IndieWeb-ifying ColoradoBoulevard.net

I’ve spent some time over a few days this month to help IndieWeb-ify my local Pasadena online newspaper ColoradoBoulevard.net. They can now send and receive webmentions and can backfeed their comments, likes, and other responses from their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

They can stand to improve their support for microformats v2 and do some more work on their h-cards and other related metadata, but the editor seems thrilled with the initial results–particularly having their conversations in other areas of the internet come back to the original article.

I know that individual journalists have brought their personal websites into the IndieWeb fold, but this may be one of the first online newspapers/magazines I’m aware of to begin using some of these principles and tools. With any luck and some testing, they could be one of the first journalistic enterprises to begin receiving “Read” posts of their articles via webmention! Update: read posts are working! See the first example here.

I’d like to get them to a place where they can automatically syndicate to social silos and display their syndication links properly. In the end it would be really nice if their writers could own their own articles on their personal websites, syndicate them to the newspaper itself (as the rel=”canonical” link), and then both parties to be able to receive the appropriate backfeed, but this is a nice new baby step on the way to bigger and better things.

I did run across one interesting identity related issue that may need some addressing within this particular space. Some of their journalists prefer not to display photos (or even names) so that they’re not easily (or as easily) identified in person for the sake of doing online reviews or other sensitive reporting assignments.

👓 I believe in the IndieWeb. It needs to believe in itself. | Jason McIntosh

Read I believe in the IndieWeb. It needs to believe in itself. by Jason McIntosh (Fogknife)
IndieWeb has forged keys to a better, more democratic web for everyone. They need to get organized before they can start really effecting change.
I love the enthusiasm and excitement here and still share it to a great extent myself. At the same time, however some of the tools are still growing and aren’t quite ready for prime time, particularly for the masses who don’t have the technical expertise yet. As a result, slow continued growth may still be the best course.

On the other hand, I think the area is incredibly ripe for businesses to come in and offer “IndieWeb as a service”. A few more things like micro.blog will certainly help to tip the balance.

Much like the featured photo on the post, while there’s some gorgeous blue sky, there’s still a few clouds, and some of the waters may be difficult to navigate for some without the correct boats. But at the end of the day, this is exactly the kind of paradise world many of us have wanted to live in for a long time!

Checkin Cross Campus Old Pasadena

Checked into Cross Campus Old Pasadena
Speed networking at Friday Morning Coffee Meetup

Listened to OTM Presents: U.S. of Anxiety's "40 Acres in Mississippi" from On the Media | WNYC Studios

Our WNYC colleagues fact-check a family legend about "40 acres and a mule," and find a story about the promise and peril of the American Dream at the end of Reconstruction.

Elbert Lester has lived his full 94 years in Quitman County, Mississippi, on land he and his family own. That’s exceptional for black people in this area, and some family members even say the land came to them through “40 acres and a mule.” But that's pretty unlikely, so our WNYC colleague Kai Wright, host of The United States of Anxiety, went on a search for the truth and uncovered a story about an old and fundamental question in American politics, one at the center of the current election: Who are the rightful owners of this country’s staggering wealth?

- John Willis is author of Forgotten Time

- Eric Foner is author of The Second Founding

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is located in Montgomery, Alabama. For more information about documented lynchings in Mississippi, and elsewhere, visit the Equal Justice Initiative's interactive report, Lynching in America. You can navigate to each county to learn about documented lynchings there.

👓 Decentralisation: the next big step for the world wide web | The Guardian

Read Decentralisation: the next big step for the world wide web by Zoë Corbyn (the Guardian)
The decentralised web, or DWeb, could be a chance to take control of our data back from the big tech firms. So how does it work and when will it be here?

📺 “Baked” A Toast to Tinsel Town | Food Network

Watched "Baked" A Toast to Tinsel Town from Food Network
With Tom Papa. Tom Papa heads home to sunny Los Angeles to celebrate the city's baked gems. He stops by Vito's Pizza where the crust is so special, Vito's needs a body guard to protect his dough starter. At the legendary Canter's Deli, Tom makes a Monte Cristo sandwich stacked with ham, turkey and cheese griddled on fresh baked challah French toast. At Crème Caramel Tom samples unicorn poop, a glitter covered ...
As the new school year draws near and enthusiasts continue to push the benefits of #OER, let’s also take  a moment to remember and celebrate the ability of students to choose their own educational resources and books.

Teachers need to do a better job of providing options, flexibility, and guidance in the panoply of choices available to students of all income levels and abilities. Increased choice at the student level will drastically improve both the literal and proverbial marketplace of ideas.

Here’s some additional detail I wrote on this day a few years back:

https://boffosocko.com/2011/07/30/on-choosing-your-own-textbooks/

My commute patterns changed dramatically last year and the Eaton Fire catastrophe has decimated the first half of 2025 for me, so I’m trying to get back to my old Huffduffer habits for more focused content consumption versus doomscrolling. Sadly, it seems the tagging system has been disabled/disappeared? It was one of my favorite discovery features…

📺 IndieWebCamp NYC 2018 Jess Klein Keynote | YouTube

Watched IndieWebCamp NYC 2018 Keynote: Designing for participation in open spaces by Jess Klein from YouTube
Catching up on the last of the keynotes that I missed a few weeks back from IWC-NYC. Now I’ll have to spend some time going through the materials Jess highlighted…