Micro.blog allows for archiving all content to GitHub. Here is why I did it.

This blog post is about explaining a Micro.blog allowing me to archive all my blog posts, including images and why I do it.

First, you must know that Micro.blog already provides an archiving feature of all blog posts to the Internet web archive. You can find mine here. I think it is important because in our society, the durability of the numerical artifacts we create is far from guaranteed. Saving my blog posts outside of Micro.blog is one way to prevent my content from vanishing if something really bad happens to Micro.blog.

Micro.blog feature to archive my blog posts to a GitHub repo

I wanted to go further, though. This is where Github comes in. First, I needed to create a new repo: numericcitizien-archives. Next, by using the built-in feature of Micro.blog to archive blog posts to the newly created GitHub repo. Enabling it is super simple from the design page settings. Once done and after waiting for about a week, I could see my content from my GitHub account. You can find it here: https://github.com/jfmartin67/numericcitizen-archives.

Now that my Github repo has a copy of my blog content hosted on Micro.blog, I can use a Git client like Nova on the Mac to clone this repo to my local machine. The archive feature of Micro.blog creates a big index file in HTML format that I can then open in Safari. It’s really nice.

Setting up this blog with Blot was pretty straightforward.

It all started as an experiment. But now, it’s not. It’s something permanent¹. In less than a day, everything was set up and running. From the setup of the domain name (with GoDaddy) to having an actual site available for browsing. This is the very short story behind setting up the Numeric Citizen I/O website with Blot.

Blot’s dashboard page for this blog.

My interest in Blot came from the desire to have better control over the visual appearance of my microblog, which is hosted on Micro.blog. Micro.blog supports some customization but it’s too demanding as you have to have some knowledge of HTML, CSS and Hugo templates inner working. Another goal was to own my content.

Blot is a nice solution to my objectives: owning the content, easy visual styling, and easy publishing. Blot allows me to keep using my current applications like Craft for initial post writing Ulysses on the Mac, which supports Markdown files for editing. I had to select a GIT client to complete my workflow for publishing blog posts.

Opening my account on Blot was super easy. Before going further with any of the Blot settings, configuring my GIT client was mandatory. Cloning the Blot repo on my machine was quick and easy, too. Any non-fixable issues at this stage would have jeopardized the whole initiative.

The Blot settings page for this blog.

Next up: setting up analytics, page structure, support for commenting blog posts, and closing a link format. All of this was dead simple to set up. But I wasn’t done yet. The next step was to select a visual theme. I wasn’t satisfied with the available themes, so I asked for support for help as I knew there were other themes available. After describing what I was looking for, the guy behind Blot agreed to bring back one of the decommissioned themes (for an unknown reason). In fact, it was the previously available default one. This closed the loop. I’m a happy camper now. I like this theme because it gives this blog a “scientific paper” look, and I love it; it aligns with the blog’s purposes.

Selecting a GIT client for the Mac is a bit harder than I thought. When I decided to create this blog using Blot.im, I had to select the synchronization mechanism between my Mac and the Blot.im service. Blot.im offers two choices: Dropbox (easy, seamless, but too invasive and bloated software) or GIT. I decided to use GIT, for a few reasons.

First, GIT is geeky. I like geeky stuff. This blog is about being geeky, so why not! More seriously, using GIT means that I have to select a GIT client on my Mac (and eventually on the iPad, too, for on-the-go publishing). The leanest way to manage content sync could have been to settle for the command line only. It is super easy to install GIT in the command line on the Mac. But, now, that’s too geeky to my taste. I prefer going GUI, being able to preview commits, file content, etc.

Here is a list of GIT clients for the Mac that I more or less tested with my impressions for each.

