Richard MacManus

Technology analyst @ https://ricmac.org · Internet historian @ https://cybercultural.com · Founded ReadWriteWeb (2003–2012) · 🥝 in 🇬🇧

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npub1ty2frtnnk2rh765zl5p6j75l5waqz6yyex42f04ugk5c4g8ckc4q34u65n

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ricmac@mastodon-social.mostr.pub

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nprofile1qqs9j9y34eem9pmld2p06qaf02068wspdzzvn24yh67yt2v25rutv2spz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dshud25p

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npub1ty2frtnnk2rh765zl5p6j75l5waqz6yyex42f04ugk5c4g8ckc4q34u65n

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Last Notes

2025-12-21 09:13:12 UTC

This is a very smart marketing ploy, to be the only non-AI browser. But it’s wise they have left the door open a little for if/when AI shrugs off the issues that currently dog it: “We will continue building a browser for curious minds, power users, researchers, and anyone who values autonomy. If AI contributes to that goal without stealing intellectual property, compromising privacy or the open web, we will use it. If it turns people into passive consumers, we will not.” https://vivaldi.com/blog/keep-exploring

2025-10-29 15:05:45 UTC

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I want to shout out the 2001 bloggers I mentioned in this post, some of whom are on Mastodon (albeit haven't necessarily visited for a while...come back to the open social web!): @nprofile…ns9h, @nprofile…hp04, @nprofile…kzty, @nprofile…pezm, @nprofile…xf8g, @nprofile…a0ng, @nprofile…jgwn, @nprofile…mmlq, @nprofile…azsk, @nprofile…5vrz, @nprofile…2ype, @nprofile…tyr9

2025-10-29 14:42:53 UTC

Continuing my history of blogging and RSS series, I look at 2001: the year of warblogs, Movable Type and Blogdex. I see '01 as a transition year for blogging, in which it shifts from personal journaling to a more journalistic approach (although many personal bloggers resented the influx of warbloggers). There are lots of great 2001 screenshots in this post, so I hope you enjoy it. https://cybercultural.com/p/blogs-rss-2001/ #InternetHistory #Blogging

2025-10-17 16:16:32 UTC

In the latest issue of Web Technology News (WTN), I look at a trend I'm monitoring very closely: after a decade of smartphone apps dominance, the web is becoming the default interface layer again. Of course, this time it's for AI. Check out the newsletter for the latest news on this & other open web topics. https://webtechnology.news/the-web-is-becoming-ais-interface-layer/
Fedi folk mentioned: @nprofile…j9q6, @nprofile…73p6, @nprofile…x0l5, @nprofile…ywd9, @nprofile…ytt9
Subscribe to WTN via email or RSS, or on the fediverse @nprofile…v8s2. And please spread the word!

2025-10-10 14:11:40 UTC

The latest issue of Web Technology News (WTN) has just been published. This week I focus on the web-based ChatGPT Apps platform, but there's also #FediForum action, other open social web news, and web platform opportunities. https://webtechnology.news/openai-turns-chatgpt-into-a-web-app-platform/
Fedi folks mentioned: @nprofile…vugp, @nprofile…mpj6, @nprofile…fflq, @nprofile…4heg, @nprofile…r9xg, @nprofile…0thl
Subscribe to WTN via email or RSS, or on the fediverse @nprofile…wtgw

2025-10-02 10:08:20 UTC

Old articles and blog posts too often get removed from the web or neglected, left to rot on broken pages. Replanting lets you migrate legacy content to your current site so it can thrive again. Here's how I'm doing it... https://cybercultural.com/p/replanting/ #replanting #savetheweb

2025-09-11 21:40:22 UTC

I’ve been re-watching this last couple of nights. Triumph of the Nerds, tv show from 1996 by Robert X Cringley. I also loved his book, Accidental Empires, on which the tv series is based. Such good production and he speaks to all the main players (Gates, Jobs, Woz, et al). I also discovered recently (via Wikipedia) that Cringely was a stage name, which I hadn’t realized before. I’m not sure what he is doing now…70-ish and maybe struggling, house burned down, etc. https://youtu.be/ACt6xsMt5Uk?si=ClVjptyEoWvwg7rr

