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Micro.blog
Microblogging site

Micro.blog is a microblogging and social networking service created by Manton Reece. It is the first large multi-user social media service to support the Webmention and Micropub standards published by the World Wide Web Consortium, and is part of the Fediverse, supporting ActivityPub.

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History

Micro.blog has features similar to Twitter or Instagram,3 and provides for posting status updates, articles, photos, short podcasts, and video.45 Micro.blog also supports long-form blogging.67

It was launched on April 24, 2017, after a Kickstarter campaign that reached its funding target within one day.89 The service was built using Jekyll, but later transitioned to Hugo.10 Users can post using hosted accounts or import RSS feeds from other self-hosted blogs to syndicate them into the network from other websites they run. Users can also import their posts from Twitter, WordPress, Tumblr, and the defunct microblogging service App.net. Some of the Kickstarter Campaign rewards involved access to a book on Indie Microblogging that Reece committed to writing. A full draft of this now exists11 (as of 2022-12-22) and is publicly available.

The web hosting service DreamHost supported Micro.blog's Kickstarter campaign,12 and announced their intent to help customers create independent microblogs hosted at DreamHost that are compatible with Micro.blog.13

Philosophy

Micro.blog encourages users to publish under their own domain as part of its support for the IndieWeb14 "POSSE" principles15—Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere. This publishing model involves the end user posting content to their own domain name based site first, then using web standards to syndicate to multiple other social networks and platforms.16

Micro.blog supports syndication to Facebook Pages, as well as to Twitter, Facebook, Medium, LinkedIn, Mastodon, and Tumblr accounts.1718 It also supports importing from data exported from WordPress,19 and supports cross-posting from Instagram to micro.blog.20

Micro.blog eschews many of the common features of Twitter and other microblogging platforms. For example, Micro.blog does not show follower counts,2122 does not have hashtags,23242526 public likes2728 or trending topics,29 does not have equivalents of retweeting30313233 or quote tweeting, does not algorithmically recommend users and like Mastodon, and does not have full-text search as part of the service34 or client apps. Reece says in his book: "It mirrors a philosophy we have with Micro.blog to launch without follower counts or public likes."35

Unusually, for a social network, Micro.blog's first full time employee was a Community Manager, Jean Macdonald,36 who—among other things—produces a hand-curated "Discover" section on Micro.blog.

Reece explains some of this in his book, saying: "I think more social networks should do things that don’t scale, prioritizing safety over profit. For example, in Micro.blog the featured posts in Discover are curated by humans instead of algorithms."37

He also writes:

Micro.blog doesn't make it particularly easy to discover new users, and posts don't spread virally. While some might view this as a weakness, and it does mean we grow more slowly than other social networks, this is by design. No retweets, no trending hashtags, no unlimited global search, and no algorithmic recommended users.

Micro.blog limits search and avoids public likes and reposts so that the snowball starts small and stays small. Instead of going viral and becoming a major problem, fake accounts can be spotted early and shut down if necessary.38

Client applications

  • Wavelength39
  • Sunlit 2.040
  • Icro 1.041
  • Gluon42

See also

References

  1. Read, Noah. "Intro to Micro.blog". Noah Read. Retrieved 2013-01-17. https://noahread.net/blog/intro-to-micro-blog ↩

  2. "indieweb network - IndieWeb". indieweb.org. https://indieweb.org/indieweb_network ↩

  3. Newport, Cal (2019-05-18). "Can "Indie" Social Media Save Us?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2019-11-18. In 2017, Manton Reece, an IndieWeb developer based in Austin, Texas, launched a Kickstarter for a service called Micro.blog. On its surface, Micro.blog looks a lot like Twitter or Instagram; you can follow users and see their posts sorted into a time line, and, if you like a post, you can send a reply that everyone can see. When I checked Micro.blog's public time line recently, the top post was a picture of a blooming dogwood tree, with the caption "Spring is coming!" Even as it offers a familiar interface, though, everyone posting to Micro.blog does so on his or her own domain hosted on Micro.blog's server or on their own personal server. Reece's software acts as an aggregator, facilitating a sense of community and gathering users' content so that it can be seen on a single screen. Users own what they write and can do whatever they want with it—including post it, simultaneously, to other competing aggregators. IndieWeb developers argue that this system—which they call posse, for "publish on your own site, syndicate elsewhere"—encourages competition and innovation while allowing users to vote with their feet. If Reece were to begin aggressively harvesting user data, or if another service were to start offering richer features, users could shift their attention from one aggregator to another with little effort. They wouldn't be trapped on a platform that owns everything they've written and is doing everything it can to exploit their data and attention. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/can-indie-social-media-save-us ↩

  4. Sorrel, Charlie (2019-04-19). "Micro.blog now lets you post videos". Cult of Mac. Retrieved 2019-11-18. https://www.cultofmac.com/617968/microblog-videos/ ↩

  5. Devroe, Colin. "An interview with Manton Reece of Micro.blog". Colin Devroe. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://cdevroe.com/2018/01/19/interview-manton ↩

  6. Hoang, David. "micro.blog - a social network for RSS lovers". David Hoang. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://www.davidhoang.com/blog/micro-blog-a-social-network-for-rss-lovers ↩

  7. "Writing longer posts". Micro.blog. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2022-12-22. https://help.micro.blog/t/writing-longer-posts/27/6 ↩

