This weekend, I tried out the IndieBlocks plugin for WordPress websites. In 2019, WordPress moved to a new editor for weblog posts called Gutenberg, which uses “blocks” to insert different types of post formats (text, formatted text, video, embeds, etc.). IndieWeb developers had developed a plugin to support different post types, but it used the Classic Editor (now called), and did not support the Gutenberg editor. I played with the “Context” block, and was able to create bookmark, like, and reply posts. I did have a problem with creating a standalone Note using the IndieBlocks plugin (I created it, but it did not appear on the home page). However, the developer said that he is working on the issue.
In reply to https://jan.boddez.net/notes/44a551f7f3.
Jan, I published a “Note” with the IndieBlocks plugin, but it is not showing up on my home page. When I click on the View link for the post in the Dashboard, I get an error message saying that the page does not exist. Any ideas?
John, I have installed the plugin and it seems to work, using it to reply to your post. Let me know if you see it!
Ton, thanks for noting this on your weblog, I am using the IndieBlocks plugin to create this reply, I will see how it goes!
I am experimenting with the IndieBlocks plugin, I am enjoying it so far!
Bookmarked https://jan.boddez.net/wordpress/indieblocks.
The end of podcasting, chapter 59
This week, a Substack newsletter was posted about problems that podcasts from former podcast studio Gimlet Media were experiencing (getting cancelled). In 2019, Spotify purchased Gimlet Media for $230 million dollars (more here on other Spotify podcast acquisitions). Why did people think being acquired by a big company was going to allow them to keep their artistic freedom and continue to do things the way they had done them? Demonstration of control of the channel (a la CBS/NBC/ABC of the 60s/70s/80s – you had to convince them to approve your show to get on the air) – maybe go back to producing podcasts yourself? After all, you must have a lot of money after that acquisition. Chapter 57 of this story discusses the Joe Rogan move to Spotify, and I wrote in 2019 about how to avoid the corporate takeover of podcasting. As Joel Grey and Liza Minelli sang in the musical “Cabaret“, money makes the world go around. If people want to produce podcasts to make money, there are ways to innovate, but the best place to start is to make great podcasts.
Wrapping up the January 6th Committee hearings
My wife and I watched the final hearing this week from the House January 6th Select Committee on the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 (also, see C-SPAN archive collection. It was a day that I remember well, having kept a liveblog of the day’s events (also see posts here and here). I think that the committee has done an excellent job of telling the story of what led up to this event and how Donald Trump was the central figure in trying to overturn the 2020 election. My fervent hope is that the Department of Justice is going to pursue Trump and hold him accountable for his crimes (i.e., indict, arrest, and convict him!). The site JustSecurity.org has a January 6 clearinghouse of information on this event, well worth checking out, as well as a citizen’s guide to the evidentiary record.
The most striking part of the hearing was the documentary video of the congressional leaders at Fort McNair filmed by Alexandra Pelosi (Nancy Pelosi’s daughter). CNN also carried more of this footage the evening of the hearing (also here). It was riveting. One question came up in my wife and I discussing the hearing – how was it that Alexandra Pelosi came to be there that day? And for myself, how is it that this is the first time this footage is coming to public view? Was she planning to make a documentary with this? Her Wikipedia page says she works for HBO, but she has not released any documentaries since 2020. I hope that some journalist will dig into this a little more.
Using non-violence techniques to achieve goals
In a recent post on Waging Nonviolence, organizer George Lakey related a story about use of non-violence training and techniques in a boycott of South African sport teams during the apartheid era. Through these trainings, anti-racism and anti-apartheid groups were able to work together to come up with a plan to stage de-centralized civil disobedience events. The New Zealand government could not handle this approach, and cancelled a tour by the South African rugby team.
With the upcoming mid-term elections, there may be problems resulting from election protestors and disrupters. These techniques may be of use in this troubled time. We will have to wait, watch, and perhaps take action to preserve our democracy through civil disobedience.
Upholding our democracy
The United States is having challenges in maintaining and upholding democracy. In Oregon, all of the candidates for governor have all called each other “extreme” for one reason or another. In many states, people who deny the results of the 2020 presidential election won their primaries and are candidates for high office. The Democracy Day journalism collaborative held an event in September 2022 to highlight issues and seek solutions. In a post on Waging Nonviolence, the group outlined seven ideas for coming together as partisans for democracy:
- Look beyond electoral politics
- Define “anti-democratic” behavior beyond partisan identities
- Bridge the understanding of “anti-democratic” behavior to mobilize against it
- Calling out toxic othering
- Now is not the time for neutrality
- Partisanship for democracy versus bipartisanship
- A cross-ideological democracy movement is both necessary and possible
This post is excellent reading, with many links to supporting material. As for each of us, let us do what we can to help uphold our democracy.