FeedCity

I'm starting to use the rewrite of my thread publisher on Bluesky. Here's an example. And here's the version of the thread without being broken up into 300-character chunks (you can get it by clicking in the metadata box below the text of the post). I don't like it. The software is as good as it can be, given the extreme limits of the twitter-like environment. I went all the way with this, but I'm not sure I'm going to release it. But I'm going to keep using it, and maybe I'll think of something that makes it fun or worthwhile, or maybe I'll just chalk it up to another learning experience.

Once again Maddow is must-watch destination TV this year. Keep on going. One thing to watch out for, Bluesky will disappoint you. Don't blame them when it happens, because they can't be as good as you all think they are. They are a startup in a tough market. Sooner or later Musk is going to aim at them (maybe he already is) and they will have to seek refuge somewhere, and all big tech companies are bastards, not bros. There isn't one of them you can trust with your democracy. So keep that in mind, and when yous see open billionaire-proof social networks rise up, give them a little of that Rachel love.

Favorite part of the SNL50 show. Eddie Murphy impersonating Tracy Morgan, while standing next to him on Black Jeopardy. It's really hard to see the resemblance between today's Eddie and young Eddie, but there it was, the comic brilliance. Then they ask the real Tracy if they are related and he said he doesn't see it.

Yes it's me I'm the pride of Cucamonga.

In the Catskills, we've been getting so much snow this winter and super cold weather and huge winds. And Trump & Musk. A quadruple threat.

One more thing. I like watching Maddow nowadays. She seems unstuck. And she's talking straight to the Repubs, and not with resignation, with the idea that maybe finally enough is enough, and they might work with us to save what we can of this great country. Also like that Bernie Sanders is on the road campaigning in swing districts that are held by Repubs, to see if he can squeeze out a few defectors from the ranks of House Republicans. Very important, because the Repub margin there is only 3. Just have to flip 2. America has to start moving now, or it's going to take a long long time to come back from this. The sooner we all get that, and that we are part of it, the better things will turn out, imho.

I don't like social networks as they're currently configured. The idea that it's some kind of conversation -- no it really doesn't resemble a conversation. I would like to try a social network that didn't have the concept of replying to a post. Give each other a little more ...

Some days nothing shows up on the blog. Still diggin! 😄

Wednesday session

Stephen Colbert in last night’s Late Show monologue:

Do you want to know how messed up things are? The lightest story in the news is a plane crash.

Humor helps. See also: MapQuest’s brilliant rename the Gulf of Mexico website.

Nice update to the Bayou theme:

Included in this version is the option to define how many microposts and longform posts are shown on the homepage, change the categories for microposts and longform posts, set the site language (en, de, es, fi, fr, it, pt, ru), and change the date format.

The TikTok-ification of other platforms (Reels, Shorts) is optimizing for user engagement instead of usability. Good luck pausing, rewinding, or sharing one of these clips. At times it’s actually user-hostile.

A fun new font from Jason:

Citywide is a sans serif family inspired by mid-1900s bus and train destination roll signs.

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Ah, this is wonderful! Matt takes us on the quarter-decade journey of his brilliant blog (which chimes a lot with my own experience—my journal turns 25 next year)… Slowly, slowly, the web was taken over by platforms. Your feeling of success is based on your platform’s al...

Maybe I’ve been conditioned by seeing the GPT-4o name everywhere, but I don’t hate the iPhone 16e name. Weird lineup to still include the iPhone 15 without Apple Intelligence.

Some good—if overlong—writing advice.

• Focus on what matters to readers
• Be welcoming to everyone
• Swap formal words for normal ones
• When we have to say sorry, say it sincerely
• Watch out for jargon
• Avoid ambiguity: write in the active voice
• Use vivid words & delightful wordplay
• Make references most people would understand
• Avoid empty adjectives & marketing cliches
• Make people feel they’re in on the joke – don’t punch down
• Add a pinch of humour, not a dollop
• Smart asides, not cheap puns and cliches
• Be self-assured, but never arrogant

adactio.com/links/21729

Here’s a post outlining all the great things you can do in mobile web browsers today: Your App Should Have Been A Website (And Probably Your Game Too): Today’s browsers are powerhouses. Notifications? Check. Offline mode? Check. Secure payments? Yep, they’ve got that too...

Matt Webb reflecting on 25 years of blogging. On the very early days of blogging:

So I would post 4 or 6 times a day, like most people. Just a line with a shower thought, or a link and a comment, or a response to someone else

I’ve also found that before Twitter, blogs were often microblogs.

This life in weeks page by Gina Trapani is amazing.

[Matt Webb] I love this: "Slowly, slowly, the web was taken over by platforms. Your feeling of success is based on your platform’s algorithm, which may not have your interests at heart. Feeding your words to a platform is a vote for its values, whether you ...