I've been working on this post for weeks now, rewriting and editing and rewriting again. One of the reasons is because things keep changing (for the better, IMHO). I've decided to just go ahead and post what I have ... but be warned that by the time you read this, things will probably have improved and/or changed even more 😉.
My tumultuous relationship with social media
Anyone else out there remember the early precursors, like MUDs, BBSes, and Usenet? Then Compuserve, AOL and IRCs? Early days of the World Wide Web, LiveJournal, Friendster, MySpace? I wrote more about my history with blogging in an earlier post.
Twitter used to be the place where I could find the most interesting conversations, where I could interact with the most people in the kidlit community. Like many others, I spent a lot of time and energy looking for a replacement, also spent a lot of time and energy trying to help build up the community again in various platforms.
In the early days, however, there were fewer people online. It seemed more relaxed to me, less combative, less anger...at least that was my experience.
Now? Even with moderation tools like feeds and filters, the firehose of info in traditional social media can feel overwhelming. I just can't keep up.
A few other reasons I was becoming disillusioned with traditional social media:
I'm finding fewer interesting discussions that aren't fueled by anger.
I'm sure the interesting conversations are still out there, but I find them harder to notice because of all the noise. It's why I'm so grateful to people like and for keeping a weekly #KidLitChat going all these years...first on Twitter, and now on Bluesky!
I'm also finding that feeds that used to have more back-and-forth tend to now be promo-focused, with most posts being announcements about events, books, awards, reviews, etc. Nothing wrong with this in itself, of course! But there are days when I wish there was an easier way to separate out the promo from non-promo conversations.
It's more of a challenge differentiating authentic accounts from bots and AI agents.
Just recently, I had a back-and-forth conversation with someone who turned out to be a computer program. I was embarrassed and frustrated; it felt like a breach of trust. The experience made me less likely to want to engage with anyone unless I am 100% sure they are a human being. But how would I know? It's entirely possible that some of the accounts I've been following on Bluesky aren't real people at all, but just AI programs.
I let myself get too invested in community-building and not enough in creating my own original content.
I started feeling like the majority of my time on Bluesky was being spent trying to build community on Bluesky, without the success (in terms of an engaged and active kidlit community) I had been hoping for. I've been through this already with Mastodon, Post.news, and now Bluesky. It's no one's fault except my own. The social media landscape has changed, as has the world. After all...
There will never be a "one size fits all" social media platform, and that's how it should be.
Even in the early still-golden days of Twitter, there were many who still preferred Facebook or other platforms. We each have different interests and goals, time limitations, energy levels.
If you're so frustrated, why don't you just quit social media altogether?
While some people view social media as toxic and evil, I don't. I still love the unexpected moments where I connect, even briefly, with a kindred spirit out there about some shared interest or topic or question like where I could find a tuning key for my harp or shopping for Japanese food at J-Town in Toronto. Social media still brings me more joy than negativity, especially on Bluesky. Even if/when I had nothing to promote, I would still enjoy aspects of social media.
And (secondarily) as someone who wants to continue making a living from bookstuff, I find connecting with bookish people through social media still much easier and more affordable for me than seeking out and getting to in-person events.
That brings me to the Atmosphere.
Why I am loving Atmosphere's social blogging apps:
I was intrigued when I saw Bluesky's post about their summer of Standard.site, and the three new blogging platforms built on AT Protocol, or in the "Atmosphere." I like that term, because it's less scary-technical-sounding to non-techies.
I remember first thinking I already have a blog, I don't need more places to blog.
But I confess I've also grown more tired of the effort it takes to get word about blog posts noticed. I used to be able to post one one platform (Twitter). Now the kidlit community is scattered across so many different platforms. And even when I post a link, it seems to be hit-and-miss whether the post will be seen or not. This is especially frustrating for posts I put a lot of effort and time into.
So I decided to check out , , and .
Yes, there are many other blogging platform options out there, but...
Just having ONE account that can log me into all Atmosphere apps has huge appeal.
Thanks to 's kind words about the video above, which I posted directly on Bluesky:
I love Debbie's explorations in the Atmosphere so much! This is such a good illustration of the feeling of instantly being connected to all these other cool apps people are building right now on the Bluesky-built—but free and open—AT Protocol
While exploring some of the other apps to put together the video above, by the way, I got super-intrigued by and , have been checking out these platforms more thoroughly. We can EDIT posts in both!! And Anisota is so unusual and beautiful that it immediately appeals to my inner creative. I'll be posting more about my Atmospheric explorations in the future.
