Change for a time
Indieweb and webmentions. Posts originate on my site, then syndicate to Twitter. I’m replying from my site to your tweet now. 🙂
First off, thanks for writing this up! Often times discussions that happen on IRC can remain locked up in there when no one takes the time and effort to write their thoughts from the IRC conversations out onto their blogs (which is a key component to everything we are discussing, using our blogs for thoughts. haha)
I think a key issue that people producing clients (like swentel and I with the Indigenous clients) will run into is that when generation 3 or 4 people download our apps they can often be scared off by the discussion of protocols, even if those protocols are easily accessible through a user-friendly service. At the same time, you can’t AVOID using protocol names in discussing client compatibility. I think the key is finding the middle ground. This was actually brainstormed by schmarty that the key is beginning by mentioning popular services that support the protocol and only then following up with the protocol. For example “You can use this with Micro.blog, Known or any other Micropub compatible server”. It starts with the terms that a user might already know and aren’t as scary, but it also doesn’t shy away from the fact that the real compatibility lays in the Micropub compatibility.
These are great thoughts to be thinking through, how we can better aim IndieWeb-focused technologies toward a wider audience. I think one of the reason you found so much push back regarding protocols is because the IndieWeb group tends to be practical in the understanding that not all sites and/or people will use the protocols that we use. The goal is to interoperate as much as we can and when possible push for support of IndieWeb-focused protocols. That means often times people can attempt to distance themselves from the protocols because while they are vital to what we do as a community, we don’t want to be limited by them either. (Hence our push of POSSE and PESOS). Rather than saying everyone that wants to follow us has to read our h-feed, we often times will run services that convert our h-feeds into RSS feeds or JSON feeds so we can interoperate with services like micro.blog that supports Micropub and Webmention but doesn’t parse h-feeds.
Same, I used to pay for crossposting without using it as a way to “donate”. Now I pay for a microblog without using it. haha, but that’s because it allows me to “donate” and use it as I test out my Indigenous micropub client.
When taking the decisions I have about leaving the major social networks over the past few years (LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, Facebook, Twitter) and moving towards a more #indieweb online existence I am aware that I am placing myself within a certain community with certain ideals.
James Shelley's farewell to social media and Andrew Canion's post about replacing social media are two cases in point. They echo my thoughts but that's only to be expected, we gravitate towards the similar and gather in places like micro.blog, refuges from the abuses elsewhere.
However, we must not allow these refuges to become echo chambers like those we claim to abhor and have left behind.
I'm happy and comfortable with my position but have to be equally comfortable with the decisions of others, have to hear other opinions, and not close myself off saying that "this is the only way."
It's the way that works for me and that's all I can be certain of.
While James removed all the data from his Twitter and Facebook accounts (something I also did a while before finally deleting them) he has opted to retain them as "living directories" and a last ditch method of contacting people when no alternative exists. It's a clever use of the system - the utility without the futility - and always provides the option of a hassle free return should he want it, should things change for him.
Social networks provide a lot of good for a lot of people and this can't be dismissed out of hand even if some choose to demonise those very same networks.
We can educate and warn but we cannot, and should never try to, choose for others. We should not force our decisions or our reasons on them, for they are not us and have a different perspective.
/me whispers #indieweb
I have an in-progress PW3 branch that should work, though I haven’t tested it in a while. If you try it out, please let me know any issues you run into. In the coming months I should be able to get an official release out.
https://github.com/gRegorLove/ProcessWire-Webmention/tree/master-pw3
Yep, microformats are alive and well; used a lot in the #indieweb community. If you’re adding them to new content, I’d recommend checking out microformats2 h-card. Easier markup and parsers are backwards compatible.
I know you have a micro.blog, I have really been enjoying micro.blog and it echoes what you describe here. I use it for 90% of my social net interactions and it’s great! Also, I’ve been using #microsub (https://indieweb.org/Microsub) to emulate feed based networking