Key for Micro.blog: it’s a success if more people blog. To provide value it doesn’t need to replace Twitter. But also, it can.

→ 2017/01/14 2:48 pm

I posted a short video of the Micro.blog iPhone app as a Kickstarter update. This expands on the limited screenshots in the original Kickstarter video, and hopefully explains a few more things about how everything works.

→ 2017/01/13 3:23 pm

Lots of ways to resize video, but for some reason I just downloaded Final Cut Pro. Feels like a “use regex, now you have 2 problems” joke.

→ 2017/01/13 12:14 pm

Pretty excited for the Nintendo Switch. Great to have Zelda at launch and Mario later in the year. Hope they can meet early demand.

→ 2017/01/13 10:40 am

App.net is shutting down

Dalton Caldwell and Bryan Berg announced the official shutdown of App.net today:

In May of 2014, App.net entered maintenance mode. At that time we made the difficult decision to put App.net into autopilot mode in an effort to preserve funds and to give it ample time to bake. Since then every dollar App.net has charged has gone towards paying for the hosting and services needed to keep the site running. Unfortunately, revenue has consistently diminished over the past 2+ years, and we have been unable to return the service to active development.

As I wrote about just last week, the founders of App.net deserve our thanks for trying something very difficult and succeeding beyond what anyone expected. I’m still amazed at everything they were able to do.

So, what now? I believe the next step for the open web and Twitter-like services is indie microblogging.

PodSearch

This isn’t the first time that David Smith has built something that I kind of wanted to build myself, too. Today he announced a cool side project for searching podcast audio:

You can easily search for a term or keyword and then play the actual audio back to find if it was the section you were thinking about. I even tag the sections with timecoded Overcast links for easy sharing.

I’d love to see David spin this into either a commercial product or set of free tools. He could host more shows, or let podcasters run their shows through PodSearch and export the results. For example, I’d want this for Core Intuition, along with edited transcripts eventually.

First day in a while with nothing on my calendar. Editing this week’s Core Int and then plan to catch up on code I need to write.

→ 2017/01/12 8:44 am

Kind of wild to listen to those first episodes of Timetable from a year ago. I had already been working on what would become Micro.blog for a year. Thought Kickstarter was weeks away. Another year later, here we are.

→ 2017/01/10 3:04 pm

One year of Timetable

I started my microcast Timetable a little over one year ago. I’ve recorded 35 episodes, so fewer than 1 a week. My goal is still 2-3 a week, so hopefully I’ll work up to that for 2017.

This podcast is one of my favorite things to do right now. It’s so much easier to record and publish a 5-minute podcast than a 1-hour podcast. All I need is something to talk about.

Here are the feed descriptions for each episode over the last year, starting with the earliest. Reviewing these provides a neat snapshot into the journey of building Micro.blog. You can subscribe at timetable.fm.

1: On the first episode, I introduce the idea behind the show and the topics I hope to cover.

2: On this episode, I talk about trying tea instead of coffee, how I named this podcast, and my work schedule as I wrap up the week.

3: On this episode, I talk about finishing some work and the new iPhone microphone I bought.

4: This morning I was downtown to work at a coffee shop for a few hours before lunch. I talk about getting out of the house and last night’s icon sketches.

5: Today I stopped at the post office to pick up some stamps to mail stickers for the new microblogging app and platform I’m working on.

6: I start with some thoughts on basketball, my potential Kickstarter campaign, and whether it’s better to start strong or finish strong. (Go Spurs Go!)

7: This morning I was distracted a little with backups, ordering a new hard drive, and thinking about my iOS app, which was just rejected by Apple.

8: Recorded in 3 segments, I set my alarm early this morning to get some coding done before the day starts slipping away.

9: Today I mention the iPhone app rejection, talk about why the iPhone app itself is secondary to the web version, and reveal more about the Kickstarter.

10: I take the iPad Pro and my microphone out to the front porch, to think through what work I need to focus on for today.

11: Back from a sick day or two, I talk today about Twitter’s algorithmic timeline change and why it would be nice to launch a product when your competitor has some bad news.

12: Back from a quick trip to Portland, today I’m thinking about the music for my Kickstarter project.

13: I finally drop the stickers in the mailbox at our neighborhood post office. Thinking this episode about what it means to be lucky.

14: At my 10th new coffee shop in as many days, I write a few blog posts. And on this episode I talk about it.

15: I reflect on 6 months as an indie, think about stealing time for projects, and plan how I can use working from a coffee shop in the morning to provide a better structure to my day.

16: This week I’m thinking back on how Staple! Expo went over the weekend, and why it never helps to panic when something isn’t going perfectly to plan.

17: It’s spring break week, which means the kids are out of school and SXSW is taking over downtown.

18: I’m playing Nintendo’s new iPhone app Miitomo, watching my Mii character pace around the room as he (and I) wait for our iPhone SE delivery. Also talk about the library routine and Rails 5.

19: I finally record a video for my Kickstarter project. Now I just need to edit it and do everything else.

20: I talk about receiving the Loish art book and my current thoughts on Kickstarter goals and rewards.

21: Today I take stock of the last few weeks of client work and recovering from 2 months of focusing so heavily on my personal blog.

22: Last week was stressful. This episode is about being mad at nothing and everything, and why fireflies are magical.

23: I play a clip from the Upgrade podcast and then talk about my struggle to wind down a product correctly.

24: I summarize my week in San Francisco from the perspective of not just the WWDC technical news and events, but also of using the trip to refocus on my priorities for Riverfold Software.

25: Back after a summer break, on this episode I talk through what we can learn from Tim Duncan’s incredible 19-year career.

