EFF Austin talk slides, summary
Before my talk at EFF Austin last night, I exported a PDF of my slides and asked ChatGPT (o4) to tell me about them. Here’s the chat transcript. It’s fascinating to me because this is without giving the speaker notes to ChatGPT, so it inferred everything from the slide content.
I’ve now uploaded a separate copy of the slides with speaker notes as a PDF. I ran this through ChatGPT and it produces a pretty nice summary, which I’m including below.
The talk was recorded and also includes lots of questions from folks attending.
This presentation titled “Indie microblogging and the fediverse” was delivered by Manton Reece at EFF Austin. It explores the evolution of blogging, the failures of centralized social networks like Twitter, and the alternative vision embodied in platforms like Micro.blog, which Manton founded.
Background and Motivation
- Manton is a long-time Mac, iOS, and web developer.
- Disillusioned by how Twitter restricted third-party developers and turned hostile toward openness and user control.
- Saw the need for a better alternative that supports both microblogging and broader blogging with open standards.
The Rise and Fall of Twitter for Developers
- Twitter started as an open platform but progressively locked down its API.
- Third-party clients like Twitterrific introduced key ideas (e.g. the word “tweet”).
- Over time, Twitter killed features (RSS, API tokens, IFTTT integrations) that made the ecosystem vibrant.
- Manton left Twitter in 2012 due to its toxicity and limitations.
Micro.blog: A Response
- Launched in 2017 via Kickstarter.
- Offers microblogging, photo/video hosting, newsletters, podcasts, custom domains, and more.
- Strong emphasis on open APIs and standards like Micropub, Webmention, WebSub, and ActivityPub.
- Designed to integrate with other platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and WordPress.
Fediverse and Interoperability
- Explains how ActivityPub and AT Protocol (Bluesky) function.
- Shows how Micro.blog fetches and syndicates content using RSS, JSON Feed, WebSub, etc.
- Supports POSSE: Post on your own site, syndicate elsewhere (e.g., Mastodon, Threads, Flickr, etc.).
- Highlights the architectural differences between Mastodon (federated servers) and Bluesky (PDS + relays + app views).
Principles of Micro.blog
- Minimalism: no likes, no follower counts, no algorithms, no ads.
- Focus on personal ownership through domain names.
- Posts are just HTML and Markdown — simple, durable, portable.
- Encourages a quiet, human-centered space on the web.
Vision
- Micro.blog is framed as a part of an “open garden,” in contrast to the closed “walled gardens” of platforms like Twitter or Facebook.
- Emphasizes user control, interoperability, and humane design.
- Seeks to bring back the spirit of early web publishing, updated with modern protocols and tools.