Catching up on the Bluesky world, I missed this note in Last Week in Bluesky about trending topics:
The technological underpinning of how Trending Topics work on Bluesky is noteworthy: every trending topic is a custom feed. Every time a new topic is trending, a new custom feed gets created, giving the team better control over the topic. It also allows for new possibilities that have not yet been explored, such as archiving and documenting feeds after the trend is over, or other options that have not yet been explored.
I like it. Technical choices affect what’s possible with moderation.
On the Meta content moderation change, I think there’s something to the idea that a company will always pivot or disappoint you if you don’t know what they stand for. Twitter also changed who they were multiple times. I want to build a company that has an unwavering, clear message over decades.
Photos of the LA fires are unreal. Feeling for everyone out there.
Very cold and slightly rainy afternoon. For some reason I picked this weather to go for a short walk along the river.
Micro.blog’s status page has been down for a while. It’s back up now. No actual server downtime while the status page was down, thankfully. 🤞
I enjoy reading Ben Thompson’s Stratechery every day, and I’m always nodding along, but I think his take on Meta and content moderation is off the mark. The web is the open platform where nearly any speech is allowed. Platforms need to tread more carefully because of their power to influence.
Feel like I can finally catch my breath and start promoting Micro.one now. Great to see so many people share a link to it. I noticed a handful of posts and probably missed some.
We’re starting up a new beta for Strata, our companion mobile app for private and shared notes in Micro.blog. You can join the TestFlight beta here. Bookmarks, tags, and highlights are moving into Strata and (eventually) out of the main Micro.blog app.
Colin Devroe with some thoughts on social platforms and VC funding:
People are still chasing follower counts. Mastodon (which may not be perfect but the model is far more attractive and sustainable than anything else out there right now) isn’t growing at the pace Bluesky is and so people aren’t even considering it. That is a shame.
If you’re chasing follower counts, you’ll never be truly happy. Chase good content and good conversations. Chase having your own space on the web.
There’s now an event page for next week’s IndieWeb Meetup in Austin. ☕️🍺
New Micro.blog coffee mugs! T-shirts too if you haven’t seen them, courtesy of @jimmitchell who has my blessing to run with this merchandise.
Trying to pay some old fee from a car lease that I returned 7 years ago, stuck on the phone, dropped calls, terrible finance websites, and generally just a complete waste of time… But this typo on their website maybe hurts me the most:
Please note that it may take upto 15 minutes to receive.
The audio narration works for very short posts too. Me reading this post about Mark Zuckerberg earlier today gives the post a whole new “I’m so tired of this” feeling.
I added audio narration to my latest blog post. You’ll see a little “listen” play button near the top. This is a Micro.blog feature that I forget exists sometimes! There’s a help page about it.
I’ve fallen quite behind in support email. I’m sorry everyone. Hope to hire someone to help in 2025. I’m going to reply to every email I received in November, December, and January and then close the rest.
Good discussion this week on the blogs — Daring Fireball, Six Colors — about the icon used in Apple Intelligence. We’ve been using a robot icon (or emoji) for anything AI-generated in Micro.blog. When Apple revealed their icon, I thought it was great, but the robot is more obvious and fun.
This thread from Mark Zuckerberg could’ve been written by Elon Musk. The last thing we need is X and Threads adopting the same perspective on moderation. I’ve read it through a few times and I feel worse about it each time.
I don’t want to dwell too long thinking about January 6th four years ago. It happened and the re-election happened. American democracy sometimes feels broken, but I think disinformation is the root problem. The fix won’t be easy. 🇺🇸
I was inspired driving back from camping today to record a new episode of Timetable. Dictated some notes while on the road, then recorded it when I got home. A sort of essay to start 2025. Super short, blink and you’ll miss the whole thing.
Because of the freezing weather this week, we’re bumping the IndieWeb Meetup again. It will be Wednesday, January 15th. 7pm at Radio Coffee & Beer.
I was here last year… This time getting a sticker, at Johnson City Coffee Co. A convenient place on the way to or from west Texas. ☕️
Old Tunnel State Park. Now taken over by bats, this was an old train tunnel to connect San Antonio and Fredericksburg in 1913.
Manu Moreale: Blogging: you’re doing it right:
If you’re doing it, you’re doing it right. If you have decided to reclaim ownership of your place on the web, you’re doing it right. It doesn’t matter how you did it.
Glad to have a fire on a cold night at South Llano River State Park.
What would Steve Jobs do?
My last blog post title partially inspired by walking by this sign today.
