I love not feeling bound to any particular social network. This website, my website, is the one true home for all the stuff I’ve felt compelled to write down or point a camera at over the years. When a social network disappears, goes out of fashion or becomes inhospitable, I can happily move on with little anguish.
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-16T04:46:48Z",
"url": "https://adactio.com/links/19636",
"category": [
"indieweb",
"syndication",
"indiekit",
"posse",
"fediverse",
"mastodon",
"twitter",
"social",
"networks",
"personal",
"publishing",
"coding",
"code"
],
"bookmark-of": [
"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/articles/2022/11/posse/"
],
"content": {
"text": "Bird\u2019s-eye View \u00b7 Paul Robert Lloyd\n\n\n\n\n I love not feeling bound to any particular social network. This website, my website, is the one true home for all the stuff I\u2019ve felt compelled to write down or point a camera at over the years. When a social network disappears, goes out of fashion or becomes inhospitable, I can happily move on with little anguish.",
"html": "<h3>\n<a class=\"p-name u-bookmark-of\" href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/articles/2022/11/posse/\">\nBird\u2019s-eye View \u00b7 Paul Robert Lloyd\n</a>\n</h3>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>I love not feeling bound to any particular social network. This website, my website, is the one true home for all the stuff I\u2019ve felt compelled to write down or point a camera at over the years. When a social network disappears, goes out of fashion or becomes inhospitable, I can happily move on with little anguish.</p>\n</blockquote>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Jeremy Keith",
"url": "https://adactio.com/",
"photo": "https://adactio.com/images/photo-150.jpg"
},
"post-type": "bookmark",
"_id": "33019340",
"_source": "2",
"_is_read": true
}
{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "fluffy",
"url": "http://beesbuzz.biz/",
"photo": null
},
"url": "http://beesbuzz.biz/blog/chatter/12477-beginners-guide-to-the-indie-web",
"published": "2022-11-18T01:44:57-08:00",
"content": {
"html": "<a href=\"http://beesbuzz.biz/blog/chatter/?id=12477&tag=indieweb\">#IndieWeb</a><a href=\"http://beesbuzz.biz/blog/chatter/?id=12477&tag=tumblr\">#Tumblr</a><a href=\"http://beesbuzz.biz/blog/chatter/?id=12477&tag=name-collision\">#name collision</a>",
"text": "#IndieWeb#Tumblr#name collision"
},
"name": "Notes: beginner's guide to the indie web",
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "33002760",
"_source": "3782",
"_is_read": true
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So this is serving #indieweb #mf2 html on my page with as deep a stack as I like, and in my activitystream it's serving both misskey's old quoteUrl field and the new FEP-e232 format for the quote
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-15T12:54:43",
"url": "https://acegiak.net/o/7e7744cc64074ad383ebee088a8bfec6",
"content": {
"text": "So this is serving #indieweb #mf2 html on my page with as deep a stack as I like, and in my activitystream it's serving both misskey's old quoteUrl field and the new FEP-e232 format for the quote",
"html": "<p>So this is serving <a href=\"https://acegiak.net/t/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://acegiak.net/t/mf2\">#<span>mf2</span></a> html on my page with as deep a stack as I like, and in my activitystream it's serving both misskey's old quoteUrl field and the new <a href=\"https://codeberg.org/fediverse/fep/src/branch/main/feps/fep-e232.md\">FEP-e232</a> format for the quote</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "@ash@acegiak.net",
"url": "https://acegiak.net/",
"photo": "https://acegiak.net/static/icon.png"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "32909959",
"_source": "185",
"_is_read": true
}
To toot, or not to toot, that is the question.
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-14 21:40-0800",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/2022/11/to-toot-or-not-to-toot/",
"category": [
"indieweb",
"mastodon"
],
"content": {
"text": "To toot, or not to toot, that is the question.\n\n\u00a0",
"html": "<p>To toot, or not to toot, that is the question.</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://fed.brid.gy/\">\u00a0</a>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "gRegor Morrill",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/",
"photo": "https://gregorlove.com/site/assets/files/3473/profile-2016-med.jpg"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "32907598",
"_source": "95",
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Despite growing pains and potential problems, I think this could be one of the most interesting movements on the web in recent years. Let’s see where it goes.
I’m getting the same vibe as Bastian about Mastodon:
Suddenly there was this old Twitter vibe. Real conversations. Real people. Interesting content. A feeling of a warm welcoming group. No algorithm to mess around with our timelines. No troll army to destory every tiny bit of peace. Yes, Mastodon is rough around the edges. Many parts are not intuitive. But this roughness somehow added to the positive experience for me.
This could really work!