• GITHUB Desktop Client. I think this one is mandatory as it is the official Github client. Works fine as a GitHub client. Super easy to use but limited in editing functionalities, but I can configure it to open files in Nova¹. But it cannot connect to Blot.im GIT remote repo. Yet, it’s a keeper because of Github. It’s free.
• Microsoft Visual Studio Code. This one is impressive but also overwhelming. Do I need this complexity? Probably not. I don’t like its look and feel either: too Microsoft, not enough Apple-like. It’s still not optimized for my M1-based Mac mini, which is not good! It’s free. I will probably delete it from my machine.
• Tower. This one was mentioned by someone I follow on Micro.blog. It’s not free. I like the look and feel of this app. It’s clean. Works great on macOS Big Sur. But somehow, I find it less intuitive compared to Nova. It’s a fully native application (not Electron-based). Will be deleted.
• Sourcetree. Another GIT client but for Gitlab only (could not find a way to connect to Blot.im GIT repo). Still Intel only, not optimized for M1-based machines. No go. Deleted. Thanks to App Cleaner.
• Atom. It’s still Intel-only, sadly. It looks good, but I cannot connect to Blot.im GIT repo. It only supports Github.
• Nova. This app is well-known in the Mac community. They recently released version 5.0. It looks great: a tad busier and crowded interface and costs more than Tower. It comes with a local web server, so I can preview my Markdown file edits effortlessly. It also supports many file types (HTML, CSS, to name a few). It does support extensions to augment its features which is cool. I installed a few of them (Prettier, for example). Finally, Nova supports connecting to many types of servers (FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, etc.). I feel Nova will serve me better in my blogger workflow in the long run or could be used if I ever want to test a local installation of Hugo. Who knows.

As I write this blog post, I choose to settle on Nova for now. I’m still on the trial period. I have 18 days left. I can still change my mind. Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions, feel free to post a comment at the end of this blog post (not from the main page but by hitting the date & time of the post, which will bring you to the post page where you can comment).

In a future post, I’ll explore GIT clients for the iPad. WorkingCopy seems pretty popular.

I’ve been a user of Micro.blog since 2018. At first, I wasn’t sure I would like the place. Eventually, it grew on me because it is such a quiet place¹, with more engagement from the community members and with much more respect. There is something that I don’t like about Micro.blog, though. It’s the lack of easy control over the visual appearance of my blog.

Micro.blog is based on Hugo, a static site generator. It’s pretty flexible, fast and open-source. My current understanding of Micro.blog is that it doesn’t expose all of Hugo’s controls, only a subset of them. I’m ok with this, as Hugo is not for the faint of heart. Yet, I’m not ok with the look of my microblog. I want to make it more personal, less like a generic website based on a frequently used visual theme. To make changes, I need to know about HTML (I’m kind of okay with this) and CSS (I’m not okay with this!). CSS is the weirdest thing I have ever encountered in my digital life. What a messy “language”². No amount of reading or YouTube videos will make it understandable for me.

Another solution would be to import an already-made Hugo theme in Hugo. The other issue with Micro.blog is that it isn’t easy to import open-source Hugo-based themes. They need to be “ported”. Again, it’s not something I want to mess with. I recently started to think that maybe it was time to have my own microblog hosted somewhere to get complete control of the visual appearance. Installing Hugo on my M1-based Mac mini is simple. Having a publishing pipeline from my machine to the web looks pretty easy, too. It’s only the beginning. Even with great articles like this one, I find it difficult to wrap my head around it.

After much reading, I changed my mind and settled on the “Hyde” theme of Micro.blog. I would lose too much if I were to be alone, and new challenges would certainly arise. I hope for Micro.blog to keep evolving, especially in the area of better customization. I asked its founder to open up its roadmap. I’m anxiously waiting to see what’s next.

Writing about my numeric experience isn’t new for me. When I was an indie iOS developer (2009-2013)¹, almost at the same time I started learning Objective-C, I opened a Blogger site called “buildingiphoneapps.com”². The idea behind this was to share my experience of learning a new language and a new programming platform. I wanted to share my discoveries, my challenges, etc. It was fun while it lasted. This website started my experience of being a blogger. So, today, welcome to Numeric Citizen I/O - a metablog from Numeric Citizen.

Meta definition according to Wikipedia:

Any subject can be said to have a metatheory, a theoretical consideration of its properties, such as its foundations, methods, form and utility, on a higher level of abstraction. In linguistics, grammar is considered as being expressed in a metalanguage, language operating on a higher level to describe properties of the plain language (and not itself).

