#muse

I’ve been off social media for a while. I do dip into one of the platforms now and again, but my blog is where I do my posting.

My online reading is via my RSS reader, Bubbles, Bear blog discovery, and Pika Pulse. The latter is new, and in beta.

We all know that social media platforms are powered by an algorithm. We also know that their main function is to keep you on the platform for ads.

So why bother shouting or attention while fighting an algorithm and have ai scrap your work and have no one see it?

But then again, why post in your blog, on your own domain/platform, for the same result?!

For me, I post to share and get tings off my chest. I don’t post to gain followers.

So having little to no interaction doesn’t mean someone (or many) aren’t reading and enjoying your art.

Ask yourself this… Do you interact with every blog post YOU read?

Just keep doing you.

I AM A CREATOR!

The less you fight that word, the more you… create!

I’ll be setting up a community, and looking around to see what’s possible.

Will use the platform to paywall some contents (exclusives, previews etc.)

It’ll be interesting.

I know the ‘blog’ crowd will shit on this, but some of my followers have asked to support my work.

So it’s nice to be able give them something extra for their kindness.

Support me on Ko-Fi

I’m not a ‘pro’ gamer, but I do love playing on my Xbox. And have played the same [series of] game[s] since 2001.

But I’ve always kept my professional, personal and gamer life separate, for no reason other than I felt one would never be interested in the other.

For me, the main point of a blog is to share your thoughts, ideas, world view of life and the things around you.

Everything else is fluff.

So why have a bunch of links in a header that can distract the reader?

Well, not quite.

That’s a song by A Tribe Called Quest.

But I did forget my phone in my truck when I went for groceries on my bike. I was almost there when I turned around.

Half way back, I thought to myself…

Wait a sec, why the fuck am I going back to get it when I have an actual wallet, with real money in it!!!

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST – social media is such a shit show!!!

I’ve stopped using social media for a while now, but after ‘checking in’ to see what’s going on I got filled with absolute rage!

I actually deleted everything except 𝕏 and LinkedIn, for ’news’ and ‘business’ respectively, but fuck me, it’s such a shit show!

The full quote is actually…

“The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

Meaning the bonds you choose run deeper than the ones you were born into.

Some people just conveniently cut the quote in half to keep you in line.

After yesterday’s breakdown, maybe this will bring me good luck?

‘Find a penny pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck’

Something like that. Let’s hope so. I really could do with some good fortune.

Although, this isn’t a penny, so who the fuck knows!

Many years ago, a client of mine was going through a (non-lethal) health issue.

We spoke about it for a while. And at the end of our conversation, one thing that was said struck me as quite odd.

But I kept it in the back of my mind about things one should, or shouldn’t share in business. Because ‘it could hurt my business’.

Before a new year starts, you make this promise to yourself:

• This year it will be different!
• This year I will make things work for me!
• This is gonna be my goddamn fucking year!

The year rolls in, and even though you have the best of intentions to make that/your statement a reality, you stumble into old habits and nothing gets done.

You struggle with knowing where to start.
Then you doubt yourself.
You procrastinate.

That is called the ‘honeymoon’ period. Then shit hits the fan and you’re stuck!

Well, why not change your mindset.

Why not just make the first Monday of February the new January 1st. Kick yourself into gear, and make whatever you need happen!

So if you need the MacJunky or the Tech Minimalist to help you with your goals, get in touch.

Here’s the thing…

• Weigh the pros agains the cons.

• Marry the person you dislike the least.

• Use tech that works for you, not against you.

So as I sit here in my very warm and comfortable truck while it’s raining, and windy as hell, it makes me think of why the hell would I travel as a nomad like this!

Problem?

Well not really a problem, but I want to read better quality posts.

I find social media, and LinkedIn specifically (as I’m on here quite often) isn’t great for personal insights on subjects.

All I see is more and more fluff, back-patting and sales.

Yes they have a place and LinkedIn is the place for that, but there are better platforms for find more in-depth articles in a particular topic.

So I’m going to give Substack a try to see what’s there.

Mind you, I won’t be using it as a newsletter, as I have my own, but it’ll be nice to see actual articles from real people that aren’t just ‘selling’.

You can follow my on Substack here… @kiakamgar

So you have, or know of a Substack I should read? (comment: text: let me know!)

Are non binary people allowed to use computers?

— Lee Hurst (@LeeHurstComic) July 14, 2025

A great short from about the state of the internet by Ali Gallop.

I have a love relationship with the internet. However, I have a hate relationship with the way big tech and corporations are trying to take it away from what is was supposed to be.

And I’m seeing more and more posts and videos like this one that brings me hope that we can pull it back form the clutches of the greedy and back into the hands of us who simply want to share out passions, hobbies and life.

The first step is to remove oneself from their platforms, buy a domain name and start posting and connecting.

“We’re treating our free time like it’s another job we’re not getting paid for.”

The digital age has been great. But it’s turned us into soulless robots that’s crying out to be accepted, at any cost.

