New Hubzilla server
Yesterday I signed up for yet another server, this time KNThost, because they have a managed service for Hubzilla (also Streams). At this stage I really think I need to have some help with running Hubzilla instances. The one that I hosted on an unmanaged VPS has gone bad, and no longer shares posts. It’s a one way hub, with a growing queue and database problem.
So, on KNThost, for a small monthly fee, they install and offer assistance with the service. It’s a bit like Mastohost in that way, and the subscription is cheaper than my other VPS. The only thing I don’t like about it is the US server location but, these days, it’s a bit hard to decide on a good location in any case. The EU is beefing up its internet laws and privacy is threatened there. Israel, where my current servers are located, is also a questionable location. I think that if one posts to, or uses the web in 2023, one must automatically assume that there is surveillance.
I find myself scratching my head with regard to where to post my content. From my Epicyon Activity Pub server I am doubtful that the posts actually reach anywhere, since I rarely get a response. On Hubzilla, I no longer subscribe to anyone on Mastodon (or Pleroma or Akkoma, etc.). Perhaps this was a mistake? It may also have been a mistake to remove myself from Fe.disroot, from the point of view of reach. If you want to be a first class citizen of the Fediverse, it’s best to be on a large instance like mastodon.social. But, from the perspective of what’s good for the Fediverse, small instances are better; individual instances are best.
POSSE
Rather than focusing on social media to publish my posts, and favouring one place over another, I am thinking to embrace more fully the POSSE system (see below).
POSSE is a term invented by the IndieWeb people
POSSE is an abbreviation for Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere, the practice of posting content on your own site first, then publishing copies or sharing links to third parties (like social media silos) with original post links to provide viewers a path to directly interacting with your content.. Why. Let your friends read your posts, their way.
In my case, I will be publishing some individual items first on epicyon and my hubzilla channel, and then collating these back into a daily blog post that contains all the significant items, reflections and links from the same day. This itself can be posted and,if I like, be sent further, such as Tumblr. I’ve done this before, and found it to be a satisfying practice. It is similar to the practice adopted by Cory Doctorow in his Pluralistic blog.
Ultimately, everything is ephemeral. What matters is our current interactions, rather than trying to preserve everything for eternity. But it’s also important to be in control of the medium, to the degree possible.
Epicyon search
A friend asked in Epicyon’s Matrix room about search, since he is interested in finding his old posts and interactions. It turns out that Epicyon has quite a good search mechanism built in.
Today’s links
As a columnist I have learned that honesty is timeless and self-importance gets you nowhere
I really liked this article by a Guardian columnist. It seems to be relevant for any kind of public writing, including social network / blog posts.
This person has various strategies to rebel against the AI onslaught