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While spending some time in the Anybox bookmarks manager this morning, I was thinking of restarting my monthly newsletter because they are fun (but time-consuming) to build. I should find a way to better automate the production process, though.
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Major Updates Coming to WriteFreely And WriteAs
Matt, the founder of the WriteFreely ecosystem, recently wrote a promising post:
Itās become clear over time that in order to make WriteFreely (and Write.as) as useful as it can be, it needs to have a much more unified experience.
ā¦
I donāt think it makes sense for our self-hosted product to be chopped up into multiple components like our hosted tools are. Instead, I want to bring all those tools into a single application in WriteFreely.
Earlier this year, I wrote an article (āThe Write.freely Ecosystem Explainedā) trying to explain the WriteFreely ecosystem because I thought that, in its current form, it was a bit hard to grasp. Itās one of my most popular posts on Write.as. I think there is a need for unification and consolidation into a seamless experience. Iām glad the see that itās coming.
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BasicAppleGuy writes about his website turning three:
Today marks the third anniversary of basicappleguy.com. A challenging but also very successful year; I want to continue the tradition of recapping the year and thanking you all for the tremendous support.
I worked from home for the first two years of the site because of the pandemic. That meant 19,200 minutes saved on commuting each year alone, which afforded me hundreds of hours to write and work on new wallpapers. This also meant I had around-the-clock access to a Mac (and a good internet connection), giving me abundant opportunities to work on projects with much more freedom. Source: 3 ā Basic Apple Guy
His blog post resonates with me a lot. Since March 13, 2020, I have worked from home, and I also save a lot of commute time. I couldn’t do all that content creation that I did since then if I was returning to the office downtown. I’m super appreciative of that, and I hope that it will stay that way. I don’t see why it would change.
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When AI Failed to Inspire Me
I was looking for inspiration all week to write my next Friday Notes edition. Early morning yesterday, I was still unsure if I could make it, but at lunchtime, I tried ChatGPT with āGive me some blog post ideas about the positive effects on creativity of going on vacation for a weekā. It came back with phrases that looked taken from a travel agency ad. I tried again with different variations of my question. It failed to impress and to inspire me. Iāll pass this weekās edition.
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Still in my spring cleanup phase, Iām archiving all my bookmarks and references to build a Hugo-based static website. Iām happy to keep my focus on content instead of trying to understand and configure a web site built on Hugo tech.
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Some Numbers
šØ This is post #2000. I have already written more posts in 2023 than for the entire year last year. Iāll probably write more than 2021. The record year, 2020, will be hard to beat. This post was written using Ulysses on my MacBook Air which is the most used device, with 73%. My Mac mini comes second with 20%, and lastly, my iPad with 7%. I love numbers. Returning to normal programming.šŗ
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Iām fascinated by the fact that very notorious people in the tech space depends on so simple workflows or simple tools like Appleās Notes or Reminders to do their work. I reproduce something found on Kottke āAsk Me Anythingā:
What do you use for a mobile note taking app (does it sync with your computer)? ā Alan H
I am very low-tech when it comes to note taking. I use the default iOS/MacOS Notes app for most things, including keeping track of my media diet. It’s simple, works pretty well, can handle to-do lists, and syncs seamlessly with all of my devices.
I should pay attention to this and maybe think about it when Iām looking at new tools or new ways of doing my things.š¤Ø
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Itās time for an update to my content creation workflow (on Numeric Citizen I/O). In the coming days (or in a week or two), Iāll add something new to help others find new ways to do simple tasks. Comments and questions are always welcomed. ššØš»āš»
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This week I got two unexpected gifts from my readers (fans?). One reader on my Ghost-hoested blog paid a one-year subscription, a 25$ gift! Another sent me 40$ to my PayPal account because he likes my YouTube videos about Craft so much. These are in addition to this Italian who sent my money a few months ago.š
I donāt do what I do for the contributions, otherwise, I would have stopped a long time ago. Yet, these people make a difference and send good vibes to creators and writers like me.
So, dear past (and future?) contributors: thank you.
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From A to B ā Another Digital Journey Completed
From the Numeric Citizen Blog
to the Numeric Citizen Space.
