tl;dr: micro.blog is pretty cool.
I have recently been thinking about my process of blogging / tweeting / facebooking / etc… and have realized that I’m burnt out on all three. I LOVE to write. I started one of the first successful iOS Blogs, published numerous (software development books)[http://manning.com/trebitowski], and have been blogging since 2008. Here are a bit of thoughts about the various platforms and ultimately my solution.
Having over 4,000 followers on Twitter I used to find tremendous value in the platform. There was a time when I would ask a programming question and get 20+ responses within 10 minutes. I’m not sure if legit people have stopped following me or have stopped using the platform, but I am no longer getting any engagement. I probably have like 20 followers and 3,800 spam bots at this point.
blogging
To me, blogging has always had to be long-form. Maybe it’s just my wannabe Tim Ferris mindset, but this has held me back from writing for quite a long time. I would wait until I had a long (usually 1K words +) post before writing anything. So, it other words, perpetual writers block.
Don’t even get me started. I jumped on the #deleteFacebook bandwagon months ago.
micro.blog
Recently, I discovered Manton Reece’s new platform called http://micro.blog. I guess the platform isn’t necessarily new as he launched in 2015, but after using it, it still feels like it’s in the new/exciting phase.
Manton describes perfectly why he created the platform here and this captures my thoughts exactly on the content-creation ecosystem.
Here are some things that I’m super excited about the micro.blog platform:
- You post to your own site, keeping all the content controlled by you
- You can also pay $5 monthly for a hosted blog. This means their business is built on an actual product rather than advertising revenue.
- It’s built on RSS. I have always been a huge RSS fan and am glad to see a resurgence.
- It’s full of developers that I already know/admire. Guys like @manton, @collin, and @gruber.
- It’s incredibly social. The platform really encourages conversation.
- No follower count. This is arguably the best part. No one (including yourself) can see your follower count. This allows you the feeling to just create and not worry about the vanity of the whole thing.
I still plan on using Twitter to some extent, but my primary source of content publishing will/should be this blog. It will become a mix of my long-form posts and my “tweet-sized” snarky comments.
If this sounds even slightly interesting to you, def check it out and follow me on here or on micro.blog.
Cheers!