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-11T13:42:29Z",
"url": "https://adactio.com/links/19599",
"category": [
"mastodon",
"fediverse",
"social",
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"community",
"scale",
"scaling",
"decentralisation",
"indieweb"
],
"bookmark-of": [
"https://bastianallgeier.com/notes/fediverse"
],
"content": {
"text": "Fediverse\n\n\n\n\n Despite growing pains and potential problems, I think this could be one of the most interesting movements on the web in recent years. Let\u2019s see where it goes.\n\n\nI\u2019m getting the same vibe as Bastian about Mastodon:\n\n\n Suddenly there was this old Twitter vibe. Real conversations. Real people. Interesting content. A feeling of a warm welcoming group. No algorithm to mess around with our timelines. No troll army to destory every tiny bit of peace. Yes, Mastodon is rough around the edges. Many parts are not intuitive. But this roughness somehow added to the positive experience for me.\n \n This could really work!",
"html": "<h3>\n<a class=\"p-name u-bookmark-of\" href=\"https://bastianallgeier.com/notes/fediverse\">\nFediverse\n</a>\n</h3>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Despite growing pains and potential problems, I think this could be one of the most interesting movements on the web in recent years. Let\u2019s see where it goes.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I\u2019m getting the same vibe as Bastian about Mastodon:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Suddenly there was this old Twitter vibe. Real conversations. Real people. Interesting content. A feeling of a warm welcoming group. No algorithm to mess around with our timelines. No troll army to destory every tiny bit of peace. Yes, Mastodon is rough around the edges. Many parts are not intuitive. But this roughness somehow added to the positive experience for me.</p>\n \n <p>This could really work!</p>\n</blockquote>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Jeremy Keith",
"url": "https://adactio.com/",
"photo": "https://adactio.com/images/photo-150.jpg"
},
"post-type": "bookmark",
"_id": "32804954",
"_source": "2",
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}
I’ve added Mastodon syndication to my website’s backend, which means this post should appear on my website (barryfrost.com), my Twitter account (@barryf) and my Mastodon account (@barryf@mastodon.social). #indieweb
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-08T19:30:33.428Z",
"url": "https://barryfrost.com/2022/11/i-ve-added-mastodon-syndication-to",
"category": [
"indieweb",
"twitter",
"mastodon"
],
"syndication": [
"https://twitter.com/barryf/status/1590070617998561282",
"https://mastodon.social/@barryf/109309939698770867"
],
"content": {
"text": "I\u2019ve added Mastodon syndication to my website\u2019s backend, which means this post should appear on my website (barryfrost.com), my Twitter account (@barryf) and my Mastodon account (@barryf@mastodon.social). #indieweb"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Barry Frost",
"url": "https://barryfrost.com/",
"photo": "https://barryfrost.com/barryfrost.jpg"
},
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "32723234",
"_source": "189",
"_is_read": true
}
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-08 13:52-0800",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/2022/11/new-indieauth-client-php-release/",
"syndication": [
"https://news.indieweb.org/en"
],
"name": "New IndieAuth Client PHP Release",
"content": {
"text": "Version 1.1.6 of the IndieAuth Client library for PHP is released! This update adds support for IndieAuth Server Metadata and additional endpoint discovery methods as part of the 2022-02-12 version of the IndieAuth specification. It is backwards compatible with sites that do not yet support the metadata endpoint.\n\nI will be updating indiebookclub in the next few days to use this version. In my testing with it so far, everything has worked smoothly. I look forward to other IndieAuth implementations updating as well.",
"html": "<p><a href=\"https://github.com/indieweb/indieauth-client-php/releases/tag/1.1.6\">Version 1.1.6</a> of the IndieAuth Client library for PHP is released! This update adds support for IndieAuth Server Metadata and additional endpoint discovery methods as part of the 2022-02-12 version of the <a href=\"https://indieauth.spec.indieweb.org/\">IndieAuth specification</a>. It is backwards compatible with sites that do not yet support the metadata endpoint.</p>\n\n<p>I will be updating <a href=\"https://indiebookclub.biz/\">indiebookclub</a> in the next few days to use this version. In my testing with it so far, everything has worked smoothly. I look forward to other IndieAuth implementations updating as well.</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "gRegor Morrill",
"url": "https://gregorlove.com/",
"photo": "https://gregorlove.com/site/assets/files/3473/profile-2016-med.jpg"
},
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "32719089",
"_source": "95",
"_is_read": true
}
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-08T14:30:00+01:00",
"url": "https://www.jeremycherfas.net/blog/wondering-about-my-twitter-future",
"name": "Wondering about my Twitter future",
"content": {
"text": "I\u2019ve been watching, with some amusement, the goings on at Twitter and wondering what, if anything, I should do. I\u2019m skeptical that the whole thing is going to implode, although I am not nearly as sanguine that it will not become even worse than it currently is. To an extent, I cannot avoid the mayhem, because a social channel that I like and enjoy has an automatic import of any tweet that contains the word \u201cIndieWeb,\u201d as a result of which one of the rooms is swamped with people whispering into the void that people can follow them on Mastodon at [email\u00a0protected]. I skim past them at a rate of knots, just in case there is something of actual interest that I don\u2019t want to miss.",
