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  • If I had enough time on hand, I would build a one-pager website comparing all Mastodon clients. Then, I would update it as new app releases come out. I can see the feature-by-feature comparison table with an overall score at the bottom. I think it could be helpful for new Mastodon users and developers to better understand their app’s position in the client landscape.

    → 7:24 AM, Feb 2
  • I’m no longer spreading Twitter content. Today is a cleanup day in my bookmarks collection, acting as a repository for future editions of my monthly newsletter: Numeric Citizen Introspection. Each bookmark is stored in one of the six “buckets” in Craft, as shown in this screenshot. What is noteworthy today is the fact that many of those bookmarks were links to tweets. They were all deleted. Quitting Twitter also means stopping spreading references to the platform’s content.

    → 8:34 PM, Jan 27
  • So, the only way to set a profile image in IFTTT is to use one of the following services?? Not possible to upload a picture. My profile image is now blank because I deleted my connection to Twitter. Weird.

    → 9:19 AM, Jan 22
  • Gruber is whining about and calling out Twitter. Fine. I did too. I still do. And probably keeping doing it for a little while. But I left. I moved on. My actions followed my words. Will he do the same? 🧐

    It’s a matter of credibility somehow.

    → 6:46 PM, Jan 17
  • There’s no sense in clinging to the personal whims of a clown leading a shit show. Especially when his circus will end up being a $44 billion version of MySpace. Source: The Shit Show • furbo.org

    Priceless.

    → 8:07 PM, Jan 15
  • 🇺🇦 There is one thing that I’m finding hard to replace from Twitter: all Twitter accounts I was following reporting about the war in Ukraine, from people on the front or close to it. This is critical information that goes beyond what the general media is saying. But things are starting to move in the right direction, as I have found many tweeps who are now on Mastodon. Yeah! 🙂

    → 1:27 PM, Jan 14
  • Mast

    While on Twitter, I was a fan of Tweetbot. Now that I'm on Mastodon (I have an account but don't plan to be very active for now), I feel at home with Ivory, their new client, still in beta. I wish they were doing a Micro.blog client. I would pay more to get it than I paid for Tweetbot.

    cc ivory@tapbots.social

    → 9:43 AM, Jan 14
  • 👉🏻 Well, that was fast: @numericcitizen@techhub.social 😎

    Reasons why I joined this Mastodon instance. 1) I like the name “techhub.social”. 2) It’s operated by a Canadian. 3) He speaks french and has a Ukrainian flag on his profile.. 4) I’ll be able to see the interaction between Micro.blog and a Mastodon instance.

    Micro.blog will stay my home, but I’ll experiment with Mastodon, even though I said and wrote that I would focus this year. Damn.

    → 10:01 PM, Jan 13
  • And now Twitter suspends third-party app? Really? Another good reason to GTF of this platform. I’m so happy to be Twitter free now. Even though I find Tapbots a bit lazy in updating its apps (the macOS app hasn’t been updated for quite a while the last time I checked), they are great ones.

    → 12:20 PM, Jan 13
  • Today is the day I turned my Twitter accounts (apple_observer & numericcitizen) into private mode. It’s the last step before disabling them altogether.

    → 3:50 PM, Jan 8
  • It’s funny how I’m rediscovering people on Mastodon (via MB) who I first met on Twitter in 2009, 2010 or 2011. People moved away from one platform to go elsewhere.

    → 12:33 PM, Dec 28
  • Any Mastodon experts in the room? One quick question: how do I proceed to “reserve” my content creator name “numericcitizen” in the Mastodon world? I understand that I need to select a Mastondon server first where the account would be created, am I right? Then, what else?

    → 1:16 PM, Dec 25
  • Comparing Elon Musk at Twitter to Steve Jobs at Pixar

    When I read articles like this one from The Washington Post about Elon Musk’s current tenure at Twitter, I think about Steve Jobs's tenure at Pixar. Both are quite different leaders, but I think Steve Jobs had a much more positive impact on Pixar than Musk on Twitter. My comparison comes from the belief that Steve could be seen as a jerk or be very hard on people. Elon is certainly seen and behaves like a real jerk. His leadership image is being tarnished every single day. 

    → 10:36 AM, Dec 25
  • Just posted on my Twitter account.

    "This account is being phased out. I no longer believe in Twitter as a viable and valuable social platform. I don’t share any values with Twitter’s owner. Hence my decision to leave soon. You’ll be able to find me elsewhere as documented here: https://www.craft.do/s/9ILVvNnwHVAmJk"
    → 2:26 PM, Dec 24
  • As you can see, my plan to exit Twitter is well underway. I think I could turn this shit off by January 1, 2023. It was much faster than I initially thought. This to-do list gives you an idea of how deeply Twitter was embedded in my digital life. Well, no more.

