We have been away camping for a few days. Three days without an internet connection has been great!

I’ve used a variety of website, blogging, and social media tools and platforms since around 2008 when I first dived into having an online presence. So deciding what to use this year has been a deliberate choice.

I have one current social media accound – Facebook, which is not publically visible and I use strictly for keeping in intermittent contact with a few friends and family who hang out there. My preference for social interactions is real life interactions, or by email. I’m quite protective of my personal email address.

I do quite like the idea of Twitter, and used it quite a bit from around 2010 to 2014 but abandoned it as the ratio of interesting stuff to garbage and vitriol declined. But the short format and interactivity is good, it is the saturation with advertising, gaming of the algorithm by sellers and deterioration in civility that ruin it.

At the other end of the scale are various blogging platforms or even keeping a static site. I really like this longer form type of site but realistically don’t currently have enough motivation to write thoughtful long posts so would probably have spent time and money setting up a site just how I want it only to let it sit without updates for months.

Micro.blog is a good middle ground. I already had a free account, it is reasonably priced for a managed blog, and conceptually I think of it more as a place for shorter updates and thoughts so feel less pressure to write interesting, informative posts.

I just finished reading The Retro Future by John Michael Greer. I’d rate it about 7/10. The author argues that the Western concept of unending ‘progress’ is an illusion and that due to diminishing resources our society may be heading towards a serious decline. If a decline or even collapse of industrial civilization is inevitable then we should look for old technologies and tools that would enable society to continue but using less energy and other natural resources. Finished 21 January 2021, 256 pages. (Kindle edition). 📚