2025-09-11 12:18:12 UTC

Another classic Web 2.0 company gets bought by Bending Spoons, which also owns Evernote, MeetUp and WeTransfer. Vimeo used to be *the* place to post high quality videos; e.g. pop stars used to prefer Vimeo to YouTube. https://www.theverge.com/news/775701/vimeo-bending-spoons-acquisition

2025-08-22 14:52:05 UTC

Latest issue of Web Technology News has just gone out: https://webtechnology.news/wtn-3-xslt-heat-cool-fedi-apps-web-uis-in-agents/
This is my weekly newsletter of curated links to news across 3 categories: web platform, open social web, Web + AI. Basically, things that catch my eye and I think might interest fellow webheads. Check it out and subscribe if you like it.

2025-08-21 10:02:33 UTC

Ghost or Substack? Eleventy or WordPress? Newsletter or blog...or online magazine? There are a lot of choices these days in online publishing, so I've detailed my own recent experiences in this post.
I discuss how I've found Ghost's fediverse integration so far (there are issues, but I'm fully supportive), why you *shouldn't* choose Substack, why I find @nprofile…ku4a such a joy, and why #WordPress is in desperate need of modernization. https://ricmac.org/2025/08/21/ghost-substack-eleventy-wordpress/

2025-08-19 17:09:44 UTC

I admit, I am fascinated by how X users see the internet. I think some of them genuinely don’t know what websites are.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/056/534/054/725/202/original/fde4d0f6654d6314.jpeg

2025-08-13 16:40:45 UTC

So much for the "put your link in the comments" hack that LinkedIn perpetuates. I'm not sure what's worse: the throttled distribution (277 views, yet I have >500 connections and supposedly 3,300 followers); OR the pitiful 24 views on the 'link in comments'.
Moral of the story yet again: algorithmic social media sucks.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/022/446/172/952/271/original/ff0199d6bdc23e12.png

2025-08-11 12:28:51 UTC

Gary Marcus is not impressed. https://open.substack.com/pub/garymarcus/p/gpt-5-overdue-overhyped-and-underwhelming?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

2025-08-11 09:35:17 UTC

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@nprofile…fv4z According to X users, the web is the "old world." https://thenewstack.io/mcp-ui-aims-to-replace-old-world-websites-with-ai-agent-uis/

2025-08-09 18:49:06 UTC

I disagree with the whole premise of this article (which btw is far too long — it’s clearly been written for machines). “But the web isn’t human-first anymore,” he writes. WRONG. That’s what big tech wants you to believe. My websites are written for humans. Ok, I accept I need to figure out how to make a living from that in this AI era…but the Web is human-first for me, and always will be. That’s non-negotiable.
Ref: The web isn’t URL-shaped anymore - Jono Alderson https://www.jonoalderson.com/conjecture/url-shaped-web/

2025-08-08 18:07:00 UTC

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@nprofile…4tpe This is literally me (my home office is above the garage) :)

2025-08-05 09:57:41 UTC

It appears I have a new catchphrase: "don't POSSE to X"
I discovered this today when I just happened to browse to the IndieWeb page for POSSE: https://indieweb.org/POSSE
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/975/559/390/463/432/original/22f62e9a3bae08bf.png

2025-07-30 09:07:23 UTC

"Sure, we still write and publish blog posts, but back then, the blogs were the network. The global network of blogs were a self-sustaining matrix of content. Now, social media is where the relational and conversational world is, and websites are just content."
Thanks @nprofile…zsav for the fab review of my book 'Bubble Blog'. You really nailed what I wanted to achieve with the book: give a history of Web 2.0 and why blogs were such a key part of it (hence the book title).
https://deanebarker.net/library/titles/bubble-blog/

2025-07-18 12:29:10 UTC

“For now, many of us still approach A.I. as outsiders — nonnative users, shaped by analog habits, capable of seeing the difference between now and then. But the generation growing up with A.I. will learn to think and write in its shadow. For them, the chatbot won’t be a tool to discover — as Netscape was for me — but part of the operating system itself. And that shift, from novelty to norm, is the profound transformation we’re only beginning to grapple with.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/opinion/ai-chatgpt-school.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XU8.me9q.tCp-b3-fCcmC&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