26: I talk about getting derailed with home repairs, the U.S. presidential election, and writing about the Dash controversy.

27: One week after the election, I react to Apple’s design book announcement and talk about why social networks may be broken.

28: Not enough sleep yet still focused on getting work done. I review today’s blog post and play a clip from the Moana soundtrack.

29: I got a new domain! I talk about the .blog registration process and my evolving plans.

30: From a listener question, I talk about steps in November to wrap up old projects and finish new ones.

31: I try the new WeWork location at the Domain, listen to a singer at the car dealership, and remember that I need to get out to talk to real people about my work.

32: I share some thoughts on the first day of Super Mario Run and how my work week is wrapping up.

33: The morning after Christmas, I give a quick update on Micro.blog plans and Kickstarter’s Launch Now review feature.

34: Happy New Year! I talk about the first day of the year, and the final day to finish my Kickstarter project for Micro.blog.

35: A week after launching the Kickstarter, I talk about its success so far and why I believe I can build Micro.blog, with a clip about optimism from Gary Vaynerchuk.

Posted episode 35 of my Timetable podcast, with thoughts on the first week launching on Kickstarter and what’s ahead.

→ 2017/01/10 10:47 am

I don’t pay attention to Tweet Marker stats much, other than to make sure developers are happy. It has now been used by 1 million users.

→ 2017/01/10 8:54 am

Kickstarter, first week wrap-up

One week down. The launch on Kickstarter is going great. It’s fantastic to see everyone’s reaction to the project. More than ever, I’m convinced that the time is right for this.

I wanted to highlight a few posts and links. I was a little caught off guard by activity on the first day, so I’ve yet to really reach out to press contacts who might want to write about Micro.blog. I’ve been focused on replying to questions about the service and book.

John Voorhees wrote for MacStories about the Kickstarter:

Micro.blog has a lot in common with social networks like Twitter, such as replies and favorites, but with an important difference. Instead of locking users into a proprietary system owned by someone else, the content created by individuals is owned and controlled by them. As part of the Micro.blog service, Reece is also building publishing tools with Markdown support, including a native iPhone app, to help people get started with microblogging.

John had interviewed me at WWDC last year about what I was up to. While I didn’t have the name Micro.blog yet back then, I was actively working on the service and you can hear many of the same themes from back in June as I’m saying today.

I thought Marco Arment summed up the urgency well:

We’ve all been pouring a lot more of our writing and attention into Twitter and Facebook than the rest of the web, and the diversity and decentralization of the web has suffered greatly. Far too much power now rests in far too few hands, and we’re starting to suffer tremendous consequences.

Reaction from the WordPress community has also been encouraging. I knew I wanted to reach WordPress fans, because Micro.blog works great with WordPress, but I’m not as plugged into that community. I was excited to see Matt Mullenweg tweet a link to it. And WP Tavern did an excellent write-up, mixing interview questions with previous posts of mine:

During his 14 years of blogging and 10 years of using Twitter, Reece became an advocate for the open web. He said he used to be excited about Twitter and built apps for the platform but grew disillusioned at their approach to locking down the API.

I’m thankful for local articles as well, such as this story from Silicon Hills News by Laura Lorek. Laura is just in the last day of her own Kickstarter campaign for a podcast companion to the Austin news site.

Not to mention blog posts from Brent Simmons, Gus Mueller, Becky Hansmeyer, Ben Brooks, Dave Peck, Chris Aldrich, John Johnston, and the hundreds of tweets and links I’ve seen over the last week. It’s really special to see it spread so far. Thank you again to everyone who has linked to the project.

Now that I’ve had a week to reflect on the campaign, and listen to feedback, I’m starting to form a much clearer picture of how the rest of the month needs to play out. This is the kind of opportunity that doesn’t come around very often. I’m looking forward for the work ahead.

Thank you to App.net

Even before announcing Micro.blog, I’d get asked about App.net. It may surprise you to hear that there’s still a community there, 2 years after the service was put into maintenance mode. All my microblog posts are cross-posted automatically, and I’m always happily surprised to continue to get replies on App.net.

I was an early believer in App.net. I wrote in 2013 that it was not just a Twitter clone but an amplifier for applications that couldn’t be built before. It came along at the right time, took off, and then faded. The App.net founders deserve significant credit and thanks for trying something risky and succeeding to grow a community that lasted so long.

Now, with social networks broken in ways we didn’t fully acknowledge before, the time is right for another shot at a more open, ad-free microblogging platform. That’s why I’ve been working on Micro.blog.

I could use your help to spread the idea of independent microblogging. We don’t need just another Twitter or Facebook clone. We need a new platform that encourages blogging on the open web. You can learn more on Kickstarter here.

Maybe good that I’m fighting off a cold and can’t keep up with work. Forced me to slow down and plan next steps for Micro.blog.

→ 2017/01/06 2:26 pm

Medium may not last

On Monday, I launched my Kickstarter project about independent microblogging, with a focus on owning your own content and making blogging easier. On Tuesday, Lindy West left Twitter in a post about Twitter’s inability to deal with harassment. On Wednesday, Ev Williams announced that Medium would lay off 50 employees.

The message is clear. The only web site that you can trust to last and have your interests at heart is the web site with your name on it.

That’s the main goal with Micro.blog. Build a service and write a book that makes independent blogging more approachable. No one knows exactly what the web will look like in 10 years, but we can take the first step to get there. If you’ve been frustrated by the ad-based silos and waiting for a reason to post to your own site again, I’d love your support.

Sent a Micro.blog project update to Kickstarter backers today. I kind of love that the clock is ticking. The project will ship.

→ 2017/01/03 9:11 pm