Links

Read The Unitive Web Community Group (w3.org)
Currently, there is a growing movement from the independence of the web, towards dominant companies. These companies offer organized information, but this comes at a price. We lose our independence more and more. The Unitive Web is a proposal to have both organized information and independence. It offers one generic approach closely compatible with the current web, which makes it possible to create a global open virtual space of information which is responsive and reliable. It offers open customization of user interaction, open bottom-up schema mapping, integration of (AI) algorithms, and facilitates in the protection of privacy. The aim of this group is to discuss any aspect of it and share specifications. For more information, see this <a rel="nofollow" href="https://youtu.be/lzXON9Eigtg">video about Unitive Web</a>.

Vaguely interesting, but let’s see what their video holds in store… I’m piqued by the idea of complexity theory embedded here, but not sure that they can directly influence the outcome so easily. This seems like a bunk idea somewhat grounded in popular science gone fringe.

Read 10 Ways Newspapers Can Improve Comments by Derek Powazek (Derek Powazek)

The other day Bob Garfield had a good kvetch about dumb comments on newspaper websites on his show, On The Media, and I posted my two cents, but I still don’t feel better. I think that’s because Bob’s partly right: comments do suck sometimes.

So, instead of just poking him for sounding like Grandpa Simpson, I’d like to help fix the problem. Here are ten things newspapers could do, right now, to improve the quality of the comments on their sites. (There are lots more, but you know how newspaper editors can’t resist a top ten list.)

I love this list which I feel is very solid. I also think that newspapers/magazines could do this with an IndieWeb approach to give themselves even more control over aggregating and guiding their conversations.

Instead of moving in the correct direction of taking more ownership, most journalistic outlets (here’s a recent example) seem to be ceding their power and audience away to social media. Sure people will have conversations about pieces out in the world, but why not curate and encourage a better and more substantive discussion where you actually have full control? Twitter reactions may help spread their ideas and give some reach, but at best–from a commentary perspective–Twitter and others can only provide for online graffiti-like reactions for the hard work.

I particularly like the idea of having an editor of the comment desk.

 

Read Deprecate Facebook by Courtney Rosenthal (crosenthal.com)

At some point, something changed. First, I no longer find social networks to be the uplifting, positive places they once were. In fact, in 2020, they’re pretty distressing places. The bad content, intrusive advertising, and terrible privacy practices are untenable.

That means the numerator of the cost/benefit ratio has been increasing. At the same time, the denominator has started decreasing. I’m not creating new connections on my social networks as I once was. When I do the math it’s clear that the price of my social network activity in 2020 is too damn high.

Therefore, it’s time for me to deprecate Facebook.

In software engineering, deprecation has a very specific meaning. It means a feature is not being discontinued, but it is being discouraged. It signals that the feature can be expected to be removed at some future time. Most importantly, it says there probably is a better way to do it.

I’m hoping that better way is blogging. I know, I know, the blogosphere is pretty moribund these days. However, I’ve become very interested in the Indie Web movement. I hope that it becomes a usable way to have conversations on the web outside of the silos of social media networks.

I love the engineering framework given here. It’s also a great motivation for why one should go IndieWeb.

Read Roadmap (Pine.blog Knowledge Base)
There's so many great features planned for Pine.blog, but I've compiled a list of the big ones here. Features might be released out of order, but I've tried to keep them, roughly, in the order I intend on releasing them. Keep in mind, this list is not static. Features may be added/removed at any time.
Read What you get with Pine.blog (pine.blog)

By signing up for Pine.blog you'll have access to a new kind of social network. Pine.blog combines a blogging app with a feed reader that's jam-packed with cool features.