"html": "<p>I\u2019ve been watching, with some amusement, the goings on at Twitter and wondering what, if anything, I should do. I\u2019m skeptical that the whole thing is going to implode, although I am not nearly as sanguine that it will not become even worse than it currently is. To an extent, I cannot avoid the mayhem, because a social channel that I like and enjoy has an automatic import of any tweet that contains the word \u201cIndieWeb,\u201d as a result of which one of the rooms is swamped with people whispering into the void that people can follow them on Mastodon at <code><a href=\"https://www.jeremycherfas.net/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection\">[email\u00a0protected]</a></code>. I skim past them at a rate of knots, just in case there is something of actual interest that I don\u2019t want to miss.</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Jeremy Cherfas",
"url": "https://jeremycherfas.net",
"photo": "https://www.jeremycherfas.net/user/themes/tailwind/images/zoot.jpg"
},
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "32704263",
"_source": "202",
"_is_read": true
}
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-08T11:35:18.661057610+03:00",
"url": "https://fireburn.ru/posts/ajvi8X1",
"in-reply-to": [
"https://webmention.rocks/test/3"
],
"content": {
"text": "Testing webmentions",
"html": "<p>Testing webmentions</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Vika",
"url": "https://fireburn.ru/",
"photo": "https://fireburn.ru/.kittybox/media/uploads/f1/5a/fb/9b/081efafb97b4ad59f5025cf2fd0678b8f3e20e4c292489107d52be09"
},
"post-type": "reply",
"_id": "32702428",
"_source": "1371",
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Eventually, it becomes second nature: jot down some thoughts and hit publish. Until then, think of it like starting a running habit. The first few days you run, it’s awful and you think it’ll never feel any better. But after a few weeks, you start getting antsy if you don’t run. If you’re not used to writing, it can feel like a slog, but it’s worth getting over that hump.
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-07T17:13:34Z",
"url": "https://adactio.com/links/19589",
"category": [
"writing",
"blogging",
"personal",
"publishing",
"indieweb",
"sharing",
"blogs"
],
"bookmark-of": [
"https://werd.io/view/6367fc7bb78f4f07d55f9082"
],
"content": {
"text": "What to blog\n\n\n\n\n Eventually, it becomes second nature: jot down some thoughts and hit publish. Until then, think of it like starting a running habit. The first few days you run, it\u2019s awful and you think it\u2019ll never feel any better. But after a few weeks, you start getting antsy if you don\u2019t run. If you\u2019re not used to writing, it can feel like a slog, but it\u2019s worth getting over that hump.",
"html": "<h3>\n<a class=\"p-name u-bookmark-of\" href=\"https://werd.io/view/6367fc7bb78f4f07d55f9082\">\nWhat to blog\n</a>\n</h3>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>Eventually, it becomes second nature: jot down some thoughts and hit publish. Until then, think of it like starting a running habit. The first few days you run, it\u2019s awful and you think it\u2019ll never feel any better. But after a few weeks, you start getting antsy if you <em>don\u2019t</em> run. If you\u2019re not used to writing, it can feel like a slog, but it\u2019s worth getting over that hump.</p>\n</blockquote>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Jeremy Keith",
"url": "https://adactio.com/",
"photo": "https://adactio.com/images/photo-150.jpg"
},
"post-type": "bookmark",
"_id": "32679013",
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A very timely post on using If This Then That to automatically post notes from your own site (via RSS) to Twitter and Mastodon.
I’ve set this up for my Mastodon profile.
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-07T11:42:37Z",
"url": "https://adactio.com/links/19586",
"category": [
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"ifttt",
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],
"bookmark-of": [
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"content": {
"text": "Syndicating Posts from Your Personal Website to Twitter and Mastodon \u00b7 Matthias Ott \u2013 User Experience Designer\n\n\n\nA very timely post on using If This Then That to automatically post notes from your own site (via RSS) to Twitter and Mastodon.\n\nI\u2019ve set this up for my Mastodon profile.",
"html": "<h3>\n<a class=\"p-name u-bookmark-of\" href=\"https://matthiasott.com/notes/syndicating-posts-personal-website-twitter-mastodon\">\nSyndicating Posts from Your Personal Website to Twitter and Mastodon \u00b7 Matthias Ott \u2013 User Experience Designer\n</a>\n</h3>\n\n<p>A very timely post on using <a href=\"https://ifttt.com/\">If This Then That</a> to automatically post notes from your own site (via RSS) to Twitter and Mastodon.</p>\n\n<p>I\u2019ve set this up for <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/@adactio\">my Mastodon profile</a>.</p>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Jeremy Keith",
"url": "https://adactio.com/",
"photo": "https://adactio.com/images/photo-150.jpg"
},
"post-type": "bookmark",
"_id": "32670518",
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When it came time to reckon with social media’s failings, nobody ran to the “web3” platforms. Nobody asked “can I get paid per message”? Nobody asked about the blockchain. The community of people who’ve been quietly doing this work for years (decades!) ended up being the ones who welcomed everyone over, as always.