Kill that shit before it kills you!

I mean, it’s not as if you don’t have time, right?

• Spend time to learn something you will use, once
• Spend money for tools you need to get it done
• Spend more time on learning the tools
• Spend more money on more tools, because the first ones weren’t right
• Spend even more time to learn new skills to fix the errors

I mean, seriously, just DIY it and you’ll be able to do anything, anytime, and anywhere!

Or, you could just pay someone who can do it in a fraction of the time, cost you WAY less, and relive you of all the stress.

You can always learn what needed to be done as a hobby if you’re really interested in learning all about it.

Or, is it a money saving exercise?

…and that, is just a matter of fact.

So how would you ‘sell’ something to someone who doesn’t want to be sold to?

My take, use the product… not SHOW, USE!

• USE it in your routine
• USE it around your environment
• USE it in your daily life

Again, USE it. Don’t explain it, just USE the fucking thing!

The ‘SHOW’ part is/will/should be incidental to the USE-age of said product.

I bet the shirt off my back that’ll work way better than the…

• crazy mathematics marketers
• loudmouthed content creators
• vomit inducing copywriters

…who use ’their platform’ to force their shit on you.

I’m a Apple guy.

Have been since 1986.

And I’ve been a MacJunky ever since.

But, I cannot stand Tim Cook.

Never have. Never will.

Another app bites the dust.

The Around video conferencing app is shutting down. Who would have thunk this would have happened when they sold back in 2022.

Take aways…
Never put your trust into any app.
Always make your data transferable.

Step aside latte drinking, avocado eating soy bois*

*That goes for online gurus too

…in the right direction.

You can’t always do it on your own. And believe me, I’m a person who likes doing things his own. Sometimes all that’s needed is a gentle nudge in the right direction.

Don’t do it on your own, reach out.

And it pretty much sums up why I’m using it less and less. And why I prefer to post more here on my personal website.

10 years ago social media used to be an escape from reality.

Today, the reality is an escape from social media.

— Marius (@MariusWriter) December 19, 2024

I’ve been using the original Reeder app since the beginning. I love the simplicity of it. The way the features stay out of the way until you need them. It’s a great app that also has a clean interface and does what it supposed to.

When the new version of the app came out a few weeks ago, I rested it due to it’s subscription model, removal of the unread counts, and the way it looked.

Boy was I mistaken!

I spent the past few days in the app, learning what it could do, how I would use it, and more importantly, would I miss the features I love from the original.

One thing you need to know about me, I’m a pit bull when it comes to apps. I love pulling them apart, learning them inside and out, finding issues (if any), and whether I would ever recommend them. And I can do all of this with speed.

The new version of the Reeder app has changed the way I interact with the internet while retaining my sanity. I can curate my feed to only the things I want to see.

It has some great new features, and what I thought I’d miss in an RSS app was dispelled by the new feature set that it has.

There are a few things I wish were different, but as a base initial release, it’s pretty much there.

If you’re looking for an RSS app for your Mac and iPhone, I would highly recommend checking out the Reeder.

For the 1,534,289th time, I’ve deleted all my social media accounts. Every single one!

Why you ask?

In the past I used to be heavily on social media for connection. Heck I met some awesome friends in real life on there and they have become some of my best friends.

But over the years, social media has changed into a shouting match of people wanting to be seen and wanted. That’s not what I want, or need.

I’ve always been the type of person who likes their own company and happy doing things on their own without any input or distraction.

I’m outgoing, I’m in no way an introvert, but having headspace to do, think, and just be is way more interesting to me that being online for vanity metrics.

Recently I opened up every singe social media account I could for my business for outreach and SEO, but I soon realised I was spending more time on the platforms that doing actual work.

Not only work, but doom scrolling and wasting, as I said above, headspace.

So a few days ago, I deleted them all and will only posting here on my own platform, on 𝕏 and LinkedIn for work.

Taking in back to the old ways of having personal blogs where we can share thoughts, ideas and show who we really are without craving metrics is the way to go.

How about you?

A beautiful video by Ali Gallop about the idea of using knowledge rather than just learning for the sake of it.

He goes on to say ‘Knowledge is not power. Knowledge is potential’ especially if we don’t if we don’t put into practice what we learn.

Give it a watch and go over to his channel and subscribe. He’s got some other amazing films on there.

No one gives a flying fuck what snare drum make you use when on the dance floor smashed out of their heads.

No one gives a cunting shit what app stack you use when doing work for them.

No one arse-ing cares what make of hammer you use when installing a kitchen, bathroom etc.

No one gives two shits what make of pen you use when writing an article.

So why the actual flying cunting fuck do you fucking care how the fuck the work is done, if the work is good and actually fucking done?!

Get your head out of your ass and stop overthinking what apps, tools, and/or snare drum you fucking use you fucking dipshit.

It’s the end result, not the journey or blind-sighting your client with fuck loads of technical bullshit.

Technology is great, but it having a hold on your time is the worst thing about it. And it can cause more harm to your brain than initially thought.