Meta?

This blog is all about meta-blogging³. What? You might think? In other words, this blog is about the tools, services and workflow I depend on daily to build and maintain my online presence. I think that many people find it interesting to know how things are done behind the scenes. This is the purpose of this blog. From time to time, I’ll post updates when a new tool, application, or service comes into play. I’ll also document workflow changes or retired services. From now on, updates will be published here. While waiting for the next post and to get a sense of my current blogger workflow, consider the following diagram. It doesn’t reflect the presence of this blog yet. Wait for an update very soon.

Why?

But why use a separate website to write about blogging? I’m glad you asked. Here is why. Each of my websites has a specific audience and content type. Think of my websites as different specialized TV channels. Each of them fills a specific role or targets a specific audience. I think it is better for a blog to stay focused on its core subjects. Each website can have its own personality and visual theme to support it. That’s why.

Make sure to visit the About page for more details about this blog. You can leave a comment, too; I would be more than happy to engage in the conversation! To do so, just hit the post’s publishing date to see an individual post and add your comment at the bottom. Thanks.

As a content creator, I’m always looking for new ways, tools and services to improve my workflow to be as efficient as possible. If something no longer fits my needs, I’m not afraid to make changes. The last update to my blogger workflow dates back to last November. Since then, I made quite a few important changes.

My Blogger Workflow as of 2021-01.

What’s in?

First, I added my Synology DS720+ as a central tool to manage my digital assets, mostly pictures used in my publications. I acquired this NAS last year to consolidate my numerical assets, and I cannot overstate how good this product is. The first use was to back up important files and archives later I added the digital assets use by taking advantage of Synology Moments, a photo library service that comes with the product. Read more about my use of Synology NAS here.

Next, an important addition is Craft. I’m still in the early stages of working with Craft, and I plan to write about my observations in the near future. Meanwhile, let’s say Craft is a similar yet quite different beast than Notion. It has a cleaner and really polished design and helps me gather digitals tidbits, write and organize my thoughts. You can have a look at a few micro-interaction examples with Craft on my Vimeo page. I don’t plan to kick out Notion from my workflow yet. Notion is much more powerful than Craft. I think there is a place for both of them in my toolset.

Speaking of Vimeo, I’m back for another year as a paying subscriber. I much prefer Vimeo to YouTube (you know my stance on data privacy protection and Google, right?). I used Vimeo to publish a video about why I’ll never be a YouTuber. I’m also creating a collection of short clips of great micro-interactions with apps. Craft is one of the collections. My Vimeo profile page is here.

To create short animation clips in my publications, I use GIF files. Those are created from video clips and then converted to animated GIFs using the powerful ImgPlay application available on iOS, iPadOs and macOS Big Sur (thanks to the M1-powered Macs!). For me, it’s the best animated GIF creation application out there. Think of ImgPlay as a Final Cut Pro but for animated GIF creation.

Finally, the diagram doesn’t show my use of Apple’s Shortcuts to automate many repetitive tasks. One shortcut is used to add a device frame to any screenshots. Screenshots are prettier this way. Another shortcut saves interesting links into Apple’s Reminders app for future link posts. Finally, another one is used to create an archive of my microblog front page from time to time using Newsy.

Example of my microblog front page screenshot created from a shortcut.

What’s out?

Google Analytics is out, thanks to Plausible, a great alternative. I wrote about my switch recently and decided to walk the talk regarding my stance on data privacy protection. While not as powerful as Google Analytics, it does the job quite well for my basic needs. Since closing my Google Analytics, Databox was no longer needed.

A mature workflow

After many updates in the last 18 months, I think my blogger workflow is in an equilibrium and mature state. We never know when a new application or service pops up and can make a difference for me as a content creator looking for efficiency. That being said, I don’t expect much change for the foreseeable future.

It’s been a while since I updated my blogger workflow. The last time was back in September of 2020. It’s time for some tweaks.

