To Share or not to Share

I’ve been thinking about if I’m able to host my own microblog, how well connected can I make it to the rest of the internet (ie. Fediverse). I think it’s way too early to consider something like this when the intention was to have this microblog as less interaction heavy as possible. I explicitly forbid micro.blog to send my posts to the Fediverse and block all replies.

Throughout my research on Micropub and the IndieWeb, I’ve seen netizens who know much more about coding host their own microblog that can effective work as a Mastodon account with it’s capability to send and receive replies, likes, reblogs, comments, and even RSVP.

I don’t think I’m at the level to want my microblog to have that kind of ability. I considered adding ActivityPub because I don’t feel like crossposting many of my posts just yet and perhaps having that feature would make the effort more seamless, but if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t want to crosspost just yet. One of the reasons I like micro.blog is because it’s a blog host. That’s a whole different platform from Mastodon. Sure accounts can be migrated and a whole lot of data can be exported but unless the URL points to my domain I am aware that I don’t truly own it, thus it is bound to be disposable. I don’t control it. It is not truly mine.

A blog host is thus different. Should I say micro.blog is different. I have tested the export function and I’m confidence I could self-host it. I am in control of my posts. I can even control who can interact with it with greater finesse than Mastodon ever can. I’m not what kind of comparison I can make to describe the difference between microblogging on a blog host vs. a social media site. I think the former is much more personal while the latter, while it does the heavy lifting for the user, for that very same reason, it has a lot of nebulous workings. I guess my microblog feels like being at home while my Mastodon account feels like being in a party. My behavior will adjust according to the place and there are social ruled I must follow. When posting on Mastodon, I must keep in mind the well being of my fellow netizens whereas if I’m blogging, my own boundaries rule. I don’t think one if better than the other. Talking to people is just as enriching as writing in a journal. Each setting has its place in the world. It’s about what information one decides to share between those spaces, and it’s a topic I don’t want to consider just yet.