Tag Archives: Blogging

Podcast Episode: Return

Pip: Blender Fox has moved the blog again — and honestly, the only constant in blogging is the platform you're leaving.

Mara: This episode covers the move back to WordPress and what prompted it. Let's start with the return itself.

Return

Pip: The question here is simple: why does a blogger pick up and move, and what does the destination say about what they actually need from a writing tool?

Mara: The post is brief and direct — here's what it says: "I've moved everything back to WordPress as micro.blog's writing interface was absolutely horrendous."

Pip: That word — horrendous — is doing a lot of work. When the interface itself becomes the obstacle, the writing stops, and at that point the platform has failed its one job.

Mara: The post is titled simply "Return," which frames this less as a technical migration and more as coming back to something familiar. WordPress isn't presented as a destination so much as a retreat to ground that already works.

Pip: There's something quietly telling about that framing. You don't title a post "Return" if you feel triumphant — you title it that when you've been away long enough to remember why you left, and then long enough again to remember why you came back.

Mara: The post also flags that this isn't necessarily permanent. The closing line is: "I'll keep it here while I look at other options." So WordPress is a stable base for now, not a final answer.

Pip: Which is a reasonable position. Settling on a platform while still keeping an eye open is how most long-term bloggers operate — you stop when something works well enough, not when something works perfectly.

Mara: What the post doesn't detail is what "other options" might look like, but the dissatisfaction with micro.blog's writing interface is the explicit driver here. The functionality may have been fine; the experience of actually sitting down and writing was the problem.

Pip: And that distinction matters more than it sounds. A platform can check every technical box and still make you not want to open it.

Mara: Right — usability at the moment of writing is the thing that either gets out of the way or doesn't.


Pip: A blog that moves platforms is still a blog that's running — and that counts for something.

Mara: The search for the right writing environment continues. Worth watching where it lands next.

Return

You might have noticed the blog change again. I’ve moved everything back to WordPress as micro.blog’s writing interface was absolutely horrendous.

I’ll keep it here while I look at other options

WP Drama

You may already be aware of the mess that is happening with WordPress/Automattic and WP Engine.

This mess has enforced the need for me to disconnect my blog domain from here as quickly as possible, but I still haven’t found any good options.

ClassicPress is one, but trying to find an appropriate host is tricky since it’s not a widely used.

Ghost is another I have considered and am still considering.

Tumblr…. just, nope…

WordPress Goodbye on the Horizon

I’ve finally had a notification from WordPress that my plan is coming up for expiry.

I won’t be renewing it.

If you still want to view my posts after I kill the blog domain, it’ll be at https://blenderkitsune.wordpress.com (this currently redirects to https://blenderfox.com as the domain and hosting is still active)

WordPress, Automattic and AI

It has come to my attention that Automattic is going to be selling of the data of its users for training AI.

This is unacceptable and I’m sure violates at least some data protection rules.

While I can’t stop them using my past data, since they already have it and likely already HAVE trained their models on it, I can stop them using more of my WordPress data…. by not giving them any more of my data.

As such, when my WordPress plan here expires, I will not be renewing it. When the domain comes up for renewal, I’ll transfer it off WordPress entirely.

As for my blog? At the moment I’m looking at other options, including Medium, Blogger, and Ghost, and also self-hosted options.

IFTTT

My connection to IFTTT suddenly messed up so I had to delete my blog connection and recreate it, and create a new application password…

Very weird why this suddenly happened.

WordPress and Twitter

I wondered why I didn’t enable auto-sharing to Twitter from WordPress,

Then I remembered, that method only puts the title of your blog entry, plus an embedded link. Unless you have a really informative blog title, I don’t think it works.

Instead, I use IFTTT, but have to remember to either add a picture somewhere in the post or manually shre it through force checking the IFTTT applets.

Stats

Evidently, even my blog is party to the Frozen craze….

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