2025-07-15 13:46:11 UTC

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@nprofile…8hjr thanks, but how many of these are old sites? Cool list though :)

2025-07-15 13:32:06 UTC

Like a greedy LLM, I'm looking for new blogrolls to hoover up for my @nprofile…uy2j algorithm. Any suggestions for classic sites or blogs that had links aplenty to feast on?
https://indieweb.social/@classicweb/114857478318456201

2025-07-12 10:42:44 UTC

“Does 'here to stay' mean we bet our future society on a technology that is 99% owned by a handful of private corporations? 'Here to stay' can't be a gloss for giving up.” https://mastodon.social/@mtrc/114752228042345798

2025-07-10 14:13:01 UTC

Oh no…now Meta is automatically sharing our private messages to its AI. As far as I can tell, you can only turn it off for each message thread, one at a time (and there seems to be no option to turn it off *at all* for group threads!). Yet another privacy disaster from Facebook.
I use Messenger btw for family and non-tech friends, so don’t (ahem) shoot the messenger.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/829/346/673/333/671/original/27f7a5054f266e9d.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/829/346/768/141/579/original/c47ae4aae9af8c8c.jpeg

2025-07-03 22:07:30 UTC

Another one bites the dust… #XThreads
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/791/576/379/152/983/original/2fa6e22a691f700b.jpeg

2025-06-29 08:12:40 UTC

“I think the new web aesthetic is about getting active again. Platforms encourage passivity. They want us to stay still and scrolling, looking at what the algo wants to show us. Like, swipe, repeat. But the new web aesthetic is non-linear. It encourages you to move from one site to another, to dive down rabbit holes, and crucially, to continue sharing what you find.”
toward a new aesthetic, @nprofile…laxd https://newsletter.sachajudd.com/archive/toward-a-new-aesthetic/

2025-06-28 14:51:34 UTC

Question for @nprofile…jpw4 users: is anyone syndicating their site to the fediverse using #ActivityPub, similar to what Ghost is doing (eg @nprofile…wj47); and if so, how are you doing this? i.e. making your site a first-class citizen of the fediverse. I know there was this project a few years ago by @nprofile…gzls, but not sure if it’s currently being used: https://github.com/LewisDaleUK/eleventy-plugin-activity-pub
Reason I ask is I’d like to have a posts feed for Cybercultural, that people can eg subscribe to in Mastodon.

2025-06-25 17:05:57 UTC

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6. You can’t repost.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/745/092/133/559/991/original/233c613d05a57df1.png

2025-06-25 14:06:23 UTC

Threads is allegedly part of the fediverse, yet I'm nowhere near the point of being able to ask Threads users to follow my Mastodon profile. Attached is how my Mastodon profile looks over there. Some of the issues:
1. Threads users can follow Mastodon Me *only if* they themselves have turned on fediverse sharing (an arbitrary hurdle).
2. They have to exactly type my Mastodon handle.
3. You can like but not reply.
4. "Some posts may not be visible" (why?!)
5. There's no bio!
Any other hurdles?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/744/385/973/328/016/original/4d8c1c03e6cfdd25.png

2025-06-24 16:26:08 UTC

Headless browsers like Browserbase and Playwright have a huge role to play in AI agent technology. Whether we like it or not, it's increasingly going to be agents that browse our websites moving forward. So Browserbase, I think, is mining a very profitable part of the AI dev stack here. https://thenewstack.io/why-headless-browsers-are-a-key-technology-for-ai-agents/

2025-06-18 15:35:45 UTC

Looks like Threads has been hacked…
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/705/101/254/569/611/original/0bb0e88d66301609.png

2025-06-18 15:23:49 UTC

This week's Cybercultural article looks back on 1998, the year of the portal: Excite, Netscape Netcenter, Yahoo, AOL, MSN and others all competing for eyeballs and trying to be sticky. But with so many portals, some inevitably failed. https://cybercultural.com/p/portals-1998/ #InternetHistory

2025-06-17 17:29:18 UTC

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@nprofile…hyrk I currently can’t even find this special freaking feed in their app…

