Ok… still trying to figure out these new feed and stream features. (I can hear Dr. Egon Spengler’s warning “Don’t cross the streams.”) If I did this correctly, this post will…
Fingers crossed…..
UPDATE: Interesting as I did not realize this would post to my blog. I thought this was just the social feed…..
I am just testing the Fediverse/Mastodon connection via WordPress Reader. This could be a lot of fun. I really like the idea of being able to go over character counts and everything just linking back to the blog. I am going to have to think this through as I don’t know when/where to publish the social stuff anymore. It’s all connected and centralized, but somehow I now have 4 accounts because everyone keeps adding the features! I have to admit, this is all pretty fun!
I feel like a bear coming up out of a hibernation and I am glad to be back out in the open. I had to check out and log off for the first of the year. For the job, we have offices in Minnesota just outside the cities and in all honesty – I just could not deal with what all was going on. But, I am happy to report that after getting some Signal groups going, participating in a few boots on the ground efforts helping solve a few small real world needs, and catching up with good friends at Winter Institute, I have found my footing again. Community, folks. That’s the part I had forgotten. Chatting with book folks. Chatting with outdoors folks. Reading a few really good books. Those are the pieces I’d started to take for granted and lost sight of.
I’m lucky to have gotten to spend lots of time outdoors across the country the past few weeks, working, hiking, chatting, and reading. Plus, visiting some new indie bookshops (which is always good for the soul).
I have a ton of blog reading to do and even more Mastodon scrolling, but as much as I enjoyed being unplugged and focusing – I’m looking forward to being active online again.
I hope you all are well and have a good read nearby. And I hope we get to chat soon.
In an effort to get back in the groove, here are three links that I found interesting that you might too:
I really enjoyed scrolling through this Gen X catalog from Type Punch Matrix. If you are of a certain age, you may as well. Just smiles all the way around.
The history of American publishing is a fascinating subject to me and I ran across this post while doing some research which tried to answer the question, “Was a Mobile bookstore closed for selling a copy of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”?
I am interested in how publishing and authors are responding to AI and am anxiously awaiting for solutions (whether from the industry or end consumers simply asserting their preference). I did find this piece by Sarah Hall and this one about a certification start up in the U.K. as good jumping off points for recent conversations with folks I do not see eye to eye with.
First up, a big Happy Birthday to Matt Mullenweg! Matt is the creative spark behind WordPress and the open-source movement it remains a founding pillar of. He won’t remember, but Matt and I met once when he came to a WordCamp here in Birmingham, and we’ve traded a comment online a couple of times over the years. His work is impressive, and he has an incredibly reassuring worldview that will help you enjoy the internet (and the people sharing) a little more. If you run across an interview with him, it will be worth a read or listen. Cheers to you, Matt!
For his birthday, Matt asked, “Publish a post. About anything! It can be long or short, a photo or a video, a quote, or a link to something interesting. Don’t sweat it. Just blog.” Matt’s birthday wish highlights something I’ve been thinking about… blogging. I started this blog many years ago because I wanted to talk about books and publishing, and I live in Alabama (not exactly the center of the publishing universe).
Twice during the last holiday season, I was asked something along the lines of “You blog? Why on earth would you blog?” In this day of near-single-button-push online publishing, I can see where they were coming from. But while the difference between blogging and social media may seem like just a sliver, it’s much wider.
I have zero data here, but it’s been my experience that most folks on social platforms just stay busy saying, “Look at me” and “Let’s just make noise.” Meanwhile, the bloggers I keep up with are more about sharing their interests and are focused on their passions. We tend our blogrolls like gardens. They feel like real endorsements and not just raw numbers to show off follower counts (that sounds snarkier than I mean it). It’s nice “owning” your own space outside of most algorithms, though Google changes can feel heavy at times. Though maybe I’m just old?
I have no idea why all of the above feels so true to me. I’m sure Matt Mullenweg knows and has already given a couple of talks on it.
There are a few new newsletter options that seem to be in the spirit of WordPress and blogging, but there are still issues with the service providers, discoverability, etc. So far, blogging still best straddles the fence of ‘easy to do’ yet having just the slightest amount of friction to keep most of the super bad guys out of the space. Of course, maybe all this only pertains to book bloggers. I dunno.
No matter… you should blog. Whatever you’re passionate about. And if that happens to be books, then leave a comment. I know we’d get along. So, Happy New Year! Here’s to looking ahead and another fun year of blogging. As Mullenweg says, “Don’t sweat it. Just blog.” Have fun!
