlich \u2019nen neuen Look.<br /><a href=\"https://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/\">https://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/</a><br /><br /><a href=\"https://bsky.app/search?q=%23indieweb\">#indieweb</a> <a href=\"https://bsky.app/search?q=%23opensource\">#opensource</a> <a href=\"https://bsky.app/search?q=%23minimalismus\">#minimalismus</a> <a href=\"https://bsky.app/search?q=%23webdesign\">#webdesign</a></p>",
        "text": "Foto-Portfolio hat jetzt ordentlich \u2019nen neuen Look.\nhttps://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/\n\n#indieweb #opensource #minimalismus #webdesign"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T10:48:10+00:00",
    "photo": [
        "https://files.mastodon.social/cache/media_attachments/files/117/104/790/317/225/498/original/91f4b6048c4f4896.jpeg"
    ],
    "post-type": "photo",
    "_id": "49255396",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://pixelfed.social/p/Krisu_eu/994553069747099483",
    "content": {
        "html": "Foto-Portfolio hat jetzt ordentlich \u2019nen neuen Look.<br /><a href=\"https://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/\">https://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/</a><br /><br /><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/indieweb?src=hash\">#indieweb</a> <a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/opensource?src=hash\">#opensource</a> <a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/minimalismus?src=hash\">#minimalismus</a> <a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/webdesign?src=hash\">#webdesign</a>",
        "text": "Foto-Portfolio hat jetzt ordentlich \u2019nen neuen Look.\nhttps://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/\n\n#indieweb #opensource #minimalismus #webdesign"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T10:38:49+00:00",
    "photo": [
        "https://files.mastodon.social/cache/media_attachments/files/117/104/753/436/483/397/original/011147568f53bf32.png"
    ],
    "post-type": "photo",
    "_id": "49255397",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://mastodon.social/@Krisuuu/117104687098680910",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Die eigene Website ist nie wirklich fertig. \ud83d\ude43<br />Mein Foto-Portfolio hat ein neues Design bekommen. \ud83d\ude80<br />Der Fokus lag auf minimalistischen, Bild-zentrierter Pr\u00e4sentation.<br />Feedbacks sind willkommen. \ud83d\udc4b<br /><a href=\"https://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/\"><span>https://</span><span>lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portf</span><span>olio/</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/OpenSource\">#<span>OpenSource</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/Minimalismus\">#<span>Minimalismus</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/webdesign\">#<span>webdesign</span></a></p>",
        "text": "Die eigene Website ist nie wirklich fertig. \ud83d\ude43\nMein Foto-Portfolio hat ein neues Design bekommen. \ud83d\ude80\nDer Fokus lag auf minimalistischen, Bild-zentrierter Pr\u00e4sentation.\nFeedbacks sind willkommen. \ud83d\udc4b\nhttps://lab.krisu.eu/posts/photo-portfolio/\n\n#IndieWeb #OpenSource #Minimalismus #webdesign"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T10:21:58+00:00",
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{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://elizabethtai.com/2026/08/16/my-article-was-no-1-on-hacker-news/",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p><strong>My article was No.1 on Hacker\u00a0News</strong></p>\n\n<p>A couple of weeks ago, Fabrizio of <a href=\"https://passo.uno/\">Passo.uno</a> dropped me a message on LinkedIn and told me that my article,  \u201c<a href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/2026/06/10/substack-writers-you-need-a-website/\">Substack writers, you need a website!</a>\u201c, was No.2\u00a0 on Hacker News. I thought he was pulling my leg.\u00a0</p><p>I checked H<a href=\"https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49086788\">acker News</a> and indeed it was true: I was on the front page. By the time I checked, I had dropped to No.6, but I visited hnrankings.info to check the historical movement of the essay and saw that I was actually No.1 for a brief period.\u00a0</p><p>I was absolutely stunned.\u00a0</p><p>For one, although I do write about technical issues as a technical content writer and as a personal hobby, I am not technical-technical, if you know what I mean. Hacker News, the digital rag of SWEs around the world, highlights essays that I sometimes can barely comprehend. So, to be No.1 on that website is something I don\u2019t even dream about.