I recently removed all my shorts from both my YouTube channels because I hate watching brain-dead short videos, so why should I produce it?

Here’s a great conversation with @JonHaidt on how social media and less focus damaging society as a whole.

My social media use has been scaled back, as I prefer to write here on my own blog and platform than shouting into [someone else’s] void.

It took some time, but with some sweat, tears and headaches, I finally managed to add an RSS feed to the site to make it easier for you to get updates.

Let me quickly explain what RSS is for those in the back.

Basically, RSS is an open protocol to read/consume internet articles without the need for going to their respective websites.

In order to read the articles you will need an RSS reader. My personal tool of choice is Reeder (hence the image above) but there are plenty others out there.

Reeder –– What I use
NetNewsWire
Feedly
Newsify
feeeed
Otter RSS

…to name just a few.

If you know of others or use something else, send me an email and I’ll update the list so others can check them out.

I’ve wanted to implement it for a while, but as I’m using Kirby for the backend of this site, there wasn’t a quick toggle switch to turn the feature on.

However, I did find a simple plugin that enabled me to understand how I could implement it and did some custom editing to get it working exactly how I wanted.

Anyhow, you can subscribe to the feed by clicking here. But don’t worry, I still have my Daily email list if you’re not into RSS.

Original image by Elias Ruiz Monserrat

I love videos. Making them, watching them, analysing them. But I have an addiction problem when it comes to being lured into one with a clickbait thumbnail.

I love videos. Making them, watching them, analysing them. But I have an addiction problem when it comes to being lured into one with a clickbait thumbnail.

On this fine sunny Sunday sitting in the garden while I dog sit for a family member, I think about the awesome  Chrome/ Brave/ Firefox extension I installed a while ago called  Clickbait Remover for Youtube.

So just wanted to share that tidbit on information.

Enjoy the rest of your sunny Sunday!

If you can’t explain what you do within five words or less, you have no idea what you do and wasting time trying to sell your BS to a prospect.

Want to simplify your business workflow? Hire the Tech Minimalist!

Things I don’t share on social media:

• how much money I make
• what my profit margins are
• who my clients are

Why?

Because it’s none of your god damn business!!

If you’re online and share this stuff, you’re not a business owner, you’re a hack.

*and most likely selling shit

There are times when texting, emailing or even writing a blog post doesn’t convey how you feel. That’s why I think video is so important to master.

Want to simplify?

When a complex issue needs to be addressed, the simpler the solution, the better it would be.

However, many don’t apply this method, so somehow, the solution becomes a convoluted, complicated and diabolical mess.

Want to remove complexity? Check out Tech Minimalism

They say you should always be listening to your body. That way, you can be proactive before getting sick.

The same thing is valid for listening to your gut feeling when doing something in/for your business.

External input can be a great thing, but often we delve so deep into the idea of it being a good thing for us and our business that we lose sight of what would work, is working or will never work.

So stepping back can be an excellent way to see clearly.

We don’t wake up one day to declare we want to complicate our lives. It’s a gradual thing that happens.

And it happens while we’re busy working or living our lives. But once we feel burnout coming, we seek a solution to fix it.

I’ve been using Vimeo to host my videos for many years, and have been happy with their service. I even toyed with their live streaming tier for a while.

However, this last week I heard something from the company that simply pissed me off! After a search, I found others who were equally annoyed. So the search for a new video hosting company began.

‍Man, I so fucking hate the bait-and-switch some of these SaaS companies employ!

Anyway, after checking out a few, and not being happy with any of them, I chose Odysee.

UPDATE: I moved over to Bunny.net soon after.

‍I’ve been watching videos on Odysee for a while, even had a few channels set up for myself, but never really used it, as I was pretty happy with Vimeo, as I already mentioned.

‍This last week, I started testing out a few of my videos, and after I was happy, I uploaded my library of work onto it. So all my videos will be hosted on Odysee moving forward.

‍It’s simple, easy to navigate and friction-free when doing anything in the backend.

‍My videos will still be embedded on my website like they were, but with an archive library being on Odysee, it’ll help with future projects. And as it’s on Blockchain, they’ll always be available and accessible.

People always gravitate towards good art. The constant battle to ‘game’ the algorithm is all in vain. Nothing will work, no matter what you do to your post, page or bio.

People always gravitate towards good art. The constant battle to ‘game’ the algorithm is all in vain. Nothing will work, no matter what you do to your post, page or bio.

The secret to online marketing without being ‘salesy’?

‍My take:

• Great content.
• Simple structure.
• No hashtags.

People always gravitate towards good art.

The constant battle to ‘game’ the algorithm is all in vain.

Nothing will work, no matter what you do to your post, page or bio.

So…

• Do good shit. People will remember you.
• Do shit… shit. People will remember you.

‍So, what shit would you like to be remembered for?

Everyone’s time is valuable. But we don’t really think about what that means. And I think I, after 50 odd years, have realised what time means to me.

P.S. If you’re struggling with time in your business, we should talk.