The idea of microblogging on my own website is something I’ve been kicking around for years. Instead of posting short pieces of text to Twitter, longer pieces of text to this blog, and photos to Instagram, why not just post all of that stuff here? I could still cross-post to other sites if I wanted to, but my intention has always been that this website should represent me on the web and so it only makes sense to put all of my work here.
My microblog is a new part of this site where I’m posting the kinds of things that I posted on Twitter and Instagram. I’ll still post things on those sites for the foreseeable future, but only a subset of the things I’m posting here. You can follow my microblog using a feed reader (well, more on that later) using the links on my new feeds page.
Tag: blogging
Reply to Geolocating your travel blog posts by Mark Grabe
Mark Grabe (Learning Aloud)A travel blog by definition describes experiences at many specific places. The location is part of the context for each post. I use Blogger for this particular blog and after several years of writing posts about traveling, I finally noticed that Google allows the author to associate a location with each post. I am guessing few Blogger bloggers use this feature, but I thought it might be worth exploring.
For those using WordPress, there’s a simple plugin called Simple Location that has some similar functionality. It has settings for a number of map providers that can be used to display maps as well as weather conditions.
Many people use it specifically for creating checkins, but it could also be used by travel bloggers. It’s also got a widget to show one’s last known location in a sidebar or footer.
👓 Where Will the Current State of Blogging and Social Media Take Us? | jackyalciné
Jacky Alciné (jacky.wtf)I’m not an veteran blogger but I do wonder what blogging or just sharing our thoughts on the Internet will look like in the next decade or so.
👓 Out there. | Matthias Ott
Matthias Ott (matthiasott.com)Recently, I read two posts within a few days that both resonated a lot with me. The topic of both pieces was the same: Writing. Or more specifically, writing on your own site. The first piece, “Just write.”, is by Sara Soueidan and if you haven’t read the article, I highly encourage you to do so. Besides the general advice that you should just write, no matter if people read it or not, what stuck in my mind the most were those two short sentences:Once I got over my own obstacles, I stopped feeling like I was obligated to meet other people’s expectations. I started enjoying writing again.
👓 Hello world! | Michael Dunne
I think it is traditional to start a new blog with a declaration of intent. The trouble is I have been here before, with many blogs and Web sites began with the best of intentions and then allowed to languish owing to lack of inspiration or deleted in frustration. So if I say that this blog may touch on many things but principally photography then you can take that with a large pinch of salt, but I hope this time it will be different.
Welcome to the indie web Michael!
What was that famous quote from the Zuzu in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life? “Every time a blog starts, an Angel gets its wings?” Yes, I’m sure that’s it!
There my be no better honor than to be mentioned on the first page of a new personal website, and I certainly am. I’m tickled to serve as an example, particularly when mentioned in the same breath as Dan Cohen.
I don’t aim to emulate them just yet (I’m not terribly technically minded), but I get the importance of owning my own data, and I like the idea of having my own little space on the Web.
You’re completely right Michael, don’t simply copy what anyone is doing, but focus on the bits and pieces you find the most valuable to you personally. Given your penchant, perhaps looking into the IndieWeb wiki pages for Flickr and Instagram might give you some inspiration? I’ll note that over time I’ve become much more technically proficient, but I suspect you’re not too far behind me, so don’t let anything stop you.
If you need any help or guidance as you travel along, feel free to reach out. There are many of us around to help.
You might also find a local group to work with as well. If you have the travel time available I know there’s an upcoming IndieWebCamp in Oxford that I suspect you’d have fun attending.
Good luck!
👓 These Indieweb Folks Just Might Be on to Something | Brad Enslen
Brad Enslen (Brad Enslen)This blog is just a couple of months old and same for the domain. I was looking at my Comments admin panel and I have just over 200 approved “comments” this includes both written comments and mentions which appear on site as “facepiles”. I’m thinking only about 3 or 4 of those comments...
