Discovering the indieweb with calm tech

kept by eddie dec 12, 25

Browser extensions StreetPass and Blog Quest use calm tech to quietly discover Mastodon profiles and RSS feeds while browsing, enabling non-extractive indie web discovery.

Loops is a federated, open-source TikTok
Loops launches as a federated, open-source short-form video platform, but Hacker News commenters broadly dismiss it, citing federation's niche appeal and the format's inherent harms.
also on Mastodon, #social-media, #open-source, #user-experience
ActivityPub Won by Being Boring - Owl Owl OÜ
ActivityPub’s success stems from its intentionally plain design using basic web primitives, and its next revision must remain boring to support wider federation.
also on Mastodon, #social-media, #open-source, #developer-tools
RSS Feeds Send Me More Traffic Than Google – Terence Eden’s Blog
Blogger Terence Eden finds RSS feeds and email subscribers drive more traffic to his personal site than Google Search over a 28-day period.
also on #rss, #user-experience, #developer-tools
Google Reader was building the wrong future
Google Reader's true value was its accidental social network and curation layer, not feed reading, and its shutdown pushed users toward open protocols like RSS and email for direct creator connections.
also on #rss