Mandaris

There have been a couple of posts on Micro.blog - the service I use to host my blog - about how to improve the handling of longform content. I thought I would yell into the void write my thoughts and feelings about this topic.

How did I get here?

I’ve been blogging for a while. I remember the days of GeoCities and LiveJournal and enjoyed spending time on the internet. When twitter came out, I spent a lot of time trying to be witty and win sweepstakes. I enjoyed it because it was quick dopamine hit to see new content or create my own without going into details like titles or nuance.

When twitter started to get less fun, I found myself wanting to get back into owning my own content. I saw Manton’s kickstarter for micro.blog and it really was the answer I was looking for.

Where are we?

With Micro.blog, I got the following:

• Hosting for my blog where I didn’t have to worry about the the technical infrastructure
• Web and iOS clients to make my posts
• Freedom to share it outside of micro.blog

I think the last point is really one of the things that I like about micro.blog. I make something and there isn’t a pull to make you part of the service. Either with cross posting or RSS, I’m confident that my message goes out there. Whether it’s my media reviews, pictures of my dog, or asinine comments, I share them on my blog an in The Timeline.

The micro.blog timeline shows the last 40 to 50 entries from different accounts that you are following and allows you to respond quickly if you choose. The people that you choose to follow is the thing that engages you, not an algorithm designed to trick you into doomscrolling. The Timeline doesn’t do reblogging, retweeting, or boosts. Much like time itself, it’s ephemeral. The content is there as a snapshot in time and you are more than welcome to explore more of the authors content on their respective sites.

Though, The Timeline is not perfect.

I’ve been on the service for years and I sometimes don’t know or remember what content shows up in the timeline. For example, if I want to share a link, I have to decide on whether I share just the link, text around the link, whether I should use the title of the page being linked or my own title because all of these could show up different in The Timeline.

First world problem.

Where are we going with this?

We live in a world where sometimes 180 to 300 words don’t really convey what we want to say. For some of us, we’d like to share a little more. This works for our personal blogs, but it seems as if some of us want more. And it seems as if there is some change coming to the service.

Great points in this conversation about how Micro.blog handles longer blog posts with titles. Maybe the time has come for a change here. I’ve never wanted Micro.blog’s timeline to be a bunch of summaries and “read more” links, but right now we should be encouraging longer posts, not relegating them.

I’ve had some time to think about what I would enjoy as a way to have more longform in The Timeline.

• Make it clear that the Number 1 priority for The Timeline is for the readers.
  NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T is more than just a clickbaity title. I love reading things from my friends such as @JohnPhilpin and @lmika, but I would rather see their longer pieces on their own websites or in my RSS reader. If I’m reading The Timeline, I want to see as many things from my friends before I get back to pretending to work.
• Make it so that the rules are clear
  When the change happens, have the rules next to the post text area. There should be directions to get help either on the page or a link to where the directions are.
• Allow for image previews
  If you do a book review, a small preview of the book cover becomes available. This could be a long term goal to include something like that for those who add images to their posts.

If you liked The Suicide Squad, then you'll probably like this one as well. It's a similar premise and it's not trying to hide it. You could even say that's the point of it, and that's ok.

I don’t need everything that I watch be a completely new idea. Sometimes, there is a comfort in having a similar narrative.

But, I feel this one has a less satisfying ending.

In this one, we have damaged people causing damage.

Some plot lines end with little fanfare and the ones that really pull at my heartstrings end with nothing really changing the status quo.

And, I feel that’s saddest part for me.

Overview

Follow the exploits of the Creature Commandos, a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for missions deemed too dangerous for humans. When all else fails... they're your last, worst option.

Back in December, I wrote a post about becoming more intentional in my day-to-day life. Sadly, I didn’t specify how I was going to go about it.

I made a couple of changes, but overall, I’m still finding myself getting into the same habits.

Thankfully, it’s never too late to start (or in this case restart) something new.

Here are the Actions that I’m going to do to get things in order.

Mornings:

1. Wake up and stretch
2. Drink a glass of water
3. Write about what I’m grateful for and excited by for that day
4. Begin the other morning routines

Throughout the day:

1. Checkin on what I’m doing. Am I doing what I set out to do?

Evening:

1. Review my wins
2. Prepare for the next day
3. Relax

It was a cold that night in December when we decided that we’d ring in the new year by watching movies and eating store bought frozen pizza. 2024 had been a year with a lot of ups and down and we just wanted to have something that would make us laugh.

Just something that we wouldn’t mind talking over or missing a moment because it’s would be vital to the plot.

This was the movie we chose and I’m happy that I did.

In between the crass jokes - some that are timeless and others that show that they are of a different time¹ - I found a couple messages that I could really get behind. Messages about being the best person that you can be, accepting others for who they are, and that relationships are something you shouldn’t take for granted.