2025-06-17 17:18:37 UTC

We are aliens from another planet. “This is certainly the most visible fediverse content has ever been inside of Threads, but the world of ActivityPub is still not a first-class citizen inside of Threads. You still have to opt-in to sharing your posts, you still have to have a separate account to connect to, and you’ll still have to go to the dedicated feed to see what’s new. (If you post something and get fediverse replies, those are still separate too.)” https://mastodon.social/@verge/114699692468491981

2025-06-17 10:14:16 UTC

This poll has gotten traction, with nearly 3/4 of people so far preferring "personal website". But if you are old school and still call it a home page, or you identify as a blogger, or if you've got actual design talent and call it a digital garden, there's still time to have your say. Final results later tonight my time :)
https://mastodon.social/@ricmac/114694609195949672

2025-06-13 21:40:34 UTC

Updated my Tumblr (velvetsfan.com) for the first time in months…was listening to some music and wanted to post about it somewhere. I miss soup.io, which was a smaller, quirkier version of Tumblr, and where I used to post artsy-fartsy stuff that didn’t fit into my tech blogging world. Tumblr was the one that survived, but now it’s owned by one of the self-important crazy Tech Lords and so I am not so keen on using it. Is there a fedi version of Tumblr with some traction? #AskingForAFriend

2025-06-11 14:42:12 UTC

In 1997, the first browser war began amid new internet trends like 'push' and DHTML. Meanwhile, instant messaging apps like ICQ and AIM became popular and GeoCities achieved 1 million users. https://cybercultural.com/p/internet-1997/ #InternetHistory

2025-06-06 17:05:11 UTC

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@nprofile…xt5t Is this the product you have, Andy? https://mybirdbuddy.eu/shop/

2025-06-06 16:42:35 UTC

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@nprofile…zwgs the joy message was spot on! It seems so simple, and yet it's so rare to find joy on any social media these days (and yes, that includes the fediverse). You're so right that it's how Twitter became popular back in Web 2.0, so *that* part of Twitter we need back. Looking forward to checking out Spritely and thanks again for the presentation at FediForum.

2025-06-02 18:03:09 UTC

This is becoming a big problem for all web publishers. I’ve noticed large non-human spikes on Cybercultural and the same thing is happening (on a much larger scale) at my employer The New Stack. Seems like an under-reported SEO issue…kind of reminds me of when the likes of Mashable suddenly had hundreds of thousands more RSS subscribers overnight a few times back in Web 2.0 — ie this “engagement” is not human. https://mastodon.cloud/@slashdot/114614987765863790

2025-05-29 13:41:49 UTC

"My website is ugly because I made it" https://goodinternetmagazine.com/my-website-is-ugly-because-i-made-it/

2025-05-22 14:06:31 UTC

There's that word again, regarding AI: "companion". Sam Altman is "laying out plans to ship 100 million AI “companions” that he hopes will become a part of everyday life." https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/what-sam-altman-told-openai-about-the-secret-device-hes-making-with-jony-ive-f1384005?st=RUGPjK&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
In my AI coding tools post this week, I noted that Google is referring to Gemini Code Assist as “a developer’s coding companion.” I mused that a “companion” is a word that can just as soon be applied to a dog as to a human. So which will Altman and Ive's AI device be closer to? https://thenewstack.io/inside-gemini-code-assist-googles-copilot-alternative/

2025-05-21 13:41:29 UTC

Back in 1997, the browser plugin RealPlayer became synonymous with "buffering" — which for 90s web users meant constant, annoying delays in streaming a video online (usually over dial-up). Funnily enough though, the buffering epidemic didn't dampen the HYPE for online video streaming that year. Wired magazine even declared that RealVideo was leading a “war with TV.” And you thought AI hype was bad... https://cybercultural.com/p/video-streaming-1997/ #InternetHistory #VideoStreaming

2025-05-14 15:18:15 UTC

This week's #InternetHistory post on Cybercultural was an excuse to revisit my favourite boyhood band, Duran Duran. Back in 1997, they became the first major label artist to offer an online single for sale. This was a couple of years before Napster and more than 5 years before the iTunes Store! It was all thanks to a couple of now mostly forgotten companies: N2K and Liquid Audio. Full story: https://cybercultural.com/p/digital-music-sales-1997/ #DuranDuran #90s

2025-04-17 10:23:16 UTC

I’m still on holiday in New Zealand, so please enjoy this North Island robin instead of my regular tech toots. #BirdsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/352/809/289/170/151/original/c66b6565ee736cb8.jpeg

2025-04-02 20:25:36 UTC

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@nprofile…xlhv He really was. The older I get, the more I admire his genius for changing things up for each project — right up till Blackstar, which was an incredible album.