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-07T09:08:28Z",
"url": "https://adactio.com/links/19582",
"category": [
"mastodon",
"fediverse",
"indieweb",
"twitter",
"web3",
"blockchain",
"crypto",
"community"
],
"bookmark-of": [
"https://mastodon.cloud/@anildash/109299991009836007"
],
"content": {
"text": "@anildash@mastodon.cloud\n\n\n\n\n When it came time to reckon with social media\u2019s failings, nobody ran to the \u201cweb3\u201d platforms. Nobody asked \u201ccan I get paid per message\u201d? Nobody asked about the blockchain. The community of people who\u2019ve been quietly doing this work for years (decades!) ended up being the ones who welcomed everyone over, as always.",
"html": "<h3>\n<a class=\"p-name u-bookmark-of\" href=\"https://mastodon.cloud/@anildash/109299991009836007\">\n@anildash@mastodon.cloud\n</a>\n</h3>\n\n<blockquote>\n <p>When it came time to reckon with social media\u2019s failings, nobody ran to the \u201cweb3\u201d platforms. Nobody asked \u201ccan I get paid per message\u201d? Nobody asked about the blockchain. The community of people who\u2019ve been quietly doing this work for years (decades!) ended up being the ones who welcomed everyone over, as always.</p>\n</blockquote>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Jeremy Keith",
"url": "https://adactio.com/",
"photo": "https://adactio.com/images/photo-150.jpg"
},
"post-type": "bookmark",
"_id": "32668346",
"_source": "2",
"_is_read": true
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{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Duncan Stephen",
"url": "https://duncanstephen.net/",
"photo": null
},
"url": "https://duncanstephen.net/one-twit-can-make-a-service-a-dodo/",
"published": "2022-11-06T22:35:44+00:00",
"content": {
"html": "<img src=\"https://duncanstephen.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/twitter-dodo.png\" alt=\"A silhouette of a dodo in profile, presented in the same colour as the Twitter bird logo\" /><p>I have complicated feelings about the apparent imminent demise of Twitter in the hands of a reckless owner.</p>\n<h3>The last web 2.0 bubble bursting</h3>\n<p>In a way, Twitter was the last living, breathing link to the original dream of web 2.0 that I grew up through. I came of age as the blogosphere peaked. That was how I learned how to internet. It was how I learned the skills I took into my career.</p>\n<p>What Twitter evolved into over the past 16 years was already some way off the idealistic vision held in the mid-noughties. Recent events suggest any remaining belief in that vision has evaporated.</p>\n<p>I originally used Twitter as an appendage to my blog. After a few years where Twitter struggled to find relevance, it became a place where first celebrities, then journalists and politicians went to communicate. The Twittersphere accelerated past the blogosphere, and thoughtful long-form publishing made way for bite-sized attention seeking.</p>\n<p>Some of us kept our blogs going. But that started feeling like being the last loser in the kitchen at the party, not taking the hint that it was time to move on. The party was now on Twitter.</p>\n<p>For a long time I posted prolifically on Twitter. But gradually my activity decreased as my distaste set in for what social media had become.</p>\n<p>The way I used Twitter totally changed over the years. In the early days, I followed fellow bloggers, locals, Formula 1 nerds and politics geeks. I now follow very few of those people on my main account.</p>\n<p>In common with other major social media platforms that struggled to become viable businesses, Twitter had to chase advertisers. In doing so, they had to increase engagement. To do this they built addictive patterns, and developed algorithms that amplified inflammatory views.</p>\n<p>Ironically, this has been the undoing of social media in the end. Because, despite being the thing that drove clicks, the amplification of harmful views has also scared advertisers off. This paradox has effectively ended social media as a viable business.</p>\n<h3>Toxicity on Twitter</h3>\n<p>Moreover, Twitter seems to have skewed debate as a whole. The prevalence of hate has led social media to become a largely distasteful place. Social media has played a key role in events like the election of Donald Trump as US president, brexit, Russian disinformation campaigns, the rise of transphobia, and who know\u2019s what next?</p>\n<p>As events like this became more and more frequent, I began to implement rules to keep control of my Twitter timeline. This gradually transformed the way I used it, and my reason for using it.</p>\n<p>I tried not to unfollow anyone merely for tweeting an opinion I disagreed with. But I did not think twice about unfollowing people who pushed obnoxious views \u2014 snappy and devoid of context \u2014 into my timeline. This included bloggers I\u2019d been reading for around a decade.</p>\n<p>Such publications weren\u2019t so problematic to me when they stood or fell in the relatively meritocratic blogosphere, where you only saw a blog post if you looked for it or followed a hyperlink to it. But when algorithms started putting the more extreme views in front of other people who hadn\u2019t asked for them (and at the expense of more reasonable, but less engaging, views!), I had to send my own signal that I disapproved.</p>\n<p>As time went on, I came to adopt more and more rules, in my attempt to dial down the hot takes. Anyone who dogmatically pushed a predictable point of view without providing evidence was gone.