The number of services I pay for has increased. Now, I’m paying for IFTTT and Buffer. IFTTT has improved its offerings this year and started to offer a paid tier. I recently added an automation where new posts from my Micro.blog RSS feed will get saved to a Google Sheet document. It makes it much easier to find previous post references when working on my Numeric Citizen Introspection newsletter.

Archives of references to my Micro.blog posts.

I’m paying for Buffer because of the added features I get in return. I get more channels and better post-management. All of my blog posts are now queued to Buffer. From there, I can choose when my blog post will be reposted. Sometimes, I may elect not to repost some of my work. Another use of Buffer is when an Apple event comes up. I will schedule tweets in advance. On the event day, I can focus on the event itself. It’s working fine for me this way.

The other addition is in fact a return of an old buddy: Reeder 5, the venerable RSS feed reader. I’m still depending on News Explorer (read my review here). I’m using Reeder 5 because of the Read Later feature, where I put all my internet articles that I want to eventually read. It works great, supports tags and runs on all Apple platforms.

Reeder 5 Read Later view.

Probably on the way out is MarsEdit. It’s not that the app is bad; quite the contrary. What I’m looking for is to consolidate my writing apps. Ulysses is rumoured to introduce support for Micro.blog beginning of next year. If that’s the case, I’ll drop MarsEdit.

In the next few weeks, I’m looking forward to Apple finally approving my submission of this blog for publication on Apple News. They recently updated their review process and asked all content creators to resubmit their articles and answer questionnaires. We’ll see.

Finally, I updated the general look of the diagram to make it easier on the eyes. I hope you’ll like it! Are you a blogger too or a content creator? What is your workflow?

Since the last update to my blogger workflow, Substack has been an important addition. Here is why and how I’m using Substack, a content publishing platform that is gaining traction for writers and bloggers like me.

Why Substack?

As you probably know, I recently started something new: a monthly newsletter about Apple, photography, privacy protection and climate change. I could have done it with Mailchimp or other similar services. Substack is free. For a few months, I’ve been paying attention to a nascent publishing platform named Substack. I do see more and more bloggers and writers publishing on it. One example is M. G. Siegler with 5ish.org.

I’m using Notion to gather my highlights during the month, coming from the usual sources and generated newsletters I get from Mailbrew. When the end of the month arrives, I go to my desk, sit down and do my write-up on my iMac. There is no native iPadOS app for Substack. Yet. This doesn’t bother me too much because it forces me to do it in a stretch. The newsletter is sent in the first week of every month. A link is cross-posted to Micro.blog.

Expect a review of Substack in the coming weeks, but first I need to gain more experience and insights into this service. Stay tuned for that one.

Cleanup required

Some cleanup had to be done too. I decided to remove any references and cross-posting to Reddit as it doesn’t generate traffic at all. Reddit is a special place (a jungle?), and I’m not sure if it fits me. Lastly, I’m still waiting for Apple News to approve my submission of this blog as a publication. It’s been months since I submitted my blog for review. I asked for support on the Publisher portal available on my icloud.com page. My expectations are low. I do hear here and there that Apple has become picky about which publication they allow. My fingers are crossed.

Finally, I wanted to update you about the visitor trend for this blog. The following graph shows sign of a slow and painful recovery following Google’s algorithms changes last November.

Recovery for this blog’s wound caused by Google is long.

A few important additions have occurred since my last update to my blogger workflow. Here is my updated blogger workflow as of 2020-08.

My blogger workflow as of 2020-08

The arrival of the controversial HEY email service has enhanced how I consume information. I recently published my thoughts on HEY. I’m happy to report HEY is now joining other important apps and services like News Explorer and Mailbrew. Who knew emails could become part of my information consumption routine? HEY combined with Mailbrew forms a killer combination.

WordPress application keeps receiving significant updates every few weeks. They are essentially bringing the block editor experience into the mobile app and adding nice touches here and there.

My favourite writing application, Ulysses, received a major update, V20, that brings a dashboard which groups a statistics panel, a text navigator, a comment section, and a media overview, among other things. Ulysses also includes a spell checker on macOS that is still unavailable on iOS but will come later this year. This addition could make me reconsider my use of Grammarly. All the details are available here.

