spoutible

Anti-Social Media

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That title’s not really fair.

I’ve met people through social media that I consider friends and close acquaintances: Yvette Nicole Brown, Devin’s Cow, Alt-Immigration, Giselle Fetterman, I mean Frank Figliuzzi followed me – *mind-blown*

Just when we finally put tweeting, twittering, retweets, and doomscrolling into the daily vernacular, Twitter is sold to a childish narcissist (no offense to children, the childish or narcissists) who decides to not only let it implode, but actively sabotages it. Not to mention the racism and antisemitism. I’ve been on Twitter since the beginning, and while I lovingly described it as a cesspool, it was more than the sum of its parts. It was my first stop when I woke up in the morning, knowing that among the outrage and memes was whatever was the most important in the news of that day. From there, I’d dig deeper.

In the last few months, really since the new owner came in, my newsfeed has been a mix of ads some of which are so sus that I’d question their actual existence, inappropriate propositions, nudity, and right-wing nut jobs, ninety-nine percent of which I don’t even follow.

I joined a new social media network (to be named later), followed a friend of mine, and have seen her more today on the new network than in the last three months on Twitter. The same goes for many of the pundits and entertainment blogs that I follow. Scrolling through the new site is like attending a school or job reunion: Hey! You’re here! I’ve missed you! What have you been doing the last six months when you were hidden on Twitter?!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll continually say it again: I go to the new techy thing. I go kicking and screaming, but I still go. Twitter was probably the first to prove that statement. Then Tumblr. I didn’t question Instagram as much; just went. Post. Mastodon. I waited with breath held for Spoutible, and when the opportunity came to sign up for Threads, it took me all of three minutes to get two accounts going. I’m on the waiting list for bluesky, but I’m not sure that I’ll even sign up if Spoutible and Threads continue on the way they’ve begun.

Will I use all of these?

Man, I hope not.

I can’t recommend Threads yet; I’ve barely been on forty-eight hours but give it a try. It can only be accessed by the app, no browser yet. It’s connected to your Instagram account, although I don’t know how, and I have no idea about cross-posting. I plan to use it the way I use twitter – politics, news, voting rights, social justice, and website promotion.

I will not delete my Twitter account. I may even use it to comment on some things, but I have hopes that it might return. It was comfortable when it worked.

I’ve begun a Mailchimp Email Subscription for reaching out monthly to my in-person class attendants and I’m considering expanding it to my online community. I’m not sure what I could offer for a subscription fee that I’m not already publishing on the site, but my writing and publishing are always evolving. If you’re interested in a free preview for the next three months, drop me an email with Mailchimp subscription in the subject line and your email in the body.

This month I’m continuing the writing of my prayer book, and outlining my Wales Discovery book, some of which I may talk about on social media.

These are my official accounts:

Facebook Page
Instagram
Spotify
Spoutible
Threads

Making Waves at Spoutible

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On February 1st, a new social media site opened for business: Spoutible.

I’ve been using it since then and it has been smooth sailing, more or less. It’s still in beta and it can be a bit slower than you might be used to on Twitter, and it glitches a little, but the team behind the scenes keeps us in the loop as things progress. The soft opening let people really find their pods, their like-minded people. I’ve found some of the political accounts I followed elsewhere, but my most positive experience thus far has been getting to know the writing community there.

I’d recommend giving it a try, kicking the tires and take a deep breath because the whale puns abound.

The biggest difference that I see on Spoutible is my timeline is filled with the people I actually follow as opposed to Twitter which has been giving me Jim Jordan, Ted Cruz, Lauren Boebert and others whose drivel I really don’t need in my life. I would understand if what I’m seeing was newsworthy, but it’s trolling by our Congresspeople. It’s sad and depressing.

Do I expect Spoutible to be perfect? No, of course not, but I kind of like the Nazi- and conspiracy theory-free zone.

You can find me at kbwriting.

I’d also recommend Post, which has been going along for a couple of months (I think) now. It’s more newsie and political, although I expect Spoutible to pick up on those topics as more new voices join up. I can be found at Post under the same handle, kbwriting.

Follow the links.