\u00a0</p><p>It\u2019s also a bit ironic, because the content of the blog post itself kind of proved my point. Before Hacker News picked up my post, it was actually picked up by <a href=\"http://wordpress.com\">WordPress.com</a> and placed on the front page of its <a href=\"https://wordpress.com/discover?ref=freshly-pressed\">Freshly Pressed</a> page. That was already a big deal.\u00a0</p><p>When <a href=\"http://wordpress.com\">WordPress.com</a> decided to highlight my post, I didn\u2019t realize it. One day I just randomly noticed that the post was getting way more comments than I was used to. Usually I get about five or six comments at most, but on that day I discovered I had 50 comments. I thought maybe it was a fluke, or that somehow the topic had just resonated with people. Then I saw an email from <a href=\"http://wordpress.com\">WordPress.com</a> telling me that I was selected to be featured on their Freshly Pressed page I got a lot of eyeballs due to that, which was great and made me pretty happy.</p><p>I firmly believe it is because of what WordPress did that I got noticed by the person who shared my article on Hacker News.</p><p>This would not have happened if I had published the post on Substack. For one, Substack tends to promote its superstars (i.e. those with a lot of subscribers, paid, preferably, and often not from my part of the world. Ahem.) Also, I doubt it\u2019ll promote a post urging writers not to use Substack as their digital homes!</p><p>Still, it proves my point that promotional channels are equally important. If not for WordPress\u2019s Discover page and Hacker News, I probably would not have been noticed at all.\u00a0</p><p>Curiously, my Substack post highlighting the essay, <a href=\"https://elizabethtai.substack.com/p/writers-dont-make-substack-your-digital\">Writers, don\u2019t make Substack your digital home!</a> is getting an uptick of comments lately. 32 comments so far! Highly unusual as I usually get less than a dozen comments, and usually from my usual readers. (FYI, I usually offer a bite-sized, behind-the-scenes version of the essay on my Substack, and invite readers to read the full essay.)</p><p>I think my essay coincided with a zeitgeist moment. I happened to write about Substack days before they rolled out their new <a href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/2026/07/23/pangram-in-substack-im-so-excited-for-the-ai-witch-hunts/\">Pangram AI detection feature</a>.\u00a0</p><p>People were already fed up about the state of platforms in general \u2013 what Cory Doctorow famously calls enshittification.\u00a0 Pangram was\u00a0 an \u201cI\u2019ve had it\u201d moment for many Substackers already weary of being tossed around by lack of moderation, algorithms, rules and now a feature that may subject them to witch hunts. Pangram was the last straw.</p><p><strong>Why writers need a website they own</strong></p><p>My article, \u201c<a href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/2026/06/10/substack-writers-you-need-a-website/\">Substack writers, you need a website!</a>\u201d was something I wrote out of frustration from what I\u2019ve been seeing. I didn\u2019t write</p><p>A lot of Substack writers are far too dependent on the platform to house their content. As the platform introduces more and more features they don\u2019t like, many are complaining on the feed.</p><p>My frustration is borne out of the fact that many don\u2019t seem to be aware that they can escape this \u201cloop of doom,\u201d so to speak. They don\u2019t have to be trapped in this situation nor do they need to treat the platform as an be-all and end-all.\u00a0</p><p>I also noticed that a lot of writers seem to think they can only choose between having their own website or being on Substack. The truth is, writers need to have a digital home that they own, and digital home means owning a domain name. It doesn\u2019t matter what you build your site on\u2014whether it\u2019s WordPress, Ghost, or even Substack, really\u2014as long as you have the domain name, you own the content. It\u2019s like an address you keep forever.\u00a0</p><p>However, if you don\u2019t have a domain and your content lives on something like <a href=\"http://xx.substack.com\">xx.substack.com</a> or <a href=\"http://xx.wordpress.com\">xx.wordpress.com</a>, then the domain authority or \u201cSEO juice\u201d doesn\u2019t belong to you. It belongs to those platforms. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve always championed the fact that you need to have your own website.