2025-04-02 19:03:21 UTC

New on Cybercultural: During the mid-1990s, David Bowie's website went from a storytelling structure for the Outside album, into a striking, grunge-inspired design for Earthling. At the same time, Bowie fan sites emerged. https://cybercultural.com/p/david-bowie-website-1995-1997/ #InternetHistory #WebDesign #BowieForever

2025-03-25 19:04:30 UTC

Looking for some ‘feature image’ advice from the fediverse: one of the things I spend way too much time on with Cybercultural (my internet history website) is finding a good image to use for a post’s feature image. Eg I have an upcoming 1996 internet post that I am struggling to source a feature image for. Screenshots of websites don’t work well for feature images, and I also have to make sure it can be made into a 1,280 x 720 image. Anyone have ideas or tactics to reduce my time spent on this?

2025-03-21 15:15:36 UTC

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@nprofile…psd8 Thank-you Hannah, I really appreciate the shoutout — it's made my Friday :)

2025-03-08 08:30:04 UTC

Good discussion happening on Hacker News about my #GeoCities 1995 post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43296103
If you're on Hacker News, I'd appreciate your upvotes (I think this is the first time a Cybercultural post has got to the front page there).

2025-03-01 10:28:05 UTC

I changed my bot's name to "Classic Web" and then noticed the domain classicweb.site was available, so I bought that for a few pennies. What should I do with the domain, other than possibly use it for the Bluesky handle? (I also bought classicweb.blog for more pennies, but doesn't work quite as well as the .site) ref @nprofile…cdnr

2025-02-06 23:17:33 UTC

It’s been over a year now since I migrated Cybercultural away from Substack to an indie website made with @nprofile…jpw4 and @nprofile…tw9k. Very grateful I made that move, I feel much more independent and free, and even like a bit of a hacker as in early RWW days. My goal is to keep growing Cybercultural and maybe even get that mythical viral post one day. https://ricmac.org/2024/01/26/why-i-migrated-my-newsletter-from-substack-to-eleventy-and-buttondown/ #VivaLaWeb #IndiesForever #FUCorporateWeb

2025-01-22 18:47:07 UTC

It’s pretty incredible to see Pixelfed take off, after a very long period of Daniel valiently promoting the service on Mastodon every day. Just goes to show that an app or website can “pop” at any time, and get that magical tipping point moment. It’s something all of us indies dream of for our little projects, but it’s quite rare to achieve. So enjoy it @nprofile…asy0 and all the best for continued growth! https://mastodon.social/@dansup/113873246090418740

2024-11-29 14:40:36 UTC

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@nprofile…6zhx @nprofile…5q8k honestly I don't count Threads as being part of the fediverse any more, since they haven't enabled two-way federation. If/when they do, then (IMHO anyway) they will be part of the fediverse. Flipboard is a different matter, because they do support fediverse in good faith. But would you say it's a full fediverse app, on the level of Mastodon?

2024-11-29 14:23:19 UTC

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I was particularly pleased to get this screenshot of Mastodon in there, which by coincidence included content that matched the sentiment I was going for to close the post. (thanks @nprofile…5q8k and @nprofile…6zhx for the timely toots!)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/566/692/038/811/407/original/31b8a289382f36ec.jpg

2024-11-29 14:15:21 UTC

Here's my take on the #enshittification of internet technology over the 2010s, based on the word @nprofile…qz4x coined. I've added "developer enshittification" to the mix (see: React). https://cybercultural.com/p/enshittification/
However, I do end on a note of optimism: the decentralized web as represented by the fediverse, Mastodon and potentially Bluesky. "It's a new world for those who have chosen to leave the Enshittocene behind them. Won't you join us?"