The former was my WordPress site, now on Ghost and merged with what used to be the Numeric Citizen Introspection, the home for my Friday Notes Series newsletter. It took me a while, but here I am. Iām so relieved from not having to use WordPress anymore. I have learned quite a bit about WordPress since 2015, but my desire to simplify my digital life was pressing me to make some changes.
From now on, in Ulysses, I got two places to push my articles, here or Ghost. Thatās it.
Both are under the same domain name, which is something that I wanted for a while. Now, I hope to spend more time writing than moving things around. I will publish my migration process in the upcoming days on my Numeric Citizen I/O, my metablog.
From a design perspective, Iām using Ghostās Casper default theme, which is relatively close to what I was using on WordPress. Iām ok with this for the moment. I may hunt for alternatives in the future, but for now, that will be it.
Now, returning to normal programming.
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Yesterday, I got my first ever paid subscriber to Ghost website, even though it is basically a free website. Thanks to Ghost newsletters feature, I’m offering a way for users to pay anyway as a way for showing their support toward my writing efforts.
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Spending Most of Your Life Running a Blog
Kottke.org turns 25. Itās quite a remarkable journey. I didnāt know about this website until recently. Iām not a frequent reader of it, although I spent quite some time today on it to better get the gist of it. Yet, Iām barely sure how to pronounce it. But Iām quite impressed to see someoneās life spent running a blog and getting paid for it.
Iāve been into computer tech since I was a teenager. Iām 55 now. I learned quite a lot from writing software, doing digital photography, followed Appleās story with avid attention. My creativity is at its best with computers. I even found my career by simply being exposed to computers.
For some reason, I didnāt know much about website hosting back then, even less about blogs. I didnāt pay attention, I guess. Itās like being a writer who didnāt know we could write books. This sounds strange.
I wish I had a blog for this long. Itās not the first time that I have written this thought. But Kottke.org turning 25 reminds me that I wish I were this guy. Can you imagine having written 40 000 posts? I donāt know if we can still read them all (it appears we can). You wonāt find all my posted content since I first wrote my first post. And I keep deleting stuff while moving from one place to another because I think it makes no sense to keep all that.
Bravo to Kottke.org.
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21 years ago today, my first blog post. A bunch of promising social networks have come and gone in that time. Often feels like very little is permanent, so make sure to have your own space on the web.
I can barely remember what I was doing in 2002. I didn’t have a website. I didn’t know about website hosting. I didn’t really care about blogs, for that matter. I started blogging in 2009 when I started doing iPhone application development. I wanted to share my discoveries while learning Objective-C and publishing apps on the App Store. At some point, writing took more of my time than actually writing lines of Objective-C code.
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@numericcitizen@me.dm is my new Mastodon address on Mediumās newly launched Mastodon instance. Itās without enthusiasm that I created this address when Medium opened the door to all Medium members today. I left the Paid Partner Program earlier this year. First, because I was no longer publishing articles over there. Second, because Iām not at ease supporting a closed platform like Medium. Iām not sure where Iāll go from here. That being said, I find it interesting that a closed and proprietary platform like Medium opens up to Mastodon, a distributed and open source network. Call it opportunistic, it will be interesting to see where this will lead in the future. Iāll certainly watch from afar.
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āSocial networks can be a great way to connect with friends and family, but they can also be toxic. Unfortunately, these networks can lead to cyberbullying, trolling, and other forms of online harassment. People can be cruel and insensitive in their comments, even if they don’t mean to be. Additionally, social networks can lead to feelings of envy and inadequacy, as users compare their lives to those they see on their timeline. It is important to remember to take a break from social media and step away whenever necessary to protect your mental health.ā ā ChapGPT
This text was used for the purpose of demonstrating the posting feature of Micro.blog. Please consider replying to this post so I can show how replies work. Thanks.
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Will be spending the rest if the weekend trying to advance my (many) projects. One being to produce my next YouTube video about using Craft as a website publishing tool.
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šā I’m running a quick poll on my YouTube Channel, in the community section! I’m curious about your interest in “how-to” videos about Micro.blog. Thanks for taking the time to vote! šš»