\u00a0</p><p>But a lot of writers I speak to are reluctant to do that, mostly because they are not technically inclined and feel overwhelmed by the thought of creating their own site. Perhaps it was incredibly hard to create a website in the 1990s, but it\u2019s really much easier right now. There are so many services out there that can help you build your website without a speck of coding on your part. Heck, you can even vibe code a simple static website with ChatGPT if you want.</p><p>I realise I\u2019m talking from the point of view of a technically inclined person. I work in tech, use software that would probably make most writers cross-eyed, and even build AI workflows in my company. But I\u2019m telling you, it is not as difficult as you think.\u00a0</p><p>For example, many would probably blink at my choice of hosting my website on <a href=\"http://wordpress.com\">WordPress.com</a>. Although I have the technical skills to create my own static website\u2014and did indeed build one at one point\u2014I prefer to have other people manage it for me so that I can concentrate on writing. I chose <a href=\"http://wordpress.com\">WordPress.com</a> because it\u2019s one of the most common content management systems (CMS) on the internet. If <a href=\"http://wordpress.com\">WordPress.com</a> doesn\u2019t work out, I can easily port my website to another provider.\u00a0</p><p>One day in the future, perhaps when I\u2019m retired (because right now I\u2019m too busy to even think about it), I hope to build my own static website so that my content is in Markdown first and then ported to the internet. But right now, the thought of doing that makes me tired because I have literally thousands of articles on my website. I\u2019ve been publishing on <a href=\"http://elizabeththai.com\">elizabeththai.com</a> since 2012 and have never really stopped, so it\u2019s almost a 15-year footprint to port over. It\u2019s not something you do lightly.\u00a0</p><p>P.S. I have actually managed a few content migrations from one CMS to another for companies I\u2019ve worked for, and I can tell you that each of them made me sweat bricks because they\u2019re often not compatible. And even if they have an exporter feature, you\u2019d have to clean up bugs and mangled content. If I were to migrate my own site, I would probably get professional help because there are far too many things that can go wrong in the process.\u00a0</p><p>Still, some writers are not entirely convinced they need a website.</p><p>Many tell me they use Substack because they don\u2019t get traffic to their own websites. Sure, that\u2019s 100% true. Putting up a website doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll automatically\u00a0 get more traffic. In fact, it\u2019ll often be the opposite due to the way the Internet is right now with SEO, and worsened by the fact that AI is now bypassing search engines by recommending websites instead. (Right now, corporations are having a headache trying to ensure their content gets recommended by the \u201canswer engines\u201d.)</p><p>I don\u2019t get much traffic to my website most of the time (proof below); I\u2019ll be surprised if I get a few hundred views a month. Perhaps I\u2019m weird, but I do not care about traffic nor do I care how many subscribers I have. I care about my content having a home. I care about my content having an address that I own\u2014meaning my own domain.\u00a0</p>As you can see, my posts usually only get a few hundred views at best.<p>So, the key for writers is to stop focusing on subscriber count or traffic. Focus instead on quality readers and engagement. Do your subscribers engage with your content? Leave comments? If you have only 100 subscribers but 30% of them talk to you via comments or social media, that\u2019s far more valuable than having 100000 subscribers and no one bothers to engage with your content.</p><p>And whether your content goes viral and reaches tens of thousands of readers or not, don\u2019t you want that traffic to go back to your website where people can discover your other content?</p><p>Having a digital home means that when one of your posts does go viral (whether recommended by sites like Hacker News or a Claude chatbot), people can find the rest of your work. Maybe they\u2019ll even become a loyal subscriber.</p><p>In that essay, I pointed out that writers like John Scalzi have been blogging since the dawn of the internet. His digital footprint is massive, spanning decades. He has stated that his website will always be his home; while Twitter shuts down or other platforms fall, his website will always be there because he owns it. I want this for all writers.