

So the lawsuits are going great, then
So the lawsuits are going great, then
Those bees know what they did
Totally. Whole businesses have sprung up for running and monetizing them. Check into Ghost, WordPress and WooCommerce, Memberful. Lots of other options.
I mean. I’m generally an app snob and prefer them most of the time. But we also can just use the website. Lots of people visit YouTube simply in a browser on mobile, without the app on any platform.
People saying “blog” when they mean post. You did not write a new blog on your blog, you wrote a new post on your blog.
You do not drive your car on the car. You drive your car on the road.
I think the main idea is to look at some hashtags to find people to follow, then eventually wean off those hashtags if you want.
Another key detail is that you can’t read it all. Not hashtags, not people. You’ll go nuts if you try. It’s about following people who are interesting, opening the app every once in a while to check in, then going on with your day.
Damnit you beat me to it
One tip would be to use email addresses that you actually check for mission critical accounts.
Probably some mix of: it was an unknown and unregulated industry when domains were invented, the idea of ‘property’ doesn’t really work like that IRL (the bank or local government can take your house for myriad reasons), and people aren’t motivated enough to make any significant changes.
These days, I don’t remember the last registrar I’ve seen that does not provide at least some kind of basic hosting. Maybe they want to grow like all businesses, maybe just being a registrar doesn’t keep the lights on anymore. Not sure, but it definitely seems to be the thing most, if not all, do now.
I have a few hundred feeds across topics that I’ve collected over the years, but I’m gonna guess you don’t want to see my entire OPML. Want to share some topics you’re into? That should help recommendations a lot
Also, a general tip: Most decent feed readers can sniff out a feed if you paste a website into their search box. Next time you’re surfing the regular web and find a site you like, try tossing it into your reader to follow it from then on
I poked around with Matrix a bit this week but I’m confused as to how it’s being touted as a replacement for Discord. TBC, I’ve been on Mastodon since 2019 and absolutely want these people-powered alternatives to succeed.
I’m not even talking about the onboarding part, I mean the actual function of the app. With Discord you join a community (server, whatever) and there are a bunch of separate channels, usually separated by topics. I joined a few Matrix servers and they all seem to be one single channel; just one big ol’ scrolling chat where everyone is talking about everything.
Unless I’m missing something, I don’t understand how this will work at all for Discord users looking to jump ship.
Apple, laying on a couch, head propped up with a seasonally colorful pillow from IKEA: “They just don’t understand the immense pressure I’m under…”
I don’t have a definitive source, but I’ve heard that was intentional. WB said they were gonna do it with or without the Wachowskis. So they agreed to do it and torpedoed it so WB would stop trying to mess with the franchise.
Lol get wrecked wind you deserved it
Probably a good thing I started seriously exploring Ghost today. Seems like a great alternative.
Totally get that, makes a lot of sense. Although my original point wasn’t about professionals in technical or business settings, I was talking about regular folks. These are consumer products but they’re commonly referred to with technical/engineering names. I think it feels clunky and makes it tough for regular folks to talk about these.
When people tell their friends they got a new iPhone, they don’t say “awe check it out I got the new MYWD3LL/A.” They just say “I got the iPhone 16 Pro Max.” Simple language. There’s gotta be a middle ground here for regular folks.
Personally I worry this is sort of a chicken and egg problem. On one hand I get the idea, on paper, of automating a way to post more content to hopefully spark engagement in a small community struggling to grow.
OTOH, as a community visitor, few things will immediately tank my interest in engaging than when I see “bot” in the name of the poster. I’m not talking with a human—literally the entire point of hanging out in a community like you and I are, right now.
I think it’s a similar problem to what I see in r/blogging. People keep asking if they can start a blog and pump it full of AI content, then get admitted to AdSense or other ad networks and thus win the game of capitalism. But virtually zero ad networks will admit you that way. In fact, they all have a bunch of tech now to sniff out AI content and downrank or otherwise block it. The problem is: no one wants to read AI (bot) content because it isn’t genuine content from human beings. Which means no advertiser wants to place their ads next to AI content.
Speaking as a community manager: If you’re trying to build a community, I think the best solution is still to simply put in the time yourself. Find people who share your passion and want to help. Post the links and discussions yourself. Be the human you want to see in the community of humans you hope to build.
I was trying to keep my examples simple for the point but cars usually have sub-brand designations that answer some or most of your questions. Like “LE” or “XR” and such. But people don’t walk around telling each other they drive a “Honda 8CVXY64LLM123GRV,” because most people don’t remember code names like that. They just say “yeah I drive an Accord, it has features x y and z that I really like.”
For a little while I kinda split the difference. Early in my tech news writing career, I started pronouncing my last name as the French version.
I fenced in high school and we did well enough to go to a national competition, so they brought in fancy refs from France. For the first time in my suburban upbringing I heard an actual French person pronounce my last name over the auditorium speakers and it was the coolest frigign thing I’d ever heard.
So once I started doing interviews and getting on podcasts in the early days of my writing career, I pronounced my last name that way to try and distance myself from my family without going through a legal hullabaloo.
I eventually I realized it was a bit disingenuous since I hadn’t spent the time to learn anything about my French heritage, which I was already quite removed from anyway. I dropped it and went back to what was surely the Ellis Island pronunciation I grew up with.