I do believe I’m done looking for more microblogging sites though.

Inspire. February 2023.

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Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

– Theodore Roosevelt
This is a picture I took in the hotel my daughter and I stayed at right before Covid. Her brother and father were visiting friends in Florida and we stayed in New York, so I took her for one night to a hotel for her to go swimming. It was a fun time. Little did we know how much would change in the next couple of weeks. I’m sharing this photo now because I came across it and it’s been in my phone as a photo that I want to draw and sketch, so I’m including it now to give them the push to try and get it done before the next inspiring post. Wish me luck. (c)2023

January almost always starts off with a bang. I’m organized, I’ve got my calendar, I’ve planned my blog and my classes up to a point, and then around now, not quite halfway through February, it flounders.

But…

It hasn’t floundered. Not really.

I think I may have found a routine, sort of, some motivation, kind of, and even though it’s not perfect, well, nothing is, it seems to be working (for the most part).

I’m still trying to find the perfect storm of organizing while not being overly fastidious and ridiculously detailed.

I’m sitting at my desk (read: dining room table that was actually cleaned last night for dinner, but is currently not even remotely close), surrounded by folders, papers, planner, notebooks, car keys (which actually have a home, but are not there at the moment), and my cell phone.

I have a meeting in ten minutes, and I’m still trying to get this post halfway done so I can put it up tomorrow (Wednesday). It would only be two days late (in my mind) so that’s okay, and that’s what I wanted to talk about.

Since the beginning of the new year, I’ve been on top of things. Not only on top of my website writing, but the site housekeeping is coming up this week (ch-ch-ch-changes), and I’ve been getting ready for my two new classes in March, and working on organizing my two books on Scrivener, my storyboard program.

And, the list goes on and on. Not sure if that’s such a good thing.

Since my success in November with NaNoWriMo, I’ve been really excited about writing. I’ve tried to keep track of my writing time, word counts, ideas for future items, and writing every day. Almost every day. This has been coupled with moving all of my computer folders onto an external hard drive to better organize my writing and be able to see what I have and what I can do with those old workshop pieces. Next up is transcribing those workshop notebooks that go back about a decade.

Things seem to be coming together, and I’m hoping that by writing about it, I won’t jinx it.

I had my final therapy appointment (until I find another therapist) last week. I’ve decided to take a month off and see how I’m feeling. It’s been ten years and therapy has been a lifeline as well as a mental comfort. I’m not sure how I’ll be, but I’m hyperaware of how I feel, and I have my coping. There have been so many changes recently and a lot of the positives began about ten years ago when I found therapy; my faith; my writing. It’s been a lot in ten years and the changes take some getting used to. Including deciding on a new therapist.

I had a funeral last week for a wonderful woman in my writing group. At her funeral (and unrelated to my friend), I believe that I was given inspiration for a short story.

Inspiration is everywhere.

I’ve been on a new social media site, Spoutible. It opens to the public on Thursday and despite its glitches and slowness, it’s amazing. The atmosphere is truly the anti-Twitter. Everyone is so nice and friendly and we’re all following each other. We’re helping each other figure things out and having conversations, and I think I’m going to really like it there.

It’s still in beta (and will continue to be on Thursday) but it’s a million times better than a week-old site should be. I feel safe, I feel lighter, something I didn’t feel on Twitter. I can feel my blood pressure remaining steady. And when I open it, I don’t see Jim Jordan, Ted Cruz, or Lauren Boebert like I do on Twitter at the top of my feed even though I don’t follow any of them. It’s kind of annoying. I mean, I can’t mute everyone, can I?

I will have a Spoutible account attached to this site, something I did not do with Twitter. I’m not sure how I’ll use it but come along for the ride.

That’s it for now. I have an exciting Friday Food coming up at the end of the week. Come back for that!

African-American Inventors

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I am trying to share Black History, especially if I can find it through Black voices. I saw this on my timeline on Spoutible (open to the public on Thursday – there will be a review coming then). As a studier of history, I am always surprised to discover something else that I didn’t know. It is so important to keep our minds open to learning new things. If you know of someone not on this extensive list, please add them in the comments.