\u00a0</p><p>It is pretty cool to have reached number one on Hacker News, but I fully expect my traffic to literally tank after this. Being viral is not eternal. I don\u2019t chase clout, nor do I chase traffic or subscribers. What I value most is having a home that I can control, and that to me is far more valuable than anything else. I hope this is the lesson I can transmit to every writer debating whether they need to have a website.</p><p>Still, having my essay be No.1 on Hacker News is a feather in my cap, and as a writer I feel incredibly proud that my article has helped people think, debate and judging from the comments beneath the Hacker News post, quarrel (lol).\u00a0</p><p>If you\u2019re a writer on the fence, I hope that you will build your own digital home in the future. It\u2019s one of the best ways to secure your content legacy.</p><p></p>\n\n<a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/being-a-writer/\">#BeingAWriter</a> <a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/blog/\">#blog</a> <a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/blogging/\">#blogging</a> <a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/hacker-news/\">#HackerNews</a> <a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/indieweb/\">#indieweb</a> <a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/internet/\">#Internet</a> <a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/newsletter/\">#newsletter</a> <a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/substack/\">#Substack</a> <a class=\"u-tag u-category\" href=\"https://elizabethtai.com/tag/writing/\">#writing</a>",
        "text": "My article was No.1 on Hacker\u00a0News\n\nA couple of weeks ago, Fabrizio of Passo.uno dropped me a message on LinkedIn and told me that my article,  \u201cSubstack writers, you need a website!\u201c, was No.2\u00a0 on Hacker News. I thought he was pulling my leg.\u00a0\n\nI checked Hacker News and indeed it was true: I was on the front page. By the time I checked, I had dropped to No.6, but I visited hnrankings.info to check the historical movement of the essay and saw that I was actually No.1 for a brief period.\u00a0\n\nI was absolutely stunned.\u00a0\n\nFor one, although I do write about technical issues as a technical content writer and as a personal hobby, I am not technical-technical, if you know what I mean. Hacker News, the digital rag of SWEs around the world, highlights essays that I sometimes can barely comprehend. So, to be No.1 on that website is something I don\u2019t even dream about.\u00a0\n\nIt\u2019s also a bit ironic, because the content of the blog post itself kind of proved my point. Before Hacker News picked up my post, it was actually picked up by WordPress.com and placed on the front page of its Freshly Pressed page. That was already a big deal.\u00a0\n\nWhen WordPress.com decided to highlight my post, I didn\u2019t realize it. One day I just randomly noticed that the post was getting way more comments than I was used to. Usually I get about five or six comments at most, but on that day I discovered I had 50 comments. I thought maybe it was a fluke, or that somehow the topic had just resonated with people. Then I saw an email from WordPress.com telling me that I was selected to be featured on their Freshly Pressed page I got a lot of eyeballs due to that, which was great and made me pretty happy.\n\nI firmly believe it is because of what WordPress did that I got noticed by the person who shared my article on Hacker News.\n\nThis would not have happened if I had published the post on Substack. For one, Substack tends to promote its superstars (i.e. those with a lot of subscribers, paid, preferably, and often not from my part of the world. Ahem.) Also, I doubt it\u2019ll promote a post urging writers not to use Substack as their digital homes!\n\nStill, it proves my point that promotional channels are equally important. If not for WordPress\u2019s Discover page and Hacker News, I probably would not have been noticed at all.\u00a0\n\nCuriously, my Substack post highlighting the essay, Writers, don\u2019t make Substack your digital home! is getting an uptick of comments lately. 32 comments so far! Highly unusual as I usually get less than a dozen comments, and usually from my usual readers. (FYI, I usually offer a bite-sized, behind-the-scenes version of the essay on my Substack, and invite readers to read the full essay.)\n\nI think my essay coincided with a zeitgeist moment. I happened to write about Substack days before they rolled out their new Pangram AI detection feature.\u00a0\n\nPeople were already fed up about the state of platforms in general \u2013 what Cory Doctorow famously calls enshittification.