Social blogging is healthier for me than doom-scrolling.
I love that I can easily promote my Atmosphere blog posts to Bluesky without having to actually scroll feeds on the latter. I will, of course, still enjoy popping into feeds here and there to see what's up...but this way, I don't have to feel like I have to.
Because these social blogs are all connected via the Atmosphere, they can also be discovered within the various blog apps as well as readers like , potentially reaching a new audience.
Why I chose Leaflet as my main blogging platform:
Keep in mind that there is no ONE best place to blog. For my own situation, though, I've settled on because:
Leaflet has a built-in email newsletter option, which means I can use it for an author newsletter. Pckt does not yet have this option. Offprint does offer email newsletters.
Leaflet's vibe suits me best, at least from what I could tell when I first checked out their Bluesky posts, how they interacted with the community, and their other online content. They seem to have the most features that I need, and their features seem to be the most polished and stable.
Note: Keep in mind that Atmosphere apps are constantly evolving, including the above apps I've mentioned. By the time you read this post, things may have changed, so I strongly encourage you to check out all options yourself for updated features before making your decision.
My new approach to blogging:
I currently have MANY Atmosphere blogs. At first glance, this may seem crazy, given that I'm all about culling and simplifying these days. However, I'm having far more fun and am feeling far less pressured about it all than I used to be, pre-Atmosphere. Why? Because...
I post what I feel like posting about, THEN decide where it should go. If it's just an update about something exciting that's happening my author or illustrator career, then I include it in my Author News. Ideas, observations, and personal/work ramblings that are too long for social media go into Debbie's Blatherings. Comics (new and old) go in Comics By Debbie. Short posts ranging from tiny/practical to bigger-picture life observations: One Things I've Learned (this is on ; the rest are on ). I track my goal of visiting all 100 branches of the Toronto Public Library in My Library Project. Poetry, Music, and Board Gaming each have their own blogs. And I'm gradually condensing my old, unwieldy collection of Bluesky tips to Debbie's Unofficial Guide To Bluesky, v2.
I also figure this way, someone who is JUST interested in my comics can follow by Comics blog. Ditto for just my author news, etc. I'm currently looking for an easy way I can point people to a page where they can skim links to ALL my Atmosphere blog updates (without having to sign up for an app) but haven't found one yet.
And then there's my new collaborative book blog, How Readers Find Books.
Instead of trying to get the kidlit community to join Bluesky, I'm focusing on CONTENT again...and hoping to lure them that way 😁. As I've mentioned in other posts like this one, I've found that most people in the kidlit community don't care about the underlying architecture and some are actually turned off and/or intimidated by the tech-speak about AT Protocol, terms like decentralization, Ozone, OAuth etc etc.
And while people do care about keeping control over one's own id and content, not letting themselves get walled in by a single corporation, many are more stressed about keeping their businesses (whether big or small) afloat and relevant, and paying their bills.
With How Readers Find Books, I am inviting educators, librarians, booksellers and book bloggers to contribute guest posts that are basically three paragraphs: (1) cover of a book they like, (2) a paragraph about why they like the book, (3) a paragraph about how they found out about the book, and (4) a paragraph about themselves. Only those who have an Atmosphere can participate.
I'm pretty happy with how it's going. The blog helps many people: boosting the book boosters as well as the books themselves, helps encourage readers to explore new ways of discovering books, helps give book creators ideas for reaching readers, helps me connect with book boosters in a mutually beneficial arrangement, AND is a gentle way of luring more people over to the Atmosphere. It's also a kind of blog whose posts I can promote across multiple platforms; instead of thinking "aw geez, Debbie is pushing Bluesky again" they will hopefully think "hey, an interesting book blog...and I recognize the book / creator(s) / book booster."
I'm also loving 's collaboration features!
Still early days, I know, but I'm rediscovering the joy in blogging as well as doing more writing. And I find that the more I write, the more this is helping the flow in my novel writing.
Most of all, though, through social blogging in the Atmosphere, I'm having FUN with social media again.