    Things 🛠️ Housekeeping 2022 12 24 10 51 53 2x

    → 10:54 AM, Dec 24
  • The Digital Cleanup Continues

    This morning, I visited IFTTT and Zapier to turn off ten applets which were using Twitter. My About page was updated to remove references to my Twitter accounts. While at it, I removed all references to Medium and GetRevue since they are no longer used.

    I still have to figure out how I will follow people on Twitter who are valuable (there are a few) but refuse to move elsewhere. I might use  News Explorer to follow them, cutting the noise because I refrain from using a Twitter client. It’s not a perfect solution because I would get all their replies which makes things noisy. Speaking of Twitter clients (Twitter & Tweetbot), these were removed from my devices too.News Explorer Matthew Cassinelli  Feed 2022 12 24 08 40 08 2x

    It is one of the most comprehensive digital cleanups I ever did since 2007. For the upcoming year: I’ll focus on the open web services and tools for publishing most of my content. There are a few exceptions: YouTube and WordPress.com.

    I may sound a bit extremist.

    → 8:43 AM, Dec 24
  • If you don’t have a website, a blog or a newsletter and only exist on Twitter, then I give up. You’re not worth it. Thought of the night.

    → 10:22 PM, Dec 23
  • Digital cleanup night. Medium Partner Program: Cancelled. Buffer: Cancelled. WP for Buffer Plug-in: Cancelled. Typefully subscription: Cancelled.

    Feels much better now.

    Twitter: you’re the next.

    → 10:08 PM, Dec 23
  • After Closing Twitter, Medium Will Be Next

    The next victim of my "digital cleanup" will be my Medium account. Even though I stopped writing original content there a while ago, I currently get a few cents a month of revenue, maybe a few dollars when I’m lucky. It’s tough to expand the readership over there. My revenue used to be enough to pay for my Partner Program annual membership, but not anymore.  All in all, the time has come to move on.

    → 9:49 PM, Dec 22
  • More is Indeed Better on Micro.blog

    I receive more user feedback or interactions in a day here on Micro.blog than in an entire month on Twitter. On top of that, the quality is 100x higher too.

    Think about that for a second.

    Thank you guys!

    → 3:58 PM, Dec 22
  • Starting from now: I no longer cross-post my original Micro.blog posts to Twitter. Curious to see how bad it will be for my visitors analytics.

    → 12:43 PM, Dec 22
  • What I'll Lose By Leaving Twitter

    As per my current analysis and preparation for leaving Twitter, here’s what I’m going to lose.

    • Access to product announcements, most of which I track because they are part of my workflows (Examples: Glass, Unsplash, Substack, Opal, Readwise, and 90 more). This could be hard to replace, not all websites support RSS feeds.
    • Access to some public services status messages like special events or some type of alerts.
    • Two of my Brews on Mailbrew that are entirely based on Twitter content will need to be deleted.
    • Interaction with people following me who won’t leave Twitter to go elsewhere. I rarely get replies, though. Not a big loss.
    • According to [my Plausible page](https://plausible.io/numericcitizen.micro.blog), 50% of visitors coming from non-direct sources are coming from Twitter. One way to mitigate this is by enabling RSS feeds and letting people no in advance other ways to get in touch.
    • Quite a few of my published articles or blog posts refer to my tweets as links or embed. They won’t show up anymore when I turnoff public access to my tweets. That's not cool.
    But, I'll gain other things too. That's for another post.
    → 8:25 AM, Dec 22
  • Typefully trending The trend is clear: people are leaving Twitter. This is my follower count since June of 2022. If there was any doubt left about my decision to quit Twitter, no more.
    → 4:49 PM, Dec 21
  • Why Close My Twitter Accounts? Here Are My Five Reasons

    I think it is essential to elaborate on why I will close my Twitter accounts in 2023. This is not something to do lightly. So, after much thought, here are my five main reasons.

    1. I disagree with the values and views as they are expressed by its new owner: Elon Musk. Even if he resigns, it won’t matter much. Elon Musk has broken too many things since he became the owner. Twitter is a broken platform and cannot be trusted.
    2. I no longer want to feed the beast (user tracking, advertising networks, algorithm-based timelines). I won’t pay to get rid of 50% of the ads or whatever Musk decides to ask for.
    3. I no longer trust Twitter’s sustainability and ability to thrive in the future. Twitter has become a loser in my digital landscape. If anything, Twitter has become the other wake-up call for the toxicity of a centralized web. The time has come for decentralizing the Internet.
    4. Twitter doesn’t add significant unique value to my digital life anyway. Most of what I’m getting from Twitter can be found elsewhere.
    5. Before I decided to close my accounts, I wanted to focus on one of my two accounts anyway (numericcitizen) instead of apple_observer, but it doesn’t have enough traction to warrant the efforts for the change.

