@jack I think what he means by being too simple is the lack of a concept of post types - with tumblr you could create a new post of a specific type (link, quote, text etc). Sure we could make it work with m.b. But it’s not so intuitive for a new, non-techie user.
@jack I agree with you here. I’ve been personally debating how I want to go about things between my main site and micro.blog, as to what I post where. I’m getting back to posting photo posts on Micro.blog, but I see link posts as something which can go either place. My feeling is if the commentary is brief, I see no reason that couldn’t be on Micro.blog.
@amit Possibly. It's just that he specifically mentioned a link blog, which would seem to rely less on post types. I would also think that not having to deal with post types would be less confusing to a new user. But he's right, it's not Tumblr :).
@sku\_b Same here. I go round and round with this. My current thinking is links, photos, and quotes go on Micro.blog. And yet, I didn't do that with my latest link post. Go figure.
@jack totally agree with you here. Especially with the improving share extensions on iOS and Mac. (Can’t say about Android obviously. I hope there is something similar there).
@jack This confuses me too. Although, I will say, it can be hard to understand the whole concept of Micro.blog if you are just skim reading the intro material.
@jack You can make an old school linkblog on MB. But what really makes a linkblog functional is site search and categories like @jenett has done so you can find older links on a topic. MB does not have those.
@jack I agree entirely with your point about M.G. Siegler. Seems like pretty wooly thinking on his part.
@jack Yeah, and I read it as he looking at all these platforms more from the perspective of tumblr replacements -- which of course m.b is not neither does it target to be.
@jack Siegler tends to be willfully ignorant when it suits his point of view/argument. I lost track of the number of times we had to correct his basic facts about Camino when he covered us (as in, our project leads repeatedly reaching out to him, pointing his errors and the facts/sources to back up their erroneousness). And yet, the next article, same story….
@kordumb @jack Agreed, that makes better sense in the context he’s using it there.
That said, one thing I had forgotten from my infrequent use of data-capitalist social networks is how overwhelmingly busy they are. Hundreds and hundreds of things on the page competing for your attention (most of them garbage). Micro.blog’s simple, text-and-images-focused design and layout is a balm for the eyes and the brain; I’ll take that spartan any day!
@vasta @smokey, in this article, Micro.blog is said to be too "spartan".... My english is not good enough to know what this means... 500ish.com/tumblr-to...
@dhe I’m not sure I would like that. I rather enjoy seeing more personal photos / text appearing in my feed. Pulling in news photos would change the nature of this beastie, in my opinion. As it is I’m less enamoured of posts on here that are simply links to other websites, without any other personal impression. But that’s just me. :)
@dhe I know what you mean about figuring out where it fits in! I have also tried to mentally place it among all the different platforms. For me it feels like something old, but new at the same time: an old-fashioned blog hub, where people can post longer pieces and then continue on the discussion with replies, etc. Or small snippets, that for many people seem to accrete into something larger (running logs, photo series, books read, etc.) There’s still the feed element, which does feel “newsy”, but again there’s still that personal element that sets it apart from many of the others, which seem to have become the domains of professional sites. To me micro.blog has a wilful-naivety in that it’s trying to keep something of that 90s-internet feel, when we all still liked talking to each other but just did it online. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, hehe. That’s also quite likely. :)
@numericcitizen I think what @dhe said probably captures Siegler’s intent; we typically use spartan in English to make a point about the austerity or plainness of something (by way of comparison with qualities of ancient Sparta). // @vasta
@herself @dhe I agree. I used to like the embedded link aspect on Twitter. But it takes away the joy of reading what the author writes about the story and linking it within the text of the post. It’s, as you say, very 90s or even aughts Internet
@jack I saw your update that he called in "Spartan" in the subsequent blog post and I agree, m.b is spartan. It's an RSS feed reader, comment system, notification system, and CMS all rolled into one. Yet it's clean and looks spartan. I'd say that's quite the achievement!
@nitinkhanna @jack Interesting, I think I had missed this blog post. Lack of post types is intentional: we could add them, but Micro.blog already knows when (for example) a post contains a photo. Removing friction and choices when starting a new post is really important to me. I'm hoping the new categories support will give enough structure for people who really want it.
@manton I don’t know about the new categories support. I know you’ve made some changes recently. Will check it out. But yeah, it’s important to keep things simple for the end user. There is so much hidden functionality below the surface that it’s amazing.
Still, does this mean you’re not doing a good job of evangelizing the massive potential of micro.blog through adequate documentation or on-boarding?
@nitinkhanna Exactly!
It's an RSS feed reader, comment system, notification system, and CMS all rolled into one.
That's one of the best features of M.B. As much as I like the new changes, I'm afraid, it will take away from this primary feature.
@nitinkhanna Here's the post on my blog about categories. And yes, we're not doing a good enough job yet of explaining things. The home page, onboarding, and help all need to be improved.
@manton good love for the blogging side of things! Love how you’ve kept the changes consistent across APIs and how categories can be recommended for certain post types.
@nitinkhanna RSS feed reader. It comes with the added ability of writing directly in the reader. I had always wished for a way to comment within a feed reader.