\u00a0 Pangram was\u00a0 an \u201cI\u2019ve had it\u201d moment for many Substackers already weary of being tossed around by lack of moderation, algorithms, rules and now a feature that may subject them to witch hunts. Pangram was the last straw.\n\nWhy writers need a website they own\n\nMy article, \u201cSubstack writers, you need a website!\u201d was something I wrote out of frustration from what I\u2019ve been seeing. I didn\u2019t write\n\nA lot of Substack writers are far too dependent on the platform to house their content. As the platform introduces more and more features they don\u2019t like, many are complaining on the feed.\n\nMy frustration is borne out of the fact that many don\u2019t seem to be aware that they can escape this \u201cloop of doom,\u201d so to speak. They don\u2019t have to be trapped in this situation nor do they need to treat the platform as an be-all and end-all.\u00a0\n\nI also noticed that a lot of writers seem to think they can only choose between having their own website or being on Substack. The truth is, writers need to have a digital home that they own, and digital home means owning a domain name. It doesn\u2019t matter what you build your site on\u2014whether it\u2019s WordPress, Ghost, or even Substack, really\u2014as long as you have the domain name, you own the content. It\u2019s like an address you keep forever.\u00a0\n\nHowever, if you don\u2019t have a domain and your content lives on something like xx.substack.com or xx.wordpress.com, then the domain authority or \u201cSEO juice\u201d doesn\u2019t belong to you. It belongs to those platforms. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve always championed the fact that you need to have your own website.\u00a0\n\nBut a lot of writers I speak to are reluctant to do that, mostly because they are not technically inclined and feel overwhelmed by the thought of creating their own site. Perhaps it was incredibly hard to create a website in the 1990s, but it\u2019s really much easier right now. There are so many services out there that can help you build your website without a speck of coding on your part. Heck, you can even vibe code a simple static website with ChatGPT if you want.\n\nI realise I\u2019m talking from the point of view of a technically inclined person. I work in tech, use software that would probably make most writers cross-eyed, and even build AI workflows in my company. But I\u2019m telling you, it is not as difficult as you think.\u00a0\n\nFor example, many would probably blink at my choice of hosting my website on WordPress.com. Although I have the technical skills to create my own static website\u2014and did indeed build one at one point\u2014I prefer to have other people manage it for me so that I can concentrate on writing. I chose WordPress.com because it\u2019s one of the most common content management systems (CMS) on the internet. If WordPress.com doesn\u2019t work out, I can easily port my website to another provider.\u00a0\n\nOne day in the future, perhaps when I\u2019m retired (because right now I\u2019m too busy to even think about it), I hope to build my own static website so that my content is in Markdown first and then ported to the internet. But right now, the thought of doing that makes me tired because I have literally thousands of articles on my website. I\u2019ve been publishing on elizabeththai.com since 2012 and have never really stopped, so it\u2019s almost a 15-year footprint to port over. It\u2019s not something you do lightly.\u00a0\n\nP.S. I have actually managed a few content migrations from one CMS to another for companies I\u2019ve worked for, and I can tell you that each of them made me sweat bricks because they\u2019re often not compatible. And even if they have an exporter feature, you\u2019d have to clean up bugs and mangled content. If I were to migrate my own site, I would probably get professional help because there are far too many things that can go wrong in the process.\u00a0\n\nStill, some writers are not entirely convinced they need a website.\n\nMany tell me they use Substack because they don\u2019t get traffic to their own websites. Sure, that\u2019s 100% true. Putting up a website doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll automatically\u00a0 get more traffic. In fact, it\u2019ll often be the opposite due to the way the Internet is right now with SEO, and worsened by the fact that AI is now bypassing search engines by recommending websites instead. (Right now, corporations are having a headache trying to ensure their content gets recommended by the \u201canswer engines\u201d.)