In basic terms, I am becoming fed up with the way I interact with social media platforms that have no mute options. It was annoying when I first tried out Threads (they sorted it out quickly), and as we approach another election year in the States, it’s untenable on micro.blog.
At this point, I have been asking for this feature for years. Yes, my preferred app, Gluon, offers it, as does the web interface Lillihub, but when at least a third of my usage involves opening the platforms' homepage on my Mac while working, that donesn’t suit me well.
This wasn’t really an issue when I started asking for it. The small community on micro.blog is niche and nice enough to not have many posts I would rather not see. However, now that I use it to access the wider ActivityPub network, these posts are growing all the time.
The usual pushback on this is, ‘Just mute or block people.’ And while that argument is valid, it doesn’t solve the issue at all. All the people I follow are pleasant; they are not intentionally posting about bad things for attention (mostly). I aim to keep my feed small and curated for this reason, and I follow them because I want to keep up to date with them.
They should be allowed to post about whatever topic they see fit. Topics that affect them, like American politics, religion, and all the other things that I have no interest in, yet dominate my timeline in election years. I post about things that others might not like to see, and they should also be able to block my ramblings about those topics as they see fit.
Yet here we are, years into the platform and still no ability to mute words. As the political posts start to ebb and flow, in the words of Casey Newton, ‘I’ve seen this movie before, and I know how it ends.’ I can’t stand to go through this again, so I must either move to another place entirely or uncouple my blog from social media completely.
A little pool of light
This post is less of a blog post and more of a recording of an idea I came up with mid-meeting. I was trying to explain how others should manage projects efficiently, ensuring they are clear on the desired outcomes and can measure them once the project is completed. Granted, this might be a bit out there, but it could help others.
Having a project is like following a recipe.
You find one you like; it might be something you stumble upon, or you might already have an idea of what you want to eat. Then, you create the recipe to achieve the desired result. In both instances, a good result is clear, and you know exactly what you aim to achieve from it.
The departments you need to pull into your project are like the tools you are going to use. You chop onions with the correct knife; you don’t give control over to the knife, you just use it to achieve the vision you have. You pull in your design team, use them to create the vision you have, while listening to their feedback and advice. They are the experts.
Then, you go through the recipe step by step, using all the tools at your disposal, and complete your project. You measure the results, both at the end and during the project. You might discover that you need a few more tomatoes or to chop the onions differently. So, next time when you want to replicate the same project or something similar, you can look at the results from last time and make the required changes.
You work slowly towards being able to pull together the best project you can achieve. You bring together all the parts, using all the tools you have to the best of your ability. Some might be automated; many might require following instructions, but in the end, you have something you followed through and can be proud of.
Now I’m hungry.