On the subject of Grammarly, with the updated Safari in macOS Big Sur supporting extensions, my hope is to see a version of Grammarly introduced later this year. Still, regarding extensions, the same expectation is for Notion to support Safari.

Another addition, not pictured on the diagram, is the use of Apple’s Shortcuts with Reminders to created to-dos to remind me of bits of informations I want to write about. I’m using new features of Reminders shortcut support in iOS 14 for this. Oops. Works like a charm.

Finally, MarsEdit was updated to version 4.4 which bring full support of the Micro.blog platform for writing and posting directly from the application. I was testing the beta, and it works great.

If you are a blogger and use additional tools that are time savers for you, please let me know in the comment section below. Thanks!

Quite a few things have happened since my previous blogger workflow update in March. Mailbrew is in, Apple News is out, forgot about Reddit and a few surprises. Let’s dig in.

The biggest change is the introduction of Mailbrew

Mailbrew comes in to complement News Explorer as a tool to help me more efficiently consume information that needs my attention. I’m really in love with this service. Please read my Mailbrew review here.

The side effect of the Mailbrew addition is that I’m reconsidering my use of Mailchimp. I’m currently suggesting my newsletter subscribers switch to my new newsletter coming out of Mailbrew, which is much more complete and better looking. It gathers my blog posts from my main blog’s RSS feed and posts coming out of Micro.blog’s RSS feed. I’m closely monitoring the situation. I’ll see how it goes.

My-Blogger-Workflow-2020-05.jpeg

Apple’s News for my content distribution

As I write this third workflow update, I’m still waiting for Apple to approve my feed submission, more than three months after my submission. Some people think Apple no longer allows user-generated content. Too bad. I decided to remove the service altogether from my workflow diagram for now. Who news Apple anyway, right?

What about Reddit

Curiously, I forgot to mention that my blog posts are cross-posted to my subreddit named /numericcitizen. I’m using IFTTT for this. For those who consume their content from Reddit, they can subscribe to my subreddit.

Cross-posting from Micro.blog to WordPress

The thing that I like the most about Micro.blog is its simplicity. It is very easy to post new thoughts, comments, etc. Sometimes, I want to put something out there without all the fuss and requirements of WordPress, like tags, SEO edits, feature images, etc.

But, for some of my posts on Micro.blog, I want them to appear on my main blog too. I recently experimented with a few things with IFTTT and a WordPress plugin to automate this task. But in each case, I didn’t like the results. On top of that, the WordPress plugin that I tried has not received an update in more than two years. There are some bugs with my current version of WordPress, which is 5.4.1. For me, it’s a no-go.

I decided to use a manual process with MarsEdit. This venerable macOS application is simple and can post to WordPress and Micro.blog. The latter is currently being added to an upcoming version. So far, it is working fine for me.

Cross-posting with MarsEdit means copy-pasting my text from one place to another and hitting the “post to blog” button. Simple enough.

Another tiny but really useful addition: Pager for Reddit

A bit like NewsExplorer and Mailbrew, Pager is an application that works for me in the background. The Pager app helps me stay updated with content I care about on Reddit. I should probably write a separate review. The design of this iPadOS application is great. Setting up filters is easy. It’s been a while since the last update; my hope is that this app is still being maintained. It’s a really cool app, and it is free!

An unexpected change of behaviour

As you probably know by now, Apple recently introduced a few new things regarding its iPad product line: iPadOS 13.4 with complete support for mouse and trackpad and the Magic Keyboard. These two simple things are unexpectedly changing my workflow. I happen to work much more often on my iPad than I used to. Second, my usage of Notion diverted my time spent in Ulysses. Notion is not a text processor per se, but it can act as one. I write most of my text in Notion and do the final write-up in Ulysses when I’m done with my research and my ideas are fully written down. Overall, I spend less time in Ulysses, but it’s still an essential application in my workflow.

Final words

I feel my blogger workflow is stabilizing a bit. No major changes are on the horizon, which is a good thing. Now, I’m concentrating on the content.