2024-11-27 14:44:03 UTC

Received this 2025 prediction about developers from Jeff Hollan, head of dev at Snowflake:
"In 2025, we’ll see a much larger pool of people able to participate in developer tasks and workflows. The distinction between certain types of developers — like front end vs. back end vs. SQL — will ultimately carry less weight as developer tools are democratized and the role of the developer becomes generalized."
He goes on to talk about AI, etc. If you're a dev, what do you think of this prediction?

2024-10-30 17:23:06 UTC

As we continue to grow ReadWriteWeb over the second half of 2010, I struggle with our inability to hire US writers full-time because it’s a non-US company. This creates unease amongst our bloggers. https://cybercultural.com/p/055-rww-expansion-2010/ (part 055 of my serialized Web 2.0 memoir) #InternetHistory #Serialization

2024-06-18 19:19:23 UTC

I’ve just discovered the most 2024 app yet. This is the Worldcoin of this year, I’m calling it now!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/639/237/384/657/358/original/b815fa55f2598406.png

2024-05-23 08:36:36 UTC

Jason Fried from 37Signals announces a “web-based books” product, which I must admit does sound intriguing, even though I already made my own custom book serialization site with Eleventy + Buttondown. Sounds like business books for his main use case, but still, good idea. -> “Workbook […] They have covers, they can have title pages, they can have picture pages, and they can have text pages. Each book gets its own URL, and navigating and keeping track of your progress is all built right in.”

2024-05-09 15:34:24 UTC

And here we are...fake AI writers publishing content to a bunch of formally respected media brands. Another example of "site reputation abuse" that Google should crack down on. https://futurism.com/advon-ai-content

2024-04-16 22:20:59 UTC

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2/2 Best of all though…I like writing/reading books, because there’s a chance — maybe just a small chance, but still — of future readers chancing across your words and finding something meaningful to them. That’s worth pursuing, at least if you’re not only living in the moment.

2024-04-16 22:20:50 UTC

1/2 The problem with social media and the web today: you blink and your words are gone, forgotten immediately by the corporate feed. With blogs back in my heyday, your posts at least stuck around in someone’s RSS Reader folder for a little while, or were stumbled upon on the open web. True indie.

2024-03-24 20:11:16 UTC

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Also, re privacy, if people post publicly on Mastodon, they really have no right to protest about webmentions. If you want total control over what you post on social media, then make your posts private. Also just contact the publisher if you want your comment deleted.

2024-03-24 20:11:08 UTC

It seems it’s now a trend to disable webmentions. Now, I admit I am late to the webmentions party, but I just enabled them on Cybercultural and the main reason why: it promotes Mastodon to anyone who reads a post on my site as the “write” part of the read/write equation. I.e. I’m promoting the fediverse. The webmentions (hopefully) encourages readers to comment or even just engage (like, repost) with my post via Mastodon. https://mastodon.design/@mikehaynes/112152279963650929

2024-03-12 16:31:21 UTC

Marshall Kirkpatrick joins Read/WriteWeb in September 2007, which helps us crack the top 20 blogs in the world. The following month, I attend the Web 2.0 Summit and experience the start of hustle culture, through chats with GaryVee and a hungry (and muscly) kiwi entrepreneur. https://cybercultural.com/p/024-readwriteweb-key-hire-hustle-culture/ #InternetHistory #Web20

2024-03-12 14:32:29 UTC

Unsurprisingly, #Web3 has an astronomical failure rate. 65% of crypto projects have died in 2023, according to this report. It also says that 72% of crypto projects "born in the 2020-2021 (bull run) have died." Not so much 'to the moon' as 'to the morgue'! https://alphaquest.io/blog/dead-coins-report-2024/

2024-01-26 19:24:08 UTC

Just before I deleted the Substack app from my phone, I saw that Stephen Fry joined Substack today. Oh Stephen…and he was one of the first celebs to join Mastodon too :(

2024-01-02 22:35:24 UTC

“Next, it's hard to overlook that tech reporters live like wealthy people, iPhones and all.” -> Well I’m doing my bit, I haven’t upgraded my iPhone in 5 years! (Shocking, I know… my excuse is that I have young kids) https://toot.cafe/@slightlyoff/111688419568550772

2024-01-01 01:13:27 UTC

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@npub1pa7…7072 @npub1z9m…rz2z @npub13d7…6dpp Thanks Jay, loved the detail in that post.