\n\nI don\u2019t get much traffic to my website most of the time (proof below); I\u2019ll be surprised if I get a few hundred views a month. Perhaps I\u2019m weird, but I do not care about traffic nor do I care how many subscribers I have. I care about my content having a home. I care about my content having an address that I own\u2014meaning my own domain.\u00a0As you can see, my posts usually only get a few hundred views at best.So, the key for writers is to stop focusing on subscriber count or traffic. Focus instead on quality readers and engagement. Do your subscribers engage with your content? Leave comments? If you have only 100 subscribers but 30% of them talk to you via comments or social media, that\u2019s far more valuable than having 100000 subscribers and no one bothers to engage with your content.\n\nAnd whether your content goes viral and reaches tens of thousands of readers or not, don\u2019t you want that traffic to go back to your website where people can discover your other content?\n\nHaving a digital home means that when one of your posts does go viral (whether recommended by sites like Hacker News or a Claude chatbot), people can find the rest of your work. Maybe they\u2019ll even become a loyal subscriber.\n\nIn that essay, I pointed out that writers like John Scalzi have been blogging since the dawn of the internet. His digital footprint is massive, spanning decades. He has stated that his website will always be his home; while Twitter shuts down or other platforms fall, his website will always be there because he owns it. I want this for all writers.\u00a0\n\nIt is pretty cool to have reached number one on Hacker News, but I fully expect my traffic to literally tank after this. Being viral is not eternal. I don\u2019t chase clout, nor do I chase traffic or subscribers. What I value most is having a home that I can control, and that to me is far more valuable than anything else. I hope this is the lesson I can transmit to every writer debating whether they need to have a website.\n\nStill, having my essay be No.1 on Hacker News is a feather in my cap, and as a writer I feel incredibly proud that my article has helped people think, debate and judging from the comments beneath the Hacker News post, quarrel (lol).\u00a0\n\nIf you\u2019re a writer on the fence, I hope that you will build your own digital home in the future. It\u2019s one of the best ways to secure your content legacy.\n\n\n\n#BeingAWriter #blog #blogging #HackerNews #indieweb #Internet #newsletter #Substack #writing"
    },
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{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "#indieweb",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://social.vivaldi.net/@hyblon/117104262637453087",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Ho troppi canali di pubblicazione. <br />Si parte da finger, gopher, gemini, git e si arriva a Substack. <br />Che c'avr\u00f2 mai da dire?<br />Ma il mio motto \u00e8 *se \u00e8 connesso o accessibile al pubblico ci scrivo sopra*.</p><p>Vale per il bagno dell'autogrill cos\u00ec come per il foglietto con su scritto \"chiuso per ferie\".</p><p>Datemi un telegrafo.<br /><a href=\"https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/smolnet\">#<span>smolnet</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/writing\">#<span>writing</span></a> <a href=\"https://social.vivaldi.net/tags/blog\">#<span>blog</span></a></p>",
        "text": "Ho troppi canali di pubblicazione. \nSi parte da finger, gopher, gemini, git e si arriva a Substack. \nChe c'avr\u00f2 mai da dire?\nMa il mio motto \u00e8 *se \u00e8 connesso o accessibile al pubblico ci scrivo sopra*.\n\nVale per il bagno dell'autogrill cos\u00ec come per il foglietto con su scritto \"chiuso per ferie\".\n\nDatemi un telegrafo.\n#smolnet #indieweb #writing #blog"
    },
    "published": "2026-08-16T08:34:01+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49254920",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2026-08-16T03:51:51.494Z",
    "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:m5vl7bsno3wuo5ailjx6vk5t/post/3mt6bworqyc2w",
    "content": {
        "text": "\u6e2c\u8a66 IndieWeb log site \u540c\u6b65\u81f3 Bluesky\u3002\n\nhttps://indielog.wastemobile.net/notes/ps1252zq"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "wastemobile.bsky.social",
        "url": "https://bsky.app/profile/wastemobile.bsky.social",
        "photo": null
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    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "49252759",
    "_source": "9305",
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