Micro.blog covers all of the features of EchoFeed that I’d want today. But I’m grateful it exists, because if I ever decide to write my own blogging engine (as I’ve often threatened), there’s a whole set of features I no longer need to build.

@jsonbecker what I like about it is that you’re not forced to participate in the M.b timeline.

@bryan I don't find that to be a particular benefit, personally. The whole idea of crossposting is to participate in timelines, and my whole goal with POSSE/crossposting is to meet people on whatever platform they are on, while I get to use the platform I want (my blog) as a source of truth. I continue to be baffled by folks who are happy to engage in 4 other social timelines but find it problematic to have their blog show up in this quite tiny community as well.

@jsonbecker it’s that I don’t have the choice. I prefer to post different kinds of material in different places. I’d like to start writing here but I don’t always think the audience here is the right one for certain material. I like to post memes for example, or sometimes I have hot takes, but I don’t want them in the M.b timeline. They’re more appropriate for Bluesky for example. I just want choice on a per post basis to not participate in M.b timeline.

@bryan ok I better understand your point of view. I think that for me, I don’t view this timeline as all that different than my RSS feed. It’s just one way to read my blog. Same as cross posting in general. My and use is not, broadly, “Omni text field to selectively send places”— that’d be something I’d use like Drafts of Shortcuts for. It’s “post my blog wherever people may want to read and reply”. I think my long post on analytics this morning more completed expresses my view there. I think the idea of “curate content to specific places” is totally valid, and just not what I use my blog for.

@jsonbecker I understand posting/sharing philosophy but more in the sense if you are broadcasting. But you also mention, "my whole goal...is to meet people on whatever platform they are on, while I get to use the platform I want (my blog) as a source of truth." I can also see how that may work for longform posts but for micro posts, how do you meet people if they reply on say, Bluesky but you don't monitor Bluesky for replies?

My blogging/online-sharing is more on the lines with @bryan where I choose to post certain content depending on the platform. I'm still using Micro.blog for everything I write so I subject readers here to everything (since I can't selectively not share on the Mb timeline on a post-by-post basis).

@pratik I don’t mind occasionally opening other platforms. I’m not against having accounts there I just write on my blog first and let people reply wherever. I have those platforms for reading too because not everyone writes where I can get an RSS feed easily.

@jsonbecker Ah! Got it. I share that sentiment and am trying to do that as well. I haven't directly written anywhere except my blog for a couple of months now. I exclude boosts, reposts, etc. of course.

@pratik yup— to crosspost I need accounts anyway. I check them sometimes for other peoples’ writing. The only reason to crosspost at all is because there are people on that platform who I like reading and won’t read me unless I’m there. Cross posting absolutely implies I’m participating in that platform. If I was against that, I wouldn’t turn it on (no Medium for me!). I don’t care to separate content. I’m a person, not a brand. My identity is singular and following me is following me. I think the differences between these platforms is quite exaggerated. Except LinkedIn, which is why I wouldn’t even dream of cross posting there.

@jsonbecker I am 100% with you on this. Every time I even catch myself thinking "Maybe I should post this sort of thing to one place and that sort of thing to another place" or worrying about whether the thing I'm about to write belongs on my blog or my Mastodon feed or Pika or Scribbles or wherever, I realize that—at least for me, anyway—this kind of thinking is a waste of time and energy.

@pratik I think LinkedIn is different. Of course we are different professionally. But my blog is my personal blog and reflects who I am personally and so anyone who wants to know me personally, that’s who they’re going to get. I don’t mind when people I know professionally know me personally, and I don’t expect them mostly to want to. As for the truly close friends stuff — well that’s not what any part of a public internet is for.

@petebrown yes— it seems exhausting to “hide” behind separated public accounts that are all pretty easy to find if someone just does just the basic diligence.