I had been cultivating a fascination with Jekyll for blogging for a short while. It looked oh so clean, and minimalist, and sleek. It has its fans, for sure, and I am one of them.
If I were starting my blog from this day, I would almost certainly consider using Jekyll for it, rather than WordPress.
WordPress: better the devil?
But, I am not. Back in 2007 (can it really be so long ago?!), when I started blogging, I didn’t give much thought to my requirements eight years down the line. And the funny thing is, they have hardly changed.
Org2Blog is everything I need from blogging. It’s quick, because I can compose my text in Emacs, and also supply my category and tag information directly too.
When saving the post in Emacs, I can save a local copy using the same date-title-based file name schema that Jekyll would expect (e.g.: 2015-10-28-Assessing_Jekyll_as_an_alternative_blogging_platform.org).
Further benefits to Emacs/WordPress duality
Emacs Rocks.
As indicated by the previous filename example, blogs can be saved locally on my hard disk in Org-mode format, allowing me the option later on to convert everything for a Jekyll-based future. In other words, making the decision to hard-switch from one system or another need not be rushed and can, in fact, be assessed based on technical need.
Another “turn-off” from Jekyll is that, despite various attempts to make it easy to migrate WordPress posts, I found the process awkward and the documentation confusing. There is more than one way to skin this cat.
For me, Emacs provides such a comfortable environment using Org2Blog that it’s really hard to justify the alternative approaches of org-jekyll or Org+Jekyll.
Disadvantages to using WordPress
Well, it’s not elitest 😉
But aside from that, there are a few serious disadvantages. And these are ones you already know about: there’s lots of (potentially-vulnerable) PHP running, which is a security risk and also makes WordPress … slow.
Also, WordPress makes microblogging, or “notes” in IndieWeb parlance, not very easy. I want to publish my own microblog on my site and publish it elsewhere, but this will take futher investigation.
WordPress, also, has a reputation. It’s a bit like Walmart (or Asda in the UK). It’s a great, hulking CMS that everyone knows. It’s everywhere. Everyone uses it. Which means there’s less that’s “special” about it. And that’s a shame, because for all of that it’s really quite brilliant.
What WordPress gives me
Managing SEO settings per-post in WordPress
Like others, I’m a firm believer in the IndieWeb movement, but I don’t have enough time to write software for personal use right now. Luckily, many talented and dedicated individuals have stepped up and kindly donated their time and code to enable the IndieWeb on WordPress sites. This suits me down to the ground. At least I can support the movement by advocating and using their code.
WordPress also gives me flexibility. If I wish to write a short post about some coffee I’ve tried, I can. Picture too. If I wish to incorporate a video or music in a page fo rsome reason, the built-in editor makes that effortless. As it does, embedding a tweet too. WordPress is doing favours for the web at large, by keeping our writing options open and encouraging open sharing, rather than feeding us silo-centric drivel-data that we see so often from certain social networks!
One last thing WordPress gives is the ability for people who are not computer-confident to use a device like a Chromebook, or even their phone, and still provide a compelling and easy-to-use platform for sharing content.
Images taken at "30 Jahre Amiga" in Neuss on October 10, 2015.
Advice sought please. Is there any Chrome app or extension which runs on ChromeOS and auto-imports/uploads photos straight from USB-camera or SD Card to the cloud?
Background: Got a senior relative a Chromebook about 18 months ago and she’s been loving it… until recently. What changed? Not being able to auto-upload photos to Photos, and instead having them upload to Drive. When photos used to import straight from USB camera/SD Card, things were so straightforward.
The issue here is that this change is not understood. How do you explain “well, Google used to provide this on your Chromebook, but then decided to remove that feature and there’s nothing you can do about it, despite paying good money”…?
The movement is towards a free web, unimpeded by the silos that threaten to own us, and liberated from social-networking norms that diminish our individuality.
And yet, there isn’t actually one movement; there’s two. In fact, there are many more than two, but I’ll focus on just these for now.
Friendica
Friendica is a social networking platform which is decentralised, distributed and fully privacy-respecting. It is, of course, open source too. Friendica’s purpose is to be an ‘alternative to those “creepy” social networks that don’t really care about your privacy’. It is primarily a web site with components that interact with other social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc) as well as other instances of Friendica.
Friendica requires self-hosting.
Indieweb
Conversely, the “Indieweb” is more of a concept than a specific implementation. Its guiding principle is that “When you post something on the web, it should belong to you, not a corporation.” Although similar ideologically to Friendica, the implementation is less defined. Some people have implemented it via WordPress plugins, others through Jekyll and other static blogging systems.
Indieweb’s principles can even be implemented in “closed” systems, provided the data can always be accessed by its owner.
Free software such as Linux is great at many things, including keeping your data very safe. That is, if you are in relative control of it yourself.
Transferring sensitive files from one machine to another – offline, via USB stick.
Linux is also used by the likes of Google, Facebook, et al., not to mention most western governments. In fact, its flexibility, suitability and cost-effectiveness means it’s pretty much there, in most pieces of consumer electronic equipment, plus any networking kit employed in telephone exchanges and data centres, through to the end points – the receiving servers which constitute “the cloud”.
Its use and application is rich and strange: sometimes in your interests, and often, arguably, not so. But whether you’re a Linux/UNIX, Windows or Mac user, taking care of your own data is vital for a life of value!
