One of my favourite Micro.bloggers returned and I totally missed it:
See London through the eyes of Robert Brook.
One of my favourite Micro.bloggers returned and I totally missed it:
See London through the eyes of Robert Brook.
Update for @TIL: full return next week.
Also:
Would it be good if there was a Facebook page for TIL, which functioned as a resource to help people see Facebook alternatives?
Or does this kind of thing already exist? Even if it does already exist, would it be good to have more?
We’re Thinking About Facebook Wrong
Hank Green with 20 minutes that are worth your time.
I feel like there was something I wanted to communicate about the seemingly illusory nature of human identity, the criteria we use to decide when someone no longer gets our empathy, how little we actually know about each other, especially online…
New Kid on the Blog
Great to see Micro.blog included in the yearly review from Ulysses. This was included in their newsletter.
It would be good to see the Micro.blog team do this. Not even weekly; just something to help highlight events and the like.
Published another batch of updates for TIL earlier on, including a new post type and filter.
The most fun was redesigning the posts footer, including category buttons:
Thanks to @amit for his code and to @frostedechoes for sharing said code!
Clearly need to communicate this better.
Some rambling thoughts:
… And this is mostly stuff that is insular to Micro.blog, the timelines, and whatnot. Beyond that there is the Twitter account, which is ok but again not what I think most people expect.
I know decentralisation and going slow are both important to Micro.blog but there’s a point at which you have to compromise and go where people are used to going; to offer a hand rather than stay in your spot and expect people to be as motivated as the heart of your community.
I think about when a few years ago Belle Cooper said “It feels to me like we’re all at a party at Manton’s house.” and how I didn’t consider that to be too much of a problem at the time, given that it was still the early stages in the development of Micro.blog. Now, however, I think it’s correct to expect Micro.blog to have a clear representation of how the product is not just “for Manton, by Manton” but so much more.
Last week I brought @TIL back after the holiday break, which means in 20 minutes the weekly catch-up email will be published.
You can read more about ICYMI on the site, where you can also sign up.
Today I Learned returned yesterday, and now I have released a new update that includes the new domain for the site:
today-i-learned.net
I’m happy to have also updated the site with the new footer, the design of which is now settled until 2.0 (months from now) at the earliest:
Google search isn’t as good as it used to be—I suspect foul play through SEO
These days we’re often looking for a search engine that provides high quality results for specific questions, for free.
The problem here is that Google has sold everybody the complete lie that this is possible. Their results, their service, their websites, are all worse because products built on the back of money-free business models inevitably trend to that point.
Here are the different prices:
The more you leverage the third one – the one that the mainstream web is now built upon – the worse your product becomes over time.
Of course, Rene has put some work in – two hours no less! – and he still has to deal with an inferior product. It’s as if a bad standard has spread throughout all of Google Search. When the foundation of a platform is built with rotten ingredients, the rest is doomed to crumble into useless crap.
We have to change the way we think about things. It’s one of the lessons I learned thanks to Micro.blog; the perception we had of the web as a result of the monopolistic behemoths, is false. Much of it is false, with very little effort put towards sustainability or any of the necessary energy required to build a healthy environment.
In a lot of ways it the web works better for you if you take on an older mindset; say, 5 to 10 years back, and spend less energy relying on whatever marketing spin comes from your behemoth service provider. I do this for every piece of tech I own and it serves me well.
Oh, as for Rene and his question, unfortunately I don’t have the answer. I only know that it isn’t so simple, or at least not as simple as a mega-corp’s marketing department would have you believe.
I’m relieved to see that Doppler made it onto the Mac. I’m going to get it as soon as I can, and then dump the Music app.
I made this terrible post yesterday, in which I expressed myself with toxic words and an awful attitude.
Instead of stopping to consider the impact of my words, I selfishly pursued the ambition of gatekeeping and righteous intolerance.
I am sorry for saying these things.
The About page for Glass is pretty good. It’s clear, lightweight, and covers the broader points regarding the product.
I just wished they used a better colour for the majority of the text. That grey has rubbish contrast.
The feedback system for Glass is the best I’ve seen for representing feature requests; simple, clear, transparent.
Some @TIL news to start the new year:
Today I Learned will return on Monday the 10th of January.
Apparently the me of 3 years ago had a lot to say in the space of 1 month…
Given the recent discussion about inclusion on Micro.blog, it’s funny that, whilst hunting for posts to add to my new category I stumbled across the “Diversity on Micro.blog” post of mine.
I’ve noticed people making feature requests on the timeline lately.
With that in mind, I now have a category on my blog for my own posts: Micro.blog Wishes
It’s been three years since the big ones and I haven’t changed my mind about the non-existent ideas.
Got a new category for my blog. Now waiting for it to show up; as good a time as any to give the site a kick via the Micro.blog “refresh” switches.
Related: getting ideas for new guides is easier than you might imagine.
Related-related: yes, guides are coming back to @TIL.
It’s that time of year when I think about this post from tones.
It was great to get to know Ridwan on Micro Monday. Something that leapt out to me was how he and Jean spoke about the personal blogging aspect of Micro.blog.
I think that’s my favourite part of our communities. I love seeing everybody’s stories from their lives.
Feature request for @monday:
Post quotes from the interviews. Give some quick micro-insight into the episode.
Would be good to see the Manton episode quotes also posted elsewhere across Micro.blog, especially relating to feature requests, the future, ethos, etc.
This reply is what happens when I’m tired and hungry. Don’t get me wrong, I think there are issues to be resolved but I don’t think things are that bad.
Time to return to my break, especially from heated topics 😪
How can I invite someone into a community that doesn’t recognize the power and violence of language, asymmetrically deployed by the privileged against the othered, that doesn’t truly respect the individual?
– Smokey Ardisson; Friday thoughts, part deux