2023-12-31 13:26:13 UTC

Ok the latest idea I am kicking around re finding a Substack alternative: a website built with @npub1z9m…rz2z or WordPress, with email subscription via @npub13d7…6dpp API. I saw something like this at Robin Rendle’s site @npub1z9s…pzd6. He hosts a newsletter called The Cascade, which appears to be hosted on his site and then sent out via email using Buttondown. I don’t yet know if that is automated (site -> BT via api) or a manual copy and paste job?

2023-12-15 23:38:25 UTC

It’s ok to hold two opposing opinions in your mind at the same time, if the larger truth is more important. I don’t trust Zuck / Meta, but I also want them to federate with Mastodon. Even if they play power games later on, you can always jump to an instance that blocks them. The power is with you, the “user”, and that is what the web started out as and always should be. Besides, if it all turns to custard just start an indie blog and/or sail the world like the Scuttlebutt guy from NZ.

2023-12-14 19:51:32 UTC

Man, you don’t see production values like this anymore in tech media. Can I get Retool to sponsor my internet history articles? ;) (seriously!) https://retool.com/pipes

2023-11-26 16:29:12 UTC

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My strategy:
• My website is my base
• Mastodon is my social media channel ; qst: worth checking out micro.blog again?
• Threads = fediverse (if it doesn’t join, then quit it)
• Bluesky tbd, but again it will need to join the fediverse for me to use it
• What about Substack? Email list is open, but I need to archive all posts to a website I control; maybe WP but private posts? Or maybe I accept that the book version will be my open version.
• TBC…

2023-11-22 18:01:01 UTC

This was me in 1997, in my early 20s. I included this photo in my latest book post on Cybercultural because I wrote about some pre-internet memories from the 90s. Probably the most personal I’ve been so far in this book (more of that to come though!). Anyway, note the big bulky desktop computer, floppy disks, and the software boxes — t’was a different era. https://www.cybercultural.com/p/007-2005-web-20-conference-day-2
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/455/506/001/921/160/original/960fcc83cbde2129.jpeg

2023-09-20 13:34:24 UTC

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@npub1psa…xhme ok, that does actually work! https://mastodon.social/@admin@ricmac.org

2023-09-20 13:07:14 UTC

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@npub1psa…xhme the problem is I can't find a folder named "/.well-known/". I seem to recall having the same issue last time and that Hostinger just doesn't allowed people on shared servers to access it. Anyway, thanks for looking into it!

2023-09-20 11:16:08 UTC

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@npub1psa…xhme yes that's the one

2023-09-20 11:06:33 UTC

Ok I have tried to get the new 1.0 version of the ActivityPub plugin for WordPress working, but unfortunately it still has the same bug as 10 months ago when I last tried this (ref https://wordpress.org/support/topic/webfinger-endpoint-unavailable/). @npub1psa…xhme not sure if you have any further suggestions, but it seems like WP sites hosted on Hostinger still cannot use this plugin on Mastodon :(

2023-09-19 17:17:01 UTC

Anyone else?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/092/944/977/052/434/original/571a3c73a8990ecc.jpeg

2023-09-05 14:35:28 UTC

Steven Levy’s excellent Wired cover story on OpenAI provides more evidence of the rather alarming world view of the company’s founders: “These are people who do not shy from casually using the term “super-intelligence.” They assume that AI’s trajectory will surpass whatever peak biology can attain.”
Fair to say they won't be content with simply augmenting humans :/
https://www.wired.com/story/what-openai-really-wants/

2023-09-01 11:24:44 UTC

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@npub1924…w5ra the choice I've made is to mostly *write* on Mastodon. Admittedly, I still use X extensively to do my job as a journalist and I promote my various pieces of writing there. Maybe the next step for me is to stop posting on X, even if it means less people read my articles. Perhaps I'm a bad person, but I'm not quite ready to do that yet...social media to me is mainly a tool, to both do my job and promote my work. Altho I do use Mastodon to, well, socialize (e.g. sharing my thoughts)

2023-09-01 10:16:58 UTC

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@npub16am…scuf well, personally I don't think either Musk or X is "fascist" -- that's too strong a term and IMHO it's way over-used on all forms of social media. That said, I freely admit I am still using X for pragmatic reasons (my job). I don't like what Musk has done to it and I hope Mastodon (or another fediverse product) eventually usurps it. So that's my position, fwiw.