  8. White, Nicholas (2017-01-04). "Indie Microblogging Kickstarter Project in Austin Reaches its Goal in One Day". Silicon Hill News. Retrieved 2017-06-07. http://www.siliconhillsnews.com/2017/01/04/indie-microblogging-kickstarter-project-in-austin-reaches-its-goal-in-one-day/ ↩

  9. Reece, Manton (2017-01-03). "Indie Microblogging: owning your short-form writing". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2017-06-07. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/manton/indie-microblogging-owning-your-short-form-writing ↩

  10. Reece, Manton. "Custom templates, categories, new theme, and more". Retrieved 25 January 2023. https://www.manton.org/2019/01/30/custom-templates-categories.html ↩

  11. "Indie Microblogging (book)". micro.blog. Retrieved 2022-12-22. https://book.micro.blog ↩

  12. DreamHost (24 January 2017). "Pitching in to Support the Open Web". https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/pitching-support-open-web/ ↩

  13. "Micro.blog Project Surges Past $65K on Kickstarter, Gains Backing from DreamHost". 26 January 2017. https://wptavern.com/micro-blog-project-surges-past-65k-on-kickstarter-gains-backing-from-dreamhost ↩

  14. Krycho, Chris. "Some Thoughts on micro.blog". Sym·poly·mathesy. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://v5.chriskrycho.com/journal/some-thoughts-on-micro.blog/ ↩

  15. "Micro.blog". micro.blog. Retrieved 2019-02-28. https://micro.blog/about ↩

  16. "POSSE - IndieWeb". indieweb.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28. https://indieweb.org/POSSE ↩

  17. "Cross-posting to Twitter, Medium, Mastodon, and more". help.micro.blog. Retrieved 2019-02-28. https://help.micro.blog/2016/cross-posting-twitter/ ↩

  18. Gooding, Sarah (2019-08-26). "Micro.blog Adds Tumblr Cross-Posting". WP Tavern. Retrieved 2019-11-18. https://wptavern.com/micro-blog-adds-tumblr-cross-posting ↩

  19. "Setting up WordPress". help.micro.blog. Retrieved 2019-02-28. https://help.micro.blog/2018/setting-up-wordpress/ ↩

  20. "Cross-posting to Micro.blog from Instagram". help.micro.blog. Retrieved 2019-02-28. https://help.micro.blog/2017/instagram/ ↩

  21. Reece, Manton. "Popularity Contests". Indie Microblogging (book). Manton Reece. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/popularity-contests/ ↩

  22. Krycho, Chris. "Some Thoughts on micro.blog". Sym·poly·mathesy. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://v5.chriskrycho.com/journal/some-thoughts-on-micro.blog/ ↩

  23. Reece, Manton. "UI impacts behavior". Indie Microblogging (book). Manton Reece. Retrieved 2017-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/ui-impacts-behavior/ ↩

  24. Reece, Manton. "Fake news". Indie Microblogging (book). Manton Reece. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://www.manton.org/2016/11/22/fake-news-and.html ↩

  25. Devroe, Colin. "An interview with Manton Reece of Micro.blog". Colin Devroe. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://cdevroe.com/2018/01/19/interview-manton ↩

  26. Reece, Manton. "Discovery". Indie Microblogging (book). Retrieved 2013-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/discovery/ ↩

  27. Reece, Manton. "Popularity Contests". Indie Microblogging (book). Manton Reece. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/popularity-contests/ ↩

  28. Krycho, Chris. "Some Thoughts on micro.blog". Sym·poly·mathesy. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://v5.chriskrycho.com/journal/some-thoughts-on-micro.blog/ ↩

  29. Reece, Manton. "Fake news". Indie Microblogging (book). Manton Reece. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://www.manton.org/2016/11/22/fake-news-and.html ↩

  30. Reece, Manton. "Popularity Contests". Indie Microblogging (book). Manton Reece. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/popularity-contests/ ↩

  31. Reece, Manton. "Fake news". Indie Microblogging (book). Manton Reece. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://www.manton.org/2016/11/22/fake-news-and.html ↩

  32. Reece, Manton. "Misinformation". Indie Microblogging (book). Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/misinformation/ ↩

  33. Krycho, Chris. "Some Thoughts on micro.blog". Sym·poly·mathesy. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://v5.chriskrycho.com/journal/some-thoughts-on-micro.blog/ ↩

  34. Reece, Manton. "Discovery". Indie Microblogging (book). Retrieved 2013-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/discovery/ ↩

  35. Reece, Manton. "Popularity Contests". Indie Microblogging (book). Manton Reece. Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/popularity-contests/ ↩

  36. Read, Noah. "Intro to Micro.blog". Noah Read. Retrieved 2013-01-17. https://noahread.net/blog/intro-to-micro-blog ↩

  37. Reece, Manton. "Misinformation". Indie Microblogging (book). Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/misinformation/ ↩

  38. Reece, Manton. "Misinformation". Indie Microblogging (book). Retrieved 2023-01-17. https://book.micro.blog/misinformation/ ↩

  39. "Microcasting On Micro.blog With Wavelength". https://www.macstories.net/reviews/microcasting-on-microblog-with-wavelength/ ↩

  40. "Sunlit 2.0 Released As A Micro.blog And Wordpress Photo Blogging App". https://www.macstories.net/reviews/sunlit-20-released-as-a-microblog-and-wordpress-photo-blogging-app/ ↩

  41. "Icro 1.0". http://manton.micro.blog/2018/05/09/icro.html ↩

  42. "Gluon". https://gluon.app/ ↩