Manton hears Daniel’s excuses, or perhaps explanations, for continuing to struggle with shipping Black Ink for iOS. They talk about the sometimes nonsensical rationale for postponing a release, and productivity hacks that might counter it. Manton describes his recent adventures with AI, including a practical effort to harness OpenAI’s voice recognition for transcription purposes. Finally, they discuss their shared awe about the current state of AI, and how they are struggling to imagine how to take advantage of it, both as users and as developers.
Daniel and Manton talk about Manton’s impressions of the new Bluesky network. They reflect on the lack of evolution in microblogging over ten years, as WordPress focused on “macroblogging” features like Gutenberg Blocks, and how WordPress.com’s marketing compares with other sites that emphasize blogging. Finally, they talk about Nostr and the loaded nature of “anti-censorship” platforms.
Daniel updates Manton on his progress with Black Ink for iOS, and his decision to take the March 1 deadline to ship less seriously. They talk about the difficulty of tackling huge new features and how it can be dispiriting and disruptive to schedules. They catch up on Twitter’s latest hi-jinx, remark on the Elon Musk’s remarkable ability to perform worse than even the most pessimistic of expectations, and struggle to understand Twitter as it is both enormously influential and transparently broken.
Manton and Daniel talk about the fallout from Austin’s ice storm and preparing rationally for unexpected emergencies. Manton gives an update on Micro.blog enabling Mastodon support for more users, the impending Twitter API shutdown, and whether Manton should pay Twitter to postpone an inevitable removal of Twitter integration from Micro.blog.
Daniel gives Manton an impromptu review of the new Micro.blog home page. They talk about striking a balance between coming across like a charming one-person company vs. a faceless corporation. Manton talks about open-sourcing the React-based version of Micro.blog, they talk about the benefits of doing so, and briefly discuss the GPL and MIT licenses.
Daniel quits Twitter! Manton and Daniel talk about how everybody has a “last straw” when they quit Twitter. They compare Manton’s frustrations with Twitter 10 years ago and the new problems with Elon Musk’s Twitter. Is Mastodon a viable alternative to Twitter, and how is Facebook evil different than Twitter evil? Then they think about what kind of leader would have to come in to potentially save Twitter in the way that Steve Jobs came back to Apple.
Manton talks to Daniel about the forthcoming re-design of Micro.blog’s home page. They discuss the marketing importance of home pages, comparing them to the “storefront” of an online business. Are claims that an app “doesn’t have a lot of features” ever accurate, and if they are, is such an assessment valid criticism? Daniel asserts that he and Manton have lost some of their “hustle” compared to earlier years, and looks forward to plans to ship a public release of Black Ink for iOS.
For the first show of the new year, Daniel and Manton talk about themes vs. resolutions, follow up bug fix updates to the MarsEdit 5 release, and book goals in Micro.blog. They reflect on the virtue of making things rather than merely consuming them, and Daniel’s lack of an enthusiastic desire to work on “just one app”. What is the likelihood of MarsEdit becoming “the thing”?
Manton and Daniel celebrate the apparent revitalization of blogging, a possible silver lining on cloud surrounding Twitter’s downfall. They talk about Matt Mullenweg’s recent podcast and public speaking appearances, and his general positivity about the future of blogging. They compare the virtue of owning your own domain name to owning your own home, and wonder whether awareness of this virtue will grow among the general public.
Daniel and Manton talk about Micro.blog trying to get more serious about marketing. How do we actually measure the success of advertising campaigns, and should we aim to attract more “influencers” to our products? Manton tries to be conscious of wrapping up high-pressure work in time to take it easy for the holidays. Finally, Daniel gives an update on his continuing efforts to get MarsEdit 5 approved in the Mac App Store.