</p>\n<p>Excitable Scottish nationalists were gone. FBPEs were out (despite the fact that I was pro-EU). Centrist dads were generally purged, even though I am one. I unfollowed all blue ticks unless I had a personal association with them. I also deleted most media figures and journalists, who were also in the game of grabbing clicks. I adopted a zero tolerance policy for anyone responsible for inserting racism or transphobia into my timeline.</p>\n<p>I currently probably only follow around half of the people I have ever followed. In the end, I saw almost nothing about politics. But my experience was undoubtedly better for it.</p>\n<h3>Making Twitter work for me</h3>\n<p>Over time, I came to use Twitter more and more as a way of keeping up with fellow practitioners of user experience practitioners and related disciplines. For me, Twitter came to be like a less sanctimonious LinkedIn.</p>\n<p>Moreover, despite all the issues, and all the people I ended up unfollowing, Twitter has been more influential than anything else (even blogging) in shaping my perspective for the better. Twitter has allowed me to learn so much, exposing me to diverse viewpoints from a range of people I would probably never have discovered any other way. Twitter has helped me learn about myself. I will be forever thankful for that.</p>\n<p>I have always attempted to keep tabs on the web presences of people I follow on Twitter. If they have an RSS feed, I subscribe to it. If Twitter disappears, I will endeavour to continue to seek out the valuable diverse views I have come to rely on Twitter for.</p>\n<p>For a long time, I have not posted much on Twitter myself. But I read it almost every day, normally multiple times a day.</p>\n<p>Long after I stopped using Facebook, Instagram and other social media websites, Twitter has been my go-to place to find out what\u2019s going on in the world.</p>\n<p>In short, Twitter was hard work to use. But it was worth the effort. With most people having abandoned blogging (at least in the original sense of carrying out daily discourse), it was the last remaining option for people who like reading.</p>\n<p>Other social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok of course won\u2019t fill the space. I generally can\u2019t abide videos. I\u2019m a reader and a writer. Although Twitter embraced videos (as all platforms have had to), its core still thrived on text.</p>\n<p>Hoping that people will return to blogging is hopeless.</p>\n<p>So what next?</p>\n<p>I\u2019ll probably still use Twitter for as long as it\u2019s practical to do so.</p>\n<h3>I will try Mastodon</h3>\n<p>I will try Mastodon, the place many people are turning to in advance of Twitter\u2019s apparent implosion. Unfortunately I don\u2019t have high hopes. The concept and the sign-up process is ridiculously confusing.</p>\n<p>(It reminds me of trying to work with <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/\">IndieWeb</a> concepts. It seems like a great idea at first, but then you\u2019re immediately slammed over the head with weird jargon and incomprehensible rules. I\u2019ve been an avid web user for decades, I\u2019ve built my own blogs. My profession is to work on the web. If <strong>I</strong> can\u2019t understand it, there\u2019s no real point in pretending that normal people might.)</p>\n<p>Nevertheless, you can find my Mastodon profile here:</p>\n<p><a href=\"https://mastodon.social/@duncanstephen\">Duncan Stephen on Mastodon: @duncanstephen@mastodon.social</a></p>\n<h3>Still blogging</h3>\n<p>In the meantime, my blog will keep going, as it has done for nearly 20 years. My primary online presence has always been my website.</p>\n<p>If you wish to follow me, please <a href=\"https://duncanstephen.net/feed/\">subscribe to my RSS feed</a> using a service such as <a href=\"https://feedly.com/\">Feedly</a>. Or <a href=\"https://duncanstephen.co.uk/follow/\">subscribe to receive email updates</a>.</p>",
"text": "I have complicated feelings about the apparent imminent demise of Twitter in the hands of a reckless owner.\nThe last web 2.0 bubble bursting\nIn a way, Twitter was the last living, breathing link to the original dream of web 2.0 that I grew up through. I came of age as the blogosphere peaked. That was how I learned how to internet. It was how I learned the skills I took into my career.\nWhat Twitter evolved into over the past 16 years was already some way off the idealistic vision held in the mid-noughties. Recent events suggest any remaining belief in that vision has evaporated.\nI originally used Twitter as an appendage to my blog. After a few years where Twitter struggled to find relevance, it became a place where first celebrities, then journalists and politicians went to communicate. The Twittersphere accelerated past the blogosphere, and thoughtful long-form publishing made way for bite-sized attention seeking.\nSome of us kept our blogs going. But that started feeling like being the last loser in the kitchen at the party, not taking the hint that it was time to move on. The party was now on Twitter.\nFor a long time I posted prolifically on Twitter. But gradually my activity decreased as my distaste set in for what social media had become.\nThe way I used Twitter totally changed over the years. In the early days, I followed fellow bloggers, locals, Formula 1 nerds and politics geeks. I now follow very few of those people on my main account.\nIn common with other major social media platforms that struggled to become viable businesses, Twitter had to chase advertisers. In doing so, they had to increase engagement. To do this they built addictive patterns, and developed algorithms that amplified inflammatory views.