Out into the atmosphere
Welcome to the Mythical Type newsletter, where I share projects I’m working on, things I’ve been watching, and sources of inspiration.
Hi there! January is weird. Not even half way through the month, and it already feels so long. And chaotic. I was hoping 2025 would be more like, easing in.
In this issue:
Spaced Out zine
Annual lists: books, movies, and zines
Some thoughts on mainstream social media and having your own place on the web
Spaced Out is now available
Last month, I shared the cover of my new zine, Spaced Out. I finished it just before the end of December.
Paper copies are available on Etsy (U.S. only), and I’m open to trading anywhere mail can go (message me to trade). I also released a digital version on Ko-fi, so you can download the zine as a PDF and read it on your favorite screen.
Here’s a preview of some of the pages.
List of lists
On my blog, I posted my annual lists of books I read and movies I watched in 2024.
My 2 favorite books were:
Moonbound by Robin Sloan (sci-fi and fantasy)
Paved Paradise by Henry Grabar (non-fiction)
My top 5 movies, in no particular order, were:
Predestination
Deadpool & Wolverine
Spy Game
America’s Sweethearts
tick, tick…BOOM!
I also posted a zine recap of the zine-related things I did in 2024. I’m really happy with what I accomplished in the last year:
Made 10 zines (includes 2 contributor zines I organized)
Contributed pages to 4 zines
Went to 6 zines events (including 2 workshops I taught)
Shifting away from mainstream social media
Most of the time I spend on social media is on Instagram. But lately I’ve been tired of more frequent ads and not being able to follow hashtags anymore. Even when I’m trying to be conscious of how much time I spend on Instagram, the infinite scroll sucks me in sometimes.
I wanted to try something else. For the last few months, I’ve been using lesser-known social media and web services that are not owned by huge tech companies:
Micro.blog - Part blog and part social media; no ads and no algorithm; supports POSSE and IndieWeb principles; pricing starts at $1 per month
Mastodon - Kind of like Twitter but no ads and no algorithm; pricing depends on the instance (aka community) you join…could be free, donations, or membership fee
omg.lol - A suite of web services, including a webpage (here’s mine as an example), Now page (mine again), and access to the omg.lol Mastodon instance; $20 per year
I’ve been enjoying Micro.blog, Mastodon, and omg.lol a lot.
Right from the beginning, these felt like quieter places online. Smaller communities means fewer posts to see. Since there isn't an algorithm, I can actually get to the end of new posts. Suggested content isn't served to me, just to keep me in the app.
Engagement definitely feels different if you’re used to lots of views and likes. But, people are more likely to reply and have a quick conversation.
I wasn’t planning on joining Bluesky. The few people I knew who used it were also active on Instagram.
But this past week, Meta announced that they’re getting rid of fact checkers and will start recommending more political content on Threads, Facebook, and Instagram. The announcement frames the change as reducing censorship. But really this is a free pass to post hate speech and misinformation that would have been flagged up to now.
Some of my friends on Instagram posted that they joined Bluesky (and might be leaving Instagram), and I was like, ah, it's time. So now you can find me on Bluesky, too.
Note: I’ve been using Micro.blog as my hub, so I post there and then copies are cross-posted to Mastodon and Bluesky. All the same posts are on those 3 services, so it doesn’t matter if you follow me on 1 or all 3 — you will see the same stuff.
Your own place on the web
Big changes on social media platforms show the importance of having your own place on the web. A personal website or a blog…something that is yours online, where your content is not locked into a corporation.
The biggest benefits of having your own site are that your content is yours, and your website lives outside of social media. So if/when you leave a social media platform, you can take your content and data with you, and people still have your web address where they can find you.
You don’t have to have a website that’s super technical and self-hosted. It doesn’t have to be something you update frequently. Any service that lets you export your content and data whenever you want is good.
If you’re interested in having your own website but don’t know where to start, here’s a concise guide on easy ways to start blogging. It includes notes about price and ease of use.
If you would prefer a simple webpage instead, check out omg.lol. (Note: omg.lol includes a blog, too, but there’s a bit of a learning curve, especially if you haven’t used markdown before.)
I’m not an expert in web stuff, but if you have questions, let me know. I might be able to help. 🙂
Thank you for reading!
As always, thank you for following this newsletter and supporting my work.
If you want to see more from me, check out my links page.
Until next time!
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