In online publishing you need to keep experimenting with form (visual/temporal/feedback/aesthetic structure of UX). I’m far behind where I’d like to be. Partly because I’m not as good at it and need support from design/arts types, partly because the tech for indies is weak...https://twitter.com/vgr/status/964579086747107328 …
-
Show this thread
-
The problem with being an indie is that you’re pretty much stuck with a mix-n-match set of WordPress options. Even the smallest experiments with form cost a lot in terms of paying for the art/design talent. Big media like NYT/Bloomberg have a huge advantage...
2 replies 0 retweets 2 likesShow this thread -
Though I appreciate boundary pushing by platforms like Medium and Genius, and even Google/Facebook (though that’s a lot more mixed blessing) ultimately, I think the *experience* innovations come from companies that do *both* form and content. Ie vertically delivered content...
1 reply 0 retweets 2 likesShow this thread -
I think the picture emerging is this: A) distribution at scale = covered by
@stratechery aggregator theory B) Form innovations = NYT/Bloomberg as a way to resist aggregators (ie until FB/Google figure out how to “platformize” a form innovation, the verticals have an edge ...1 reply 1 retweet 3 likesShow this thread -
...Indie publishers (defined as small 1-2 person WordPress based ops with low/zero capacity for form innovation) can only innovate on content. New narrative styles, voices, tones, conversational gambits etc. The “horizontal media innovation” (Medium/Genius) are a conundrum...
1 reply 0 retweets 1 likeShow this thread -
...These players try to generalize a form innovation without a content innovation to go with it. I think this is ultimately weak. They never seem to live up to initial promise. So Medium ends up being angst journals, Genius struggles to get beyond lyrics markup.
1 reply 0 retweets 7 likesShow this thread -
... I’ll throw one more out there that I thought had promise, but too few people have the chops to actually do it. Stephen Wolfram’s idea of a computational essay: http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2017/11/what-is-a-computational-essay/ …
4 replies 1 retweet 4 likesShow this thread -
...gap I see in this survey is form experimentation tooling for indies to integrate into existing blogs and things. Need new era in the plugin game basically. tldr: I want to do things like Bloomberg mall game, but at ribbonfarm scale. WITHOUT an art/game design studio in house.
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likesShow this thread -
...Addendum: many are pointing me to interesting new tools, but that’s the wrong way around! I don’t want to find a new tool and think up a content idea. I generally have an idea in mind requiring custom (but generalizable) tooling of which I produce the prototype case...
3 replies 1 retweet 0 likesShow this thread
...Take a minor form “innovation” on ribbonfarm, my Now Reading page. A few others like @KevinSimler have adapted it.
https://www.ribbonfarm.com/now-reading/
Obvious candidate for a good plugin. One guy offered to pluginize it, but wasn’t clear he’d be able to support it long term.
-
-
Replying to @vgr @KevinSimler
Is there some way budget that could be found to pay for it? I'd be glad to help build prototypes for innovative bloggers, *if* I can pay fair wages to the people writing code.
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
(My instincts are that bloggers can't afford it, but you might know better.)
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes - 1 more reply
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.