Overview

Not only is Jessica Spencer the most popular girl in school -- she is also the meanest. But things change for the attractive teen when a freak accident involving a cursed pair of earrings and a chance encounter at a gas station causes her to switch bodies with Clive, a sleazy crook. Jessica, in the form of the repulsive Clive, struggles to adjust to this radical alteration and sets out to get her own body back before the upcoming prom.

One thing of note was I was watching it with my teenage daughters and fighting the urge to constantly explain that it was made at a different time!. But, I think that feeling is overblown. I’m sure this isn’t the first time that they heard a dirty joke and probably not the only time. If anything, I was probably the only one who felt uncomfortable.

I really wanted to focus on doing more blogging on my blog. Looking back at the 416 posts from last year, I feel that I did it.

One of my proudest accomplishments was writing a response to all the 50 blog prompts by Lou Plummer. I had originally attempted to do one every day, but I didn’t have a regular writing habit so it didn’t take much for life to get in the way of doing it. It wasn’t until September/November that I really got serious about making this a goal.

I really enjoyed the prompts because it allowed me to write and think about things that I normally wouldn’t put on my blog. It also doubled as a conversation starter with my family.

One draw back about my approach of attempting to finish this by a deadline is that I didn’t give myself and readers to a chance to discuss different topics. For example, someone might respond to a prompt and I wouldn’t see it because I was so focused on a prompt that came later. I feel, that I could probably come back to different prompts to see if I feel the same way about them.

Another thing that I can attribute to doing more posting, is that I’m not as stressed about typos and grammar. I’m still feeling friction when it comes to the writing process, but I don’t agonize over trying to make things perfect. I’m in the mindset that writing more will make me a better writer versus the sitting in the draft folder and not doing anything to it.

Making new friends

I started going to IndieWeb meet ups infrequently last year and I feel that’s helped me increase the functionality of the website and give me a place to be social. Mark and James are great hosts and the time seems to fly by.

I also started to interact with Leon quite a bit. He’s got a lot of cool stuff going on.

Somethings that didn’t go as plan

I attempted to start a weekly podcast, but didn’t actually schedule the time to plan, record, and edit it.

I’ll probably make another attempt with this later this year, but it’s not a priority compared to other things in my life. Sometimes, it’s important to say no to things so that you can work on the things that are important.

What do I want to do on the blog this year?

I want to continue responding to more prompts and making my site something that I would like to read on the internet. I looked into different sites that offer a daily prompt, but I think I’ll stick to responding to different topics that I see pop up from people writing on the internet.

I’d also like to work on a longer piece of writing that is not related to changes on my blog or writing about writing. My longest post is about me debating on whether I should use popovers for footnotes. I’m proud of the writing and the journey it took to make it, but I want to have other things too.

I have been looking for this link for a very long time! I thought it was taken down for whatever reason and kept kicking myself for not saving it. I think it's a very good read as we start a new year

Experience “ū—”: The Last Distraction-Free Writing Environment You’ll Buy. Today.

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The Ourobouros Fun Factory, LLC is proud to announce a revolutionary new tool for serious artists doing serious work. It’s a distraction-free writing environment that we call “ū–” (pron. “YOOOoooouuuuu…”).

50. Write about a news event from when you were still in school and how it made you feel.

One news event that I haven't written about is the California Energy Crisis of 2000. It marked the first time that I heard the word deregulation and will always have negative connotations for me.

For me, I didn’t suffer too much as the occasional blackout only inconvienced me. For some, such as people connected to devices that needed constant power or were hit with rates that lead to financial instability, it was devastating.

In addition, it lead to a recall of the governor that lead to an absolute joke of a political race that still echos to this day.

49. Do you have a set of rules or guidelines for your life? Did you write them? Why do you use them?

One of the key guidelines that I’ve set for myself is that I treat people the way that I want to be treated. People should be treated with the respect and dignity of being a human being and an understanding that you will not know what their story in life is.

I know at one point it time, I wrote down a series of principles that I’ like to strive for in my day to day life. Unfortunately, it’s in a folder somewhere that I can’t find. I think I should start scheduling time to go over these things in the future.

I’m also getting back into using themes in my life and recently [wrote about my desire to be more intentional.](Intention - Mandaris) How am I going to go about that? I haven’t quite planned, I have the concepts of a plan.

48. Have you ever had a brush with celebrity? Write about It.

I once met Arj Barker after one of his comedy shows in Sacramento, CA. I used to follow him a little bit on twitter but haven’t looked into what he’s been doing since I stopped using the service.

It looks like he’s got a new comedy album, so I’ll queue that up for my drive to work.

47. Do you consider yourself to be an international person? Why or why not? If so, write about people you know or have known from other countries.

No.

Most if not all of my identity is made from the influences in my vacenity. Although I do read some comics made in other parts of the world, most of what I work with is local.

Now, I do have some friends that I interact with in different parts of the world, but most of their life is outside of what we talk about.

I tried doing a pen-pal thing this year but it hasn’t really worked out like I thought it would.

Maybe next year, but I don’t think I’ll have any margin to do much as I’ll be too focused on local politics and the fact that my oldest daughter will be graduating high school