    What are your reasons?

    → 2:13 PM, Dec 21
  • On Twitter's Attention Seekers

    On Twitter, you can get notified when someone starts following you. Sounds great until it isn’t. You know, many people will start following others to get attention about their existence, hoping to get a follow back. It’s easy to know they are seeking your attention because after a few days they will unfollow you. I always despised this behaviour. For this reason, I prefer Micro.blog’s lack of notifications when someone starts to follow me. I don’t pay attention.

    → 8:32 AM, Dec 19
  • The Cost of Twitter

    I could save more than a whopping 400$ annually by shutting down my Twitter accounts. Thanks to the potential removal of a few service subscriptions from my workflow and potentially unjustified without Twitter in my digital life: Buffer, Typefully, Mailbrew. 

    It’s incredible how thinking about my Twitter reliance makes me realize so many things on so many levels in my content creation workflow.

    → 9:57 PM, Dec 18
  • I’ve stopped clicking on Twitter links. Starve the site of attention.

    Brent Simmons https://micro.inessential.com/2022/12/18/ive-stopped-clicking.html
    Great idea. Time to give more space to non-centralizing platforms.
    → 9:11 PM, Dec 18
  • Less Than 1%

    The longer you’ve been on Twitter (I joined in 2007), the more likely that most of your followers are inactive accounts. My guesstimate would be that less than 1% of my followers are actually active, and even fewer actually care about what I’m saying or posting. So why on earth, give a damn?

    → 8:12 PM, Dec 18
  • Twitter Is Xenophobic Now

    I’m in violation of Twitter’s guidelines because I do promote content coming from other social platforms. I do use Linktree and have my Linktr.ee URL set on @numericcitizen.

    This new "Promotion of alternative social platforms policy" on Twitter deserves memorializing for the pure idiocy of it.

    Jamie Thingelstad https://www.thingelstad.com/2022/12/18/this-new-promotion.html
    "Accounts that are used for the main purpose of promoting content on another social platform may be suspended.".
    → 5:40 PM, Dec 18
  • Twitter Down, Micro.blog Up

    I would love @manton to speak out about how the current Twitter turmoils, people flocking to Mastodon, and the ability to follow people over there right from my Micro.blog feed is increasing Micro.blog engagement, subscriptions and general usage. Personally, I’m much more active than before.

    → 8:37 AM, Dec 17
  • On "Load Bearing Mac Mini"

    Is this true?

    12 years ago, Twitter’s office used a Mac Mini to tunnel into the servers. One day, an IT guy found it in the closet.

    “Anyone know who owns this?”

    “Unplug it. Someone will show up.”

    Everyone lost access to servers. Huge crisis. It became known as the “Load Bearing Mac Mini.”

    https://mastodon.social/@sandofsky/109434832011074072
    → 8:33 AM, Dec 17
  • Mailbrew, Typefully and Twitter

    I finally found how to reconfigure my Mailbrew account to log in without using Twitter. Good thing. I don’t log in often in Mailbrew, but this morning I learned that I’d need to adjust many things when I close my Twitter account. As an example, this newsletter setup will need to be revisited to remove any references to Twitter as a data source.

    Mailbrew is an excellent tool for generating newsletters, but it hasn’t been updated for quite a while (October of 2021, according to the change log). The developers behind Mailbrew are too busy working on their other product: Typefully, a web service for writing Twitter threads. I’m subscribing to both services. Typefully was cool when it launched but being entirely dependent on Twitter puts them in danger IMHO. I don’t use Typefully much, preferring Buffer for scheduling cross-posted content to Twitter, something Typefully doesn’t support. 

    It’s sad to see Mailbrew coming to a halt. Typefully will go down the drain with my Twitter account closure next year.

    → 8:27 AM, Dec 17
  • Found in my Micro.blog bookmarks collection:

    Culture is shaped by SEO experts and algorithms. Neither of which have our best interests in mind.

    Mike Rockwell https://mike.rockwell.mx/asides/1160
    Another good reason to quit Twitter and concentrate my energy here on Micro.blog.
    → 7:46 AM, Dec 17
  • Twitter — It’s Really Getting Worse

    According to media and users on Twitter:

    Many Twitter users added a Mastodon profile link into their bios as the Twitter alternative picked up steam. Now, any links to blocked Mastodon servers are disabled and accompanied by the text “Warning: this link may be unsafe.