\nIronically, this has been the undoing of social media in the end. Because, despite being the thing that drove clicks, the amplification of harmful views has also scared advertisers off. This paradox has effectively ended social media as a viable business.\nToxicity on Twitter\nMoreover, Twitter seems to have skewed debate as a whole. The prevalence of hate has led social media to become a largely distasteful place. Social media has played a key role in events like the election of Donald Trump as US president, brexit, Russian disinformation campaigns, the rise of transphobia, and who know\u2019s what next?\nAs events like this became more and more frequent, I began to implement rules to keep control of my Twitter timeline. This gradually transformed the way I used it, and my reason for using it.\nI tried not to unfollow anyone merely for tweeting an opinion I disagreed with. But I did not think twice about unfollowing people who pushed obnoxious views \u2014 snappy and devoid of context \u2014 into my timeline. This included bloggers I\u2019d been reading for around a decade.\nSuch publications weren\u2019t so problematic to me when they stood or fell in the relatively meritocratic blogosphere, where you only saw a blog post if you looked for it or followed a hyperlink to it. But when algorithms started putting the more extreme views in front of other people who hadn\u2019t asked for them (and at the expense of more reasonable, but less engaging, views!), I had to send my own signal that I disapproved.\nAs time went on, I came to adopt more and more rules, in my attempt to dial down the hot takes. Anyone who dogmatically pushed a predictable point of view without providing evidence was gone.\nExcitable Scottish nationalists were gone. FBPEs were out (despite the fact that I was pro-EU). Centrist dads were generally purged, even though I am one. I unfollowed all blue ticks unless I had a personal association with them. I also deleted most media figures and journalists, who were also in the game of grabbing clicks. I adopted a zero tolerance policy for anyone responsible for inserting racism or transphobia into my timeline.\nI currently probably only follow around half of the people I have ever followed. In the end, I saw almost nothing about politics. But my experience was undoubtedly better for it.\nMaking Twitter work for me\nOver time, I came to use Twitter more and more as a way of keeping up with fellow practitioners of user experience practitioners and related disciplines. For me, Twitter came to be like a less sanctimonious LinkedIn.\nMoreover, despite all the issues, and all the people I ended up unfollowing, Twitter has been more influential than anything else (even blogging) in shaping my perspective for the better. Twitter has allowed me to learn so much, exposing me to diverse viewpoints from a range of people I would probably never have discovered any other way. Twitter has helped me learn about myself. I will be forever thankful for that.\nI have always attempted to keep tabs on the web presences of people I follow on Twitter. If they have an RSS feed, I subscribe to it. If Twitter disappears, I will endeavour to continue to seek out the valuable diverse views I have come to rely on Twitter for.\nFor a long time, I have not posted much on Twitter myself. But I read it almost every day, normally multiple times a day.\nLong after I stopped using Facebook, Instagram and other social media websites, Twitter has been my go-to place to find out what\u2019s going on in the world.\nIn short, Twitter was hard work to use. But it was worth the effort. With most people having abandoned blogging (at least in the original sense of carrying out daily discourse), it was the last remaining option for people who like reading.\nOther social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok of course won\u2019t fill the space. I generally can\u2019t abide videos. I\u2019m a reader and a writer. Although Twitter embraced videos (as all platforms have had to), its core still thrived on text.\nHoping that people will return to blogging is hopeless.\nSo what next?\nI\u2019ll probably still use Twitter for as long as it\u2019s practical to do so.\nI will try Mastodon\nI will try Mastodon, the place many people are turning to in advance of Twitter\u2019s apparent implosion. Unfortunately I don\u2019t have high hopes. The concept and the sign-up process is ridiculously confusing.\n(It reminds me of trying to work with IndieWeb concepts. It seems like a great idea at first, but then you\u2019re immediately slammed over the head with weird jargon and incomprehensible rules. I\u2019ve been an avid web user for decades, I\u2019ve built my own blogs. My profession is to work on the web. If I can\u2019t understand it, there\u2019s no real point in pretending that normal people might.)\nNevertheless, you can find my Mastodon profile here:\nDuncan Stephen on Mastodon: @duncanstephen@mastodon.social\nStill blogging\nIn the meantime, my blog will keep going, as it has done for nearly 20 years. My primary online presence has always been my website.\nIf you wish to follow me, please subscribe to my RSS feed using a service such as Feedly. Or subscribe to receive email updates."
},
"name": "One twit can make a service a dodo",
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Because of the alarming events unfolding at Twitter, like many I’ve been exploring Mastodon. I’m optimistic. You can find me at mastodon.social… or my own #indieweb website barryfrost.com.
