Apparently IFTTT can monitor RSS/ATOM streams (like mine) and perform an action for new items. That means that I can have TradeSocial output an RSS feed for the system as a whole, for the feeds of individual users, and for @replies. Then I can tell IFTTT to look at those feeds and (send an email -OR- send a push notification -OR- Post a Tweet -OR- etc.) any time one of them changes.

A few years ago, I discovered an author. His name is Robin Sloan, and he writes things that resonate with me, including the Wonderful Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour bookstore (which is likely my favorite novel of the last ten years.) Sloan is also a fairly prolific essayist, and some of his essays touch on ideas that are important and realted to the work that I do. This is a quick collection of links to some of his essays, projects, and short stories–along with a brief description of each–(posted half for personal reference.)

This morning, I spent 20 minutes hacking to gether a basic social media service for Of Many Trades. It’s not much, but it’s functional. It lives here: TradeSocial. There’s a simple reason that I was able to get it done so quickly: I cheated.

Computers in general, and the internet specifically, used to be really interesting. When the industry was younger, there was an element of DIY, of community, and of comradery. It was a wild space, and many people considered it be potentially revolutionary. Then capitalism stepped in, and everyone realized that the best way to make money was to datamine their users. I want to return to this Wild West of computing, and to that end, I have built OfManyTrades.com.

We’re building a book club for a better America. This is the first official update from that book club. You’re welcome to join in! We’re reading Little Brother by Cory Docotorow, which is a free download from his website, craphound.com.