FediForum is this week! On Thursday I'll be demoing how Micro.blog fits into the fediverse, and I'll join in other sessions when I can. You can see the schedule here.
2023-03-27
My copy of Tress of the Emerald Sea arrived! Love the green ink throughout the book. š
I've been playing with Wavelength Messenger. Not to be confused with our own Micro.blog companion app for podcasts, also called Wavelength! I wish it was called something else, but ignoring that I think there's a lot to like. John Gruber's introduction is the best place to start.
2023-03-28
The new Zelda looks great. Love the fuse ability featured in this gameplay video.
2023-03-28
Just pushed out another TestFlight beta of Micro.blog 3.0. This has some really nice new stuff for managing uploads. Also the return of basic photo filters! Getting closer. Still missing: share sheet.
2023-03-28
The automatic code reloading in React Native is still kind of wild to me. I committed some changes, pushed to GitHub, then switched branches to something else, and the UI updated while the app was running in the simulator. Surprised me even though I know it works that way.
2023-03-28
I agree with the spirit of the Podcast Standards Project but I'm concerned about the details. The specification seems overly strict in a couple places (like guid) that will not be compatible with a bunch of feeds.
2023-03-29
It's pretty incredible how little has changed in podcast RSS feeds in 20 years. That's a good thing. The podcast ecosystem is not exactly suffering because of any confusion or missing spec features.
2023-03-29
NSDrinking tonight! š» I'll be there. I haven't joined in a while, so will be nice to catch up with folks. Anyone's welcome.
2023-03-29
Introducing Micro.blog podcast transcripts
Weāve launched a new feature for Micro.blog Premium customers: automatic podcast episode transcripts, powered by OpenAIās Whisper model. Iām excited about this because itās one of the more practical, time-saving solutions coming out of the rise of AI. The automatic transcripts are so accurate they can be used as-is, or edited by hand as you have time.
I thought it would be clever to ask ChatGPT to write a blog post announcing this feature. You can see the result here. But I threw it out because I like writing my own blog posts!
At Micro.blog, we donāt usually reach for automation first. We curate the Discover section by hand, looking for posts that will provide a snapshot of activity on Micro.blog to help you find new people to follow. We donāt have trends and donāt have public likes or retweets. AI is going to reshuffle many tech products, but weāre never going to have an AI-driven algorithmic timeline. AI is a tool that weāll only use when there is real benefit that aligns with our principles.
The new transcripts feature is available to anyone hosting their podcast on Micro.blog. When you upload a new MP3, Micro.blog will process it to generate a transcript. You can then edit the transcript or link it from your podcast page.
There is also a new Micro.blog plug-in to add a list of transcripts to your blog, as well as control options to disable transcription and link to the transcript from blog post. Search in the plug-in directory for āTranscriptsā to install it.
Thereās no extra charge for any of this. Micro.blog Premium has always been $10/month and it will continue to be priced that way. It includes podcast hosting and also email newsletters, bookmark archiving, web page highlights, and much more. We think itās a great value.
2023-03-30
Just finished a quick demo of Micro.blog at FediForum. Might've talked too fast. The variety of demos is so interesting. Mastodon clients, Planetary, WordPress, Flipboard, and others. It's an exciting time for the open web.
2023-03-30
The new Twitter API tiers are about what was expected. Disappointing. For Micro.blog, we plan to support cross-posting for a limited number of months, to let folks wind down their use of Twitter. There's no future on Twitter so all we can do is smooth over the shutdown for customers.
2023-03-30
No one is above the law. šŗšø
2023-03-30
Wrote a help page with some more details about automatic podcast transcripts in Micro.blog, a new feature we shipped this week. Really happy with how this feature came together.
2023-03-31
Posted Core Intuition 551! This episode covers the launch of Micro.blog's new podcast transcripts feature, and more generally what AI is good for. A short show, just 22 minutes this week.
2023-03-31
Zilker Kite Festival. šŖ
Taking the train up to Dallas tomorrow for a quick 24-hour trip. Initially was trying to save money in coach, but just upgraded to a roomette so I can more easily work and enjoy the trip. Hope when Brightline is finished with the Vegas line they can expand to Texas. š
2023-04-01
The plug-in Search Space by @sod has been updated to 1.0. It's a nice upgrade over the older search I wrote, searching blog posts, replies, and even the new podcast transcripts.
2023-04-01
If you use Drafts, check out this new action for Micro.blog. Post drafts, publish, choose your blog, cross-posting, and more options. Thanks @donnydavis!
2023-04-02
Good write-up about FediForum from The Fediverse Report. On the $40 pricing, I was a little skeptical at first of excluding too many people, but the attendance size was just right. Great participation. For the fediverse to reach its potential, there should be a mix of business models.
2023-04-02
Union Station in Dallas. š
Taylor Swift. Eras Tour in Arlington, TX.