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-06T10:51:57.140Z",
"url": "https://barryfrost.com/2022/11/because-of-the-alarming-events-unfolding",
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"text": "Because of the alarming events unfolding at Twitter, like many I\u2019ve been exploring Mastodon. I\u2019m optimistic. You can find me at mastodon.social\u2026 or my own #indieweb website barryfrost.com."
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Barry Frost",
"url": "https://barryfrost.com/",
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I've added a little subscribe button to my #indieweb site. Anyone using mastodon, or any ActivityPub based site can see my posts. It'll act just like I'm a mastodon user :)
Decentralisation!
indieweb
activitystreams
activitypub
decentralisation
tech
dev
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-05 16:04:55.706706",
"url": "https://kongaloosh.com/e/2022/11/5/ive-added-",
"photo": [
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"content": {
"text": "I've added a little subscribe button to my #indieweb site. Anyone using mastodon, or any ActivityPub based site can see my posts. It'll act just like I'm a mastodon user :)\nDecentralisation!\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n indieweb\n \n activitystreams\n \n activitypub\n \n decentralisation\n \n tech\n \n dev",
"html": "<p>I've added a little subscribe button to my <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/indieweb\"> #indieweb</a> site. Anyone using mastodon, or any ActivityPub based site can see my posts. It'll act just like I'm a mastodon user :)</p>\n<p>Decentralisation!</p>\n<p>\n</p>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/images/data/2022/11/5/2022-11-05--16-02-03-0.png\">\n </a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/images/data/2022/11/5/2022-11-05--16-02-03.png\">\n </a>\n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n <p></p>\n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n \n <i></i>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/indieweb\">indieweb</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/activitystreams\">activitystreams</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/activitypub\">activitypub</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/decentralisation\">decentralisation</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/tech\">tech</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/dev\">dev</a>"
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"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Alex Kearney",
"url": "http://kongaloosh.com",
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Not sure about going ahead and using Mastodon in the same way I used Twitter. It looks really nice and all that, but I managed to get out of the checking-my-stream-and-posting-something-every-few-minutes cycle, which was one of the main reasons I “went indieweb”.
{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Leon Paternoster",
"url": "https://www.thisdaysportion.com",
"photo": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2022/9498.jpg"
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"url": "https://www.thisdaysportion.com/notes/to-toot-or-not-to-toot",
"content": {
"html": "<p>Not sure about going ahead and using Mastodon in the same way I used Twitter. It looks really nice and all that, but I managed to get out of the checking-my-stream-and-posting-something-every-few-minutes cycle, which was one of the main reasons I \u201cwent indieweb\u201d.</p>",
"text": "Not sure about going ahead and using Mastodon in the same way I used Twitter. It looks really nice and all that, but I managed to get out of the checking-my-stream-and-posting-something-every-few-minutes cycle, which was one of the main reasons I \u201cwent indieweb\u201d."
},
"published": "2022-11-05T16:34:19+00:00",
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "33379991",
"_source": "7224",
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Currently trying to get to grips with Pixelfed, and work out how all these indieweb things are going to for together.
At the minute it’s a mess.
{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Greg Morris",
"url": "https://gr36.com",
"photo": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2022/112759.jpg"
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"url": "https://www.gr36.com/2022/11/05/currently-trying-to.html",
"content": {
"html": "<p>Currently trying to get to grips with Pixelfed, and work out how all these indieweb things are going to for together.</p>\n\n<p>At the minute it\u2019s a mess.</p>",
"text": "Currently trying to get to grips with Pixelfed, and work out how all these indieweb things are going to for together.\n\nAt the minute it\u2019s a mess."
