in Blogging, Feeds, Microblogging, rssCloud |

Demo of MyStatusTool – Twitter using RSS and rssCloud

I have created a proof of concept for a microblogging tool relying on RSS for data storage and rssCloud for notification. I was motivated to do this to show how rssCloud could be used to support a Twitter-like experience. Also, I was blocked for posting an innocuous comment on the FeedLand user feed tool, and felt that there needed to be an alternative to that tool for microblog posting. My earlier posts on the development of this tool are here and here.

In this demo app, the basic functions are:

  • Ability to make a short post
  • When a post is made, a RSS feed is updated, a separate page for the post is created, and the post appears on the home page via Websockets
  • The tool provides hosting for the RSS feed and posts created
  • The tool can display updates to any RSS feeds that support the rssCloud protocol via Websockets (feeds are listed in a configuration file)
  • The contents of the feeds in the configuration file are displayed when the user accesses the page (so they can see what has been posted recently), then any posts with the tool appear at the top of the page

The tool is set up for a single user and requires some configuration. Please consult the README on the Github repo for more information if you want to set up the tool for yourself.

The demo app is available at http://fedwiki.andysylvester.com:443/. The contents of the feeds in the configuration file are displayed, along with any recent posts using the demo app. I encourage people to try making posts and see how they appear and how quickly they appear. As posts continue, so will display of updates to the RSS feeds in the configuration file.

This is a proof of concept, but will be further developed. If you find problems in the tool, or want to suggest features, feel free to create an issue in the Github repo. Also, I would love it if a few other people try installing it and let me know how it goes…

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  • Demo of MyStatusTool – Twitter using RSS and rssCloud door Andy (andysylvester.com)

    I have created a proof of concept for a microblogging tool relying on RSS for data storage and rssCloud for notification. I was motivated to do this to show how rssCloud could be used to support a Twitter-like experience. Also, I was blocked for posting an innocuous comment on the FeedLand user feed…

    oohhh… shiny new bootstrapped toys. It’s too tempting. Since MyStatusTool is a NodeJS-app, I guess I can testdrive it this weekend on my own server…
    « Van handschoen naar hersenschudding

  • This Article was mentioned on brid.gy

  • This weekend, Colin Walker and I were able to have a conversation using our respective microblogging tools (MyStatusTool and MST-PHP). It was a cool and fun experience. I felt like we were taking the first steps to explore how to use these tools.

    I sent email to a number of friends when I announced MyStatusTool, and one of them replied that he did not know what problem this was trying to solve. I thought about it and today realized what is it – a bootstrap to develop something new. Dave Winer has been referring to bootstraps throughout his blogging career (this essay is an excellent summary, and it is over 20 years old). The concept of MyStatusTool is a specific type of bootstrap:

    My Status Tool is an application that provides the basic posting and reading functionality within Twitter, but using RSS and rssCloud as the enabling technologies.from https://github.com/andysylvester/myStatusToolDemo

    So, really, this is a bootstrap of a new type of Twitter. Dave Winer had a post about this in 2010:

    Anyway, to answer the question posed by this piece — you bootstrap the federated 140-character loosely coupled network the same way you bootstrap anything. Let’s start with something very very simple, like two tin cans separated with a string. Something that is useful, perhaps minimally so, and can be federated. Then we use it. Then we think. Then we improve it. Start with working code. Start tomorrow, not next month. from http://scripting.com/stories/2010/08/10/howToBootstrapFederated140.html

    I will have more to say about this in the coming days – let me know if you want to be a part of this bootstrap!

  • Colin Walker has hit on a good point today – it is fun and energizing to work on a project with someone else, or to riff on another project. I am hoping to get some time in on MyStatusTool today!

  • This Article was mentioned on brid.gy

  • Colin Walker and I have both developed tools for making short posts and following RSS feeds.

    Colin’s tool: https://colinwalker.blog/php-mst/

    Colin’s announcement: https://colinwalker.blog/blog/?date=2023-02-08

    My tool: http://fedwiki.andysylvester.com:443/

    My announcement: https://andysylvester.com/2023/02/06/demo-of-mystatustool-twitter-using-rss-and-rsscloud/

    Check them out!