    And

    Twitter on Thursday evening suddenly suspended several high-profile journalists who cover the platform and Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world, who acquired the company just a few months ago.

    Hours after the suspensions took hold, Musk faced off with one of the journalists he suspended in a Twitter Space audio discussion before an audience of more than 30,000 listeners. The suspended journalist, along with several others, found a backdoor way onto the platform through the website's audio function.

    “You doxx, you get suspended. End of story. That's it,” Musk said, explaining his latest policy to the group, before he left minutes after having joined the discussion.

    Wow. What a shit show. After suspending targeted individual accounts, now it appears it is getting more systematic. Is there an employee at Twitter capable of saying no to Musk even if it means being fired? Or is Musk at the command and personally disabling those accounts? 

    Twitter is turning into USSR with a fake free-speech proponent leader.

    → 7:06 AM, Dec 16
  • Exit Plans are Important — Learning the Hard Way With Twitter

    Exit plans are important. My Twitter exit planning reminds me that we all should have some sort of exit plan for anything we use and depend on online. Every building has an emergency exit plan. Businesses who subscribe to cloud-based services need to plan their exit in case they no longer like their cloud provider. The same should be planned for using services like Twitter. Having a plan is one thing but maintaining it is quite another. I’m learning my lesson the hard way my friends. More to come soon.

    → 11:07 AM, Dec 15
  • Updated my bio today, adding a mention of being a Qwitter (someone planning to Quit Twitter). When I tell my wife that I’m going to close my Twitter accounts next year, she gives me a dubious look and says: why wait next year? 🫣😂

    → 5:57 PM, Dec 14
  • Twitter Is the Uneeded Intermediary and How I'm Planning to Get Rid of It

    Whenever I want to go to Twitter, I should remember that Twitter is mostly a big dump of content originating from other places. So, why not consume content at the source instead? In my journey to a Twitter-free world, I’ll need to rebuild my habits of visiting the following places:

    * Techmeme: for consuming news;

    * RSS Reader: for consuming news and articles;

    * Telegram: for consuming news;

    * Mailbrew: for consuming content;

    * Hackernews: for discovering content;

    * Reddit: for consuming content, exploring and discovering new content;

    A special mention about Mailbrew is required here: a portion of the content generated in my private newsletters comes from Twitter. I’ll need to revisit this sooner than later. Thankfully, Mailbrew supports RSS feeds as a content source. But then, maybe using my RSS reader will render Mailbrew mostly useless? 

    → 6:54 AM, Dec 14
  • Starting a Journey to My Twitter-Free Digital Life

    After much thinking and due to recent events on Elon Musk’s Twitter, I’m starting to put together a plan for phasing Twitter out of my digital life entirely. The journey will be long, and I made it to be one of my goals for 2023.

    Twitter is well entrenched in my digital life. One example of this is the Mailbrew service that I’m subscribing to: sign in requires my Twitter account. Duh. Lots of generated newsletter content is pulled off Twitter. Duh.

    I’ll need to be methodical in pursuing a better digital world. I’ll learn a lot about along the way and probably reconsider many aspects of my digital workflows.

    From now on, I’ll use the “Qwitter” category for these posts.

    → 8:14 AM, Dec 13
  • Welcome to the TwitterDump

    I’m not a Qwitter. I don’t think I’ll ever close my Twitter account. But, there will be a day where I no longer post original content on Twitter, only cross-posting stuff from other sources. That day, I’ll refer to Twitter as the TwitterDump™.

    → 4:03 PM, Dec 11
  • Twitter’s Essentials

    I read about so many people flocking to Mastodon, leaving Twitter behind. I actually started to see a definitive decline in my followers number. Something is really going on. I myself started to think about the possibility of leaving the platform too. Just like I did with Facebook, Flickr, and Tumblr, only to leave a place where my content is simply cross-posted from another source without a real and active presence of mine. Twitter could be next. Really. I could live without the traffic influx from Twitter, which represents about 15% of all my visitors.

    There is one thing that it would be hard for me to leave behind, though. If it wasn’t about the war in Ukraine, it would be an easy decision. The problem is that I follow a few people and news sources that diffuse their content on Twitter. Is there a Twitter equivalent for this type of small blips of nano content? I don’t see that in Mastodon yet. RSS feeds are not a platform but transport. The next Twitter has yet to emerge.

    → 7:00 AM, Nov 30
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