Welcome back to the Micro Monday newsletter! We took a break for the summer so there’s a lot to catch up on.
🎙️ Jean talks with Manton about new Micro.blog features he worked on this summer, including new emoji, iOS 13 support, photo pages, Tumblr-related features, and test blogs.
🎙️ Featured guest Tiffany White joins Jean for episode 68 of Micro Monday. They talk about photoblogging, podcasting, and Tiffany’s personal blogging history.
🛰️ Congrats to @brentsimmons and everyone who contributed to NetNewsWire 5.0. This new version can share blog posts directly from NetNewsWire to Micro.blog for macOS.
⭐ Micro.blog 1.7 for iOS was released with iOS 13 features like Dark Mode and Sign in with Apple.
⭐ We’ve added a powerful filtering interface in Micro.blog that can automatically assign categories to your blog posts based on text in the posts.
⭐ Tumblr was acquired by Automattic, makers of WordPress.com. Tumblr and Micro.blog work really well together. Manton summarizes how you can follow Tumblr blogs from Micro.blog and import Tumblr posts to Micro.blog.
💬 Sarah Gooding of WP Tavern writes about the Tumblr acquisition and Micro.blog’s new feature to cross-post from your microblog to a separate Tumblr blog:
Micro.blog may bear some similarities to Tumblr but the service has an entirely different flavor. It has become an alternative watering hole for indie web enthusiasts with its support for Webmention and Micropub protocols. Many who use the service seem to already be convinced of the value of hosting a blog that is independent from the major social media silos.
💬 Matt Mullenweg was interviewed by The Verge about the Tumblr acquisition. @jsonbecker posted to his microblog:
This interview is so encouraging. I’m very excited about the future of Tumblr and the web in a way I was not just a couple of years ago.
💬 @AlanRalph acknowledged how much work is ahead for the Automattic team:
As someone who used to be on Tumblr, I’m curious to see what Automattic will do with it. Given the damage that Verizon (and Yahoo before them) wrought, however, I think they’ve got their work cut out…
💬 @collin also thinks Tumblr is in better hands now:
I don’t know what the consensus is on Automattic acquiring Tumblr, but my take is if you like Tumblr, you should be really happy. Verizon was going to continue ruining it until it died and now it’s owned by people who care about and understand exactly this sort of thing.
💬 @cdevroe recorded an audio reaction to the Tumblr news:
Automattic sees Tumblr as an entry point for new WordPress.com customers – especially youth. For someone to go from idea to full commerce or publishing success via WordPress.com’s current offering could seem cumbersome and not nearly as hip as Tumblr.
📷 Micro.blog now has a full-screen grid view of recent featured photos. It’s a great way to find new people to follow.
📷 Or maybe you’re just here for the cat photos? No problem. Here are some from the last day via @hollyhoneychurch, @tgray, @richnewman, and @pgor.
📷 Beautiful ink sketch of a bird from @mikehendley. Inktober starts tomorrow, and we also have 🎨 emoji you can use for adding art posts to Discover.
Thanks for your interest in Micro.blog! We’re committed to making Micro.blog the fastest, best way to blog, but we can’t do it without your support. If you have any questions or feedback, let us know at help@micro.blog.