Making your digital life private, again
Is it possible to retract data that you previously opted to store online, and be confident that cloud service providers no longer keep it stashed somewhere? There are two responses to this:
“yes”
“no”
Let’s assume for a moment that “yes” is, by far, the prevailing truth. “Yes”, data which I previously uploaded was properly deleted when I deleted it, and an online service provider no longer has any copy, nor any meta data about my data (ok, I’m laughing now).
“there are many ways in which you can protect your data, and protect your privacy”
Many of us have done it: uploaded photos to Google Photos, posted images or event information to Facebook, shared our location on Twitter, set up an account on … well, the list goes on. But forgetting the “privacy” policy of such entities, just for a second (well, ok then – it’s not that easy to put aside “We store data for as long as it is necessary to provide products and services to you and others”, but even so!!), there are many ways in which you can protect your data, and protect your privacy. It starts with a little effort and time.
First things, first: get a backup routine!
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is your data security. For example, consider the following:
Is any of your personal data stored on company equipment?
Do you absolutely know, hand on heart, that your data is backed up?
Did you go ahead and do that yourself?
Did someone sign a certificate and say, in no uncertain terms, that they did that on your behalf?
When?
When did you last audit your data?
A friend of mine recently lost years of pristine digital photos due to a failure of company equipment (“the company laptop”) and because he hadn’t backed them up to a secondary device – even though he had one of sufficient capacity in his possession!
Don’t let this be you! Get a routine in place for backing up. Even if it’s only monthly, usually cameras and phones have enough capacity to store a month’s worth of shots.
Designate somewhere safe for your backup!
A safe location can be anywhere. You don’t have to get a fireproof safe – although I’m not saying don’t! But if you backup your personal data at home, try not to keep your backup at home. A USB drive costs so little these days, that it’s the perfect medium for backing up photos and then taking it to work and locking in your desk drawer.
Encrypting your data is always a good idea for a removable storage device, provided you can easily remember a strong password. Although the ease of managing encrypted removable storage varies between operating systems (note, it is very easy to encrypt data on GNU/Linux).
Test restoring from your backup and backup again!
A backup is no good if you can’t restore files from it. Luckily, with a simple backup process you can easily monitor and validate that your backups have occurred successfully. If you are confident that your system backups work ok, do another one. Then store. Wash, rinse, repeat.
How does this keep my data private?
By setting a rule for yourself to back-up your own data, you won’t become so dependent on cloud services for backing up your photos.
Common objections to keeping data off the cloud include the oft-argued (but ill-conceived) notion that it’s free of cost. Let’s just examine this for a brief moment:
Data centres cost hundreds of thousands, to millions of £/$/€ to build
Running costs are tens to hundreds of thousands of £/$/€ each month
They must be staffed, too – requiring monthly salaries
If everyone is uploading for free, how can it pay for itself?
There must be an end-purpose: the end does not justify the means!
The value of your “free” data storage is in the metadata that is stored with it. Tied to your user account (that same user account you might use to log in to other services, signifying your activity at other times even when not using the primary service…) is data – in the form of metadata – that describes it quite clearly.
What photo metadata tells my cloud provider about me
That photo which was kindly synced to your cloud provider’s account will contain data, like:
Where you were (where you live, work,visit, or where friends, family live, work, etc)
What local time it was (when you may not be working, placing you into a social demographic)
What equipment you were using (which brand you like to buy)
What network you were using (who you are a customer of)
What the weather was like at the time of the photo
Who you were with from the faces of people you were with & photographed … thus registering where they were at that time too (thanks to facial recognition technology and perhaps against their will)
Due to prominent colouring in the photo, whether you were inside or outside
… and much more.
When free is not free
If I am a massive indexing engine and I start aggregating and analysing these data, I will be able to determine some interesting trends:
How many people use my service in an area/region/country
How many people who use the service were in a particular area/region/country at a specific time
How many of those use Camera brand “B” or Phone brand “A”
How many faces I recognise (people who have opted in to facial recognition)
Who is in whose “networks” and extended networks (friends of friends)
How many faces I don’t recognise (potential targets for acquisition – new users)
How many people like being outdoors on a bright, dry day
And how many don’t
Whether you like being outdoors … or not
Who you like being with during those conditions
What you might be doing at that time, on that type of day, in those conditions, with those people, while using your “brand X” device.
we are now at a stage where it is easier to get a phone, and rely on Facebook for photo storage
Some people I know seem apathetic towards online security, and yet suspicious towards cloud service provider’s intentions too. Perhaps we are now at a stage where it is easier to get a phone, and rely on Facebook for photo storage, than to “bother” seeking alternatives. “The answer is not readily to hand, so let’s move on.”
Living a life less ordinary
The problem with systems is that they need parameters. Do a search on something, somewhere, and you’ll be sure to see ads and sponsored links of that thing, somewhere else. This is, and has been for a while, the new internet “norm”.
Breaking out of this “think, search (hunger); feed (consume with contextual data)” lifestyle has been described as the “search bubble”. A self-fulfilling data management and presentation matrix based on your lifestyle habits.
By adopting a simple routine such as taking care of your own data and not subscribing religiously to online services, it’s possible to find not only more sanctity in life’s unique moments, but also more richness from the due consideration of others. Where people know you a little less, and are curious to know you a little more.