  • A fast and beautiful timeline of posts from sites and people you follow! Keep up with the news and the people you care about in real-time!
  • Follow unlimited sites and users easily. Just search for them in the Pine.blog index and click Follow, or add a site manually using it's feed URL.
  • Save posts as favorites. Keep track of interesting posts from anyone you follow by favoriting them.
  • Post to your own site with Pine using the built-in Wordpress integration. Simply add your site in your account settings!
  • Discover new, awesome people and sites to follow using Pine's built-in search engine.
  • Import subscriptions from other services using Pine's OPML import!
  • Use Pine from the web, an iPhone, or iPad via the Universal iOS app!
  • With Pine you can follow almost anything. Just copy the URL from the page and follow it using either the app or the web!
Read Webmentions (pine.blog)
What are Webmentions? Webmentions are a technology that allows people who use Pine.blog or another compatible platform (i.e. Wordpress, Blogger, Micro.blog, Mastodon, etc) to like, comment on, and reply to each others posts, even across platforms. Think of it like being able to like a photo from Instagram on Twitter.
Followed Brian Schrader (brianschrader.com)

Brian Schrader headshot

My name is Brian Schrader. I'm an independent software developer living in San Diego, CA. This site is my little home on the internet where I go on (and on) about things that are important to me.

I own and run SkyRocket Software, my indie software company, where I make things some people like. I'm also a co-founder of Adventurer's Codex, a tool for enhancing and tracking D&D games. And I'm the lead singer, song-writer, and

Separate microblog at https://microblog.brianschrader.com

Read My IndieWebCamp Austin 2020 Projects by gRegor MorrillgRegor Morrill (gregorlove.com)
I often come into an IndieWebCamp without a specific project in mind. Sometimes I will get inspired by the discussions. If not, I always have a list of things to tweak on my site; or improvements to indiebookclub, indiewebify.me, or other indieweb tools. I have recently been working on updating my p...
Read Getting Started With The IndieWeb by Jean MacDonald Jean MacDonald (micro.welltempered.net)
What is the IndieWeb? A people-focused alternative to the “corporate web.” A place where you own and control your content. A home base from which you can syndicate and share with people on other websites, including social media. How can I participate in the IndieWeb? Get your own domain name. Th...
Some excellent work here by Jean following her session at IndieWebCamp Austin yesterday.
Bookmarked Follow As Intended (follow-as-intended.glitch.me)
Follow people the way that they'd want you to.
Jacky has built a cool little tool here. It looks like it’s keyed off of rel=”me”, so the word “intended” is carrying some extra weight. I have rel-mes on my site, but I’d prefer people followed my site directly and not my social silos.
Read Curating Comments Threads | CSS-Tricks by Chris CoyierChris Coyier (CSS-Tricks)
Long comment threads on blog posts are a mixed blessing. It is great to have stirred up such great community discussion. But anything beyond, say, 20 comments is beginning to get beyond what anyone is willing to actually read. What likely happens is people read the article, read the first few comments, then start just scanning them (at increasingly swift rates) until they hit the bottom, then read the last one or two. At least, that's what I do.
This is an interesting old thread. Could use some contemporary examples.
Liked Statisfaction by Jeremy CherfasJeremy Cherfas (jeremycherfas.net)
It is 160 days since I first noted that I would like to make use of Bise, Jason McIntosh's blog-readership reporter, 118 since I automated downloading the access logs. With half an eye on the project day at IndieWebCamp Austin, time to make good on my promise. Bise expects its log files to be named ...
Bookmarked Gopher: When Adversarial Interoperability Burrowed Under the Gatekeepers' Fortresses by Cory DoctorowCory Doctorow (Electronic Frontier Foundation)

The Gopher story is a perfect case history for Adversarial Interoperability. The pre-Gopher information landscape was dominated by companies, departments, and individuals who were disinterested in giving users control over their own computing experience and who viewed computing as something that took place in a shared lab space, not in your home or dorm room.

Rather than pursuing an argument with these self-appointed Lords of Computing, the Gopher team simply went around them, interconnecting to their services without asking for permission. They didn't take data they weren't supposed to have—but they did make it much easier for the services' nominal users to actually access them.

ᔥ Paul Linder‘s retweet of a post by Cory Doctorow ()