2023-09-01 09:10:38 UTC

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6/6 As for Bluesky and Threads, I am present on both of those platforms, but it’s “wait and see” in both cases. Bluesky is still in basically a private beta (I have 5 invites currently, but frankly I don’t see much demand for them); until it opens up, I can’t really take it seriously. Threads is similar, as it has promised fediverse support. But, as with Musk and X, I also don’t want to hand control of my socials to one very powerful person (Zuck). So, I’m committed to Mastodon.

2023-09-01 09:10:19 UTC

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5/6 I am encouraged that key tech news platforms, like Techmeme, are already supporting the fediverse — as well as X, but (like me) Techmeme has to keep supporting X, as that’s where much of the news happens or is commented on. Also there are some great apps for Mastodon now (I use Ivory on iOS). Mastodon software also is evolving nicely (see search note above). So all of this leads me to believe that SLOWLY, but surely, the fediverse is making progress.

2023-09-01 09:10:08 UTC

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4/6 Another reason I still (unfortunately) rely on X is that certain core communities are based there. Much of web dev (although there’s also a growing community of web geeks here on Mastodon) and nearly all of the AI app crowd are still based on X. Maybe that will slowly change, but it’ll be in years not months.

2023-09-01 09:09:57 UTC

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3/6 It is good news that Mastodon is rolling out search functionality, incl in the instance I use (.social). I love that the Mastodon project is doing that. However, it will; take quite some time for this to become prevalent, as people basically need to opt-in for search indexing. That’s ok, I have no problem with that approach. Just saying, it’ll still take a long time for Mastodon to become more useful than X, on that account.

2023-09-01 09:09:47 UTC

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2/6 Much as I admire those people who have deleted their X a/cs and now exclusively use Mastodon, I am still finding X/Twitter to be of the most value to my job as a journalist. e.g. my latest article, about Vercel’s AI products, could not have been written without info from X — not to mention I DMed its CEO there, for further info. Plus of course: SEARCH. This is a core part of my daily usage of social media. So, I still need/use X.

2023-09-01 09:09:31 UTC

1/6 So, how's it going with the Great Migration from X/Twitter? For myself, I now treat Mastodon as my main tool for tooting/tweeting to the world. But I've always been more of a "reader" than a "writer" on social media (i.e. I don't toot every day, but I check social media regularly during each day — mainly for my job as a tech journalist). So a couple of observations about where the Migration stands from my perspective...

2023-09-01 08:05:10 UTC

I read this and even though it does help humanize Elon Musk (I didn’t realise his eldest child had transitioned), it also reinforces that one megalomaniacal person should NOT own the public conversation. Made me even more pro-fediverse and anti-X. https://www.wsj.com/tech/elon-musk-twitter-x-takeover-walter-isaacson-5f553fa

2023-08-14 19:26:36 UTC

Web3 failed to remake the developer ecosystem, but the emerging LLM app stack is forcing the cloud native era to adapt. I examine its progress. https://thenewstack.io/llm-app-ecosystem-whats-new-and-how-cloud-native-is-adapting/

2023-08-14 14:59:49 UTC

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@npub1sv5…8tp3 @npub1xrj…9q43 disclaimer: I am by no means a legal expert. I just meant the author should be the ultimate copyright holder and it'd be nice for them to have the option to remove their content from any website (including IA).

2023-08-14 12:20:24 UTC

Wow, what a mess. My sympathies are definitely with @npub1xrj…9q43 here. In an ideal world, individual authors should have the right to ask their books to be removed from the library, but for big publishers to control everything via old copyright laws and enforcing it via the courts is outrageous. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/13/business/media/internet-archive-emergency-lending-library.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

2023-08-11 13:32:56 UTC

The latest edition of AI Writer World features my review of Sudowrite, an AI writing tool for authors. Also, as usual, my roundup of the week’s relevant #AI news, opinions and research. https://www.aiwriterworld.com/p/sudowrite-review