🔖 Write, Right? Write! – TRU Writer
Welcome to a new experiment in simple but elegant web publishing. This site let’s you quickly publish full formatted and media rich articles, essays, papers — without requiring any logins or tracking of personal information. Don’t take our word for it, explore one piece published here, chosen at random.
A published work includes a header image which you can upload to the TRU Writer. Choose how you wish to credit yourself as an author, or choose to by anonymous.
You should be able to copy the contents of anything you have written in a Word Processor, or already published on a web page, paste it into the TRU Writer editor. Most standard formatting (headers, bold, italic, underline, lists, blockquotes, hypertext links) will be preserved.
You can then edit/augment your work using a rich text editor, including embedding content from social media sites, and you can upload new images to be included within the text of your writing.
So find an essay or article and see what you can do with it by publishing online with the TRU Writer.
This is implemented as a WordPress theme, so it can be created for many different sites. Learn more about TRU Writer and where to find the theme.
👓 Spammers, Evildoers, and Opportunists | powazek.com
Search Engine Optimization is not a legitimate form of marketing. It should not be undertaken by people with brains or souls. If someone charges you money for SEO, they are running a scam.
📺 Blogs vs. Wikis | YouTube
A fictional debate between JFK and Richard Nixon on the propriety of using blogs vs. wikis.
Reply to Mariko Kosaka on RSS, blogging, and linkbacks
Mariko Kosaka (Twitter)I see some of you here are moving to RSS and blogs. I never understood trackbacks in Web2.0 days, are we still gonna use it and can someone explain it to me?
— Mariko Kosaka (@kosamari) August 10, 2018
Webmention is the more modern specification now as some have mentioned. I wrote a piece on it in @alistapart recently which includes some background, UI examples, and links to more technical resources:
https://alistapart.com/article/webmentions-enabling-better-communication-on-the-internet
https://alistapart.com/article/webmentions-enabling-better-communication-on-the-internet
It is a small part of an #IndieWeb suite of open protocols including Micropub, WebSub, and Microsub for allowing site to site communication and interaction which goes to the broader scope of your question about RSS feeds and blogs. See also: Lost Infrastructure
I keep meaning to provide a better overview of it all, but this recent pencast overview captures a chunk of it. Aaron Parecki’s article Building an IndieWeb Reader captures some of the rest of the microsub/reader portion.
👓 What makes a weblog a weblog? | Harvard Weblogs
At Berkman we're studying weblogs, how they're used, and what they are. Rather than saying "I know it when I see it" I wanted to list all the known features of weblog software, but more important, get to the heart of what a weblog is, and how a weblog is different from a Wiki, or a news site managed with software like Vignette or Interwoven. I draw from my experience developing and using weblog software (Manila, Radio UserLand) and using competitive products such as Blogger and Movable Type. This piece is being published along with my keynotes at OSCOM and the Jupiter weblogs conference. And a disclaimer: This is a work in progress. There may be subsequent versions as the art and market for weblog software develops. Dave Winer, June 2003, Cambridge MA.
The unedited voice of a person
A real piece of internet history here, written by the first blogger.
👓 Upcoming Changes in the Blogs. | Harvard Blogging Platform
7/13/2018 In 2003, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society (now the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society) began an unusual experiment: we launched a blogging platform. That seems q…
📺 Blogging Basics | YouTube
Learn in six easy steps how to become a master blogger (Caveat the only way is to read and write a lot)
I’m reminded here of my friend and Academy Award nominated screenwriter Millard Kaufman who once told me while standing in front of his immense library, “If you want to be a good writer, then practice writing; if you want to be a great writer, then read everything and then steal from the best.”
👓 Pardon the dust | Robert Talbert
Big changes happening here on the blog. Here's what's happening, what's busted, and what's coming.
👓 RSS is undead | TechCrunch
RSS died. Whether you blame Feedburner, or Google Reader, or Digg Reader last month, or any number of other product failures over the years, the humble protocol has managed to keep on trudging along despite all evidence that it is dead, dead, dead. Now, with Facebook’s scandal over Cambridge Analyt…