},
"published": "2022-11-05T12:25:56+00:00",
"post-type": "note",
"_id": "33379992",
"_source": "7224",
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For those of you migrating to Mastodon:
@kongaloosh.com@kongaloosh.com
The authentic Alex Kearney on any server. #indieweb
social web
dev
rip
{
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"published": "2022-11-04 23:05:31.051870",
"url": "https://kongaloosh.com/e/2022/11/4/for-those-",
"syndication": [
"https://twitter.com/kongaloosh/status/1588729324680761345"
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"content": {
"text": "For those of you migrating to Mastodon:\n@kongaloosh.com@kongaloosh.com\nThe authentic Alex Kearney on any server. #indieweb \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n social web\n \n dev\n \n rip",
"html": "<p>For those of you migrating to Mastodon:</p>\n<p>@kongaloosh.com@kongaloosh.com</p>\n<p>The authentic Alex Kearney on any server. <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/indieweb\"> #indieweb</a> </p>\n \n\n \n \n <p></p>\n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n \n <i></i>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/social%20web\">social web</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/dev\">dev</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/rip\">rip</a>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Alex Kearney",
"url": "http://kongaloosh.com",
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Catch me on the indieweb
rip
life
social
{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-04 22:39:38.220396",
"url": "https://kongaloosh.com/e/2022/11/4/catch-me-o",
"syndication": [
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"content": {
"text": "Catch me on the indieweb\n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n rip\n \n life\n \n social",
"html": "<p>Catch me on the indieweb</p>\n \n\n \n \n <p></p>\n \n \n \n\n\n \n\n\n \n \n \n <i></i>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/rip\">rip</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/life\">life</a>\n \n <a href=\"https://kongaloosh.com/t/social\">social</a>"
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Alex Kearney",
"url": "http://kongaloosh.com",
"photo": null
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"post-type": "note",
"_id": "32613035",
"_source": "228",
"_is_read": true
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{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2022-11-05T00:59:50+00:00",
"url": "https://werd.io/2022/voting-on-the-indieweb",
"name": "Voting on the indieweb",
"content": {
"text": "If you\u2019re an American citizen, you should vote in next week\u2019s election. Maybe you already have: I sent in my mail-in ballot, which is by far the easiest and most convenient way to do your democratic duty, as well as the best way to vote while researching your choices. (All of which is probably why so many people want to do away with it.)I was asked a while back if there was an indieweb solution for adding a widget on your website to help people register to vote. I wish this was an easier problem to solve than it is: because every jurisdiction has different voting infrastructure that doesn\u2019t adhere to any reliably shared principles or standards, there\u2019s no open source way to make this work without staying on top of every single voting portal. There are proprietary embeds to make this work - notably from vote.org - but they offer very few customization options and essentially require a full-page takeover. To customize more fully, you need to pay: a way for the underlying nonprofit to pay its bills, but counter to the mission of getting more people to register.It seems to me that it would be in the interests of political parties to create simple voter registration tools and make it as easy as possible to integrate them into your site or app. Let people register as easily as possible, and direct them to the voting option that\u2019s best for them, all from the websites and apps they\u2019re already using. (And then, perhaps, track their registration automatically so they know if it was rejected for some reason.) Democracy is strongest when every citizen can use their democratic right to vote.I\u2019m not a govtech guy, but I\u2019m aware this is pie in the sky thinking. Still: the best way to make this happen would be to create a single standard for election registration. Provide a single interface standard and a set of APIs that all local election portals must implement, then make it incredibly easy for them to do so by providing libraries and open source software. The current, standards-less, highly-federated way government software works is ludicrous, and can only lead to a bad citizen experience. Not everyone needs to use the same software, but surely it should be possible to get states to agree to some base technical standards, in the same way they all now use HTTP and HTML.This post is mostly brought to you by anxiety about the election. I feel powerless to stop what I think is almost inevitably going to happen. Please, please, please, please vote.",
"html": "<p>If you\u2019re an American citizen, you should vote in next week\u2019s election. Maybe you already have: I sent in my mail-in ballot, which is by far the easiest and most convenient way to do your democratic duty, as well as the best way to vote while researching your choices. (All of which is probably why so many people want to do away with it.)</p><p>I was asked a while back if there was an indieweb solution for adding a widget on your website to help people register to vote. I wish this was an easier problem to solve than it is: because every jurisdiction has different voting infrastructure that doesn\u2019t adhere to any reliably shared principles or standards, there\u2019s no open source way to make this work without staying on top of every single voting portal. There are proprietary embeds to make this work - <a href=\"https://www.vote.org/technology/\">notably from vote.org</a> - but they offer very few customization options and essentially require a full-page takeover. To customize more fully, <a href=\"https://vip.vote.org/\">you need to pay</a>: a way for the underlying nonprofit to pay its bills, but counter to the mission of getting more people to register.</p><p>It seems to me that it would be in the interests of political parties to create simple voter registration tools and make it as easy as possible to integrate them into your site or app. Let people register as easily as possible, and direct them to the voting option that\u2019s best for them, all from the websites and apps they\u2019re already using. (And then, perhaps, track their registration automatically so they know if it was rejected for some reason.) Democracy is strongest when every citizen can use their democratic right to vote.</p><p>I\u2019m not a govtech guy, but I\u2019m aware this is pie in the sky thinking. Still: the best way to make this happen would be to create a single standard for election registration. Provide a single interface standard and a set of APIs that all local election portals must implement, then make it incredibly easy for them to do so by providing libraries and open source software. The current, standards-less, highly-federated way government software works is ludicrous, and can only lead to a bad citizen experience. Not everyone needs to use the same software, but surely it should be possible to get states to agree to some base technical standards, in the same way they all now use HTTP and HTML.</p><p>This post is mostly brought to you by anxiety about the election. I feel powerless to stop what I think is almost inevitably going to happen. Please, please, please, please vote.</p>"
},
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"type": "card",
"name": "Ben Werdmuller",
"url": "https://werd.io/profile/benwerd",
"photo": "https://werd.io/file/5d388c5fb16ea14aac640912/thumb.jpg"
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