So yesterday’s post regarding my departure from FriendFeed was not well-received. That’s fine: I wasn’t submitting the decision to referendum, and how people take things is really up to them. I’ve gone out of my way not to look in on the discussion of the matter at FriendFeed, but the indignant blowback in my site comments and email inbox seem to center around how inappropriate it was for me to depart, and that I must never have really understood the service in the first place.

I’ve said about all I care to regarding FriendFeed, other than restating my respect for its capabilities and most of the community. I’m glad to remain connected to many FriendFeeders through Twitter and Facebook — and, of course, through my own publishing. But the angry feelings I seem to have stirred have an anachronistic feel to them, rather like the partisan spirit of old-school BBS wars.  This isn’t social media, which is about the sharing of content. And that’s where social media belongs: welded to the content itself, not built on the shifting sands of Silicon Valley web services and startups.

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Why I quit FriendFeed

27 January, 2010

A ghost bike roadside memorial

FriendFeed is a brilliant social media service. Perhaps you’ve not heard of it: With only about half a million unique visitors a month, FriendFeed is dwarfed by its publicity-savvy competitors. But you’ve seen FriendFeed, even if you’ve never visited the site. Part Twitter, part content aggregator, FriendFeed’s realtime technology and features have deeply influenced other services. Facebook found FriendFeed so compelling that it acquired the company and its technology in a $50 million transaction last August.

I was involved with Friendfeed for a long time. To be honest, it was probably my favorite social media tool. But this weekend, I deleted my account. When you do this, all your posts disappear into the ether, so I thought I’d write a few words of explanation in case someone should someone notice my absence and wonder what happened.

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Gretchen Jones. eco fashion designer[tweetmeme]I‘ve received several responses from designers and fashion writers regarding 20 New Eco Fashion Designers! But Do They Have a Future? Rather than publishing the longer replies as comments, I’ve offered their authors the opportunity to have their thoughts appear as guest articles. The first is from eco designer Gretchen Jones of MothLove.

As one of the designers highlighted in the aforementioned photo essay, and after reading this article, I thought I might comment with the questions I myself pose as a creative using the extremely wasteful fashion industry as my medium.

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You’ve Got to Love Cargo Bikes

14 July 2009
A heavily loaded cargo bike

July is my car-free month. Last night, I finally faced the bugbear of hauling a jumbo sized bag of dog food home on the bicycle. Yes, it can be done.

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20 New Eco Fashion Designers! But Do They Have a Future?

13 July 2009
Meadow Compton

Treehugger is featuring 20 up-and-coming eco fashion designers. But does pricey eco fashion have a future in a struggling economy? Here’s an alternative.

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Why I’m Going Back to FeedBurner (Please Check Your RSS Subscription)

12 July 2009
FeedBurner logo (small)

After two years of sitting on FeedBurner, Google is finally showing its RSS management service some love. So I will, too.

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Please Give Just $1 For The Charities That You Help To Choose

24 June 2009
Please donate $1 to charity

I’m teaming up with ten other environmental websites to help spread a little good — one dollar at a time. Won’t you help?

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