To Share or not to Share

I've been thinking about if I'm able to host my own microblog, how well connected can I make it to the rest of the internet (ie. Fediverse). I think it's way too early to consider something like this when the intention was to have this microblog as less interaction heavy as possible. For example, I explicitly forbid micro.blog to send my posts to the Fediverse and block all replies.

Throughout my research on Micropub and the IndieWeb, I've found netizens whose microblog works effectively as a Mastodon account with capabilities for sending and receiving replies, likes, reblogs, comments, and even RSVP.

I don't think I'm at the level to want my microblog to have that kind of ability. I considered adding ActivityPub because I don't feel like crossposting many of my posts just yet and perhaps having that feature would make the effort more seamless, but if I'm being honest with myself, I don't want to crosspost just yet. One of the reasons I like micro.blog is because it's a blog host. That's a whole different platform from Mastodon. Sure, accounts can be migrated and a whole lot of data can be exported, but unless the URL points to my domain, I am aware that I don't truly own it. Thus it is bound to be disposable. I don't control it so it is not truly mine.

A blog host is thus different, or should I say micro.blog is different. I have tested the export function and I'm confident I could self-host it. I am in control of my posts.

I'm not sure what kind of comparison would describe the difference between microblogging on a blog host vs. a social media site. I think the former is much more personal than the latter, and while it does the heavy lifting for the user, for that very same reason, it has a lot of nebulous workings. I guess my microblog feels like being at home while my Mastodon account feels like being in a party. My behavior will adjust according to the place and there are social rules I must follow. When posting on Mastodon, I must keep in mind the well being of my fellow netizens whereas if I'm blogging, my own boundaries rule.

I don't think one place is inherently better than the other. Talking to people is just as enriching as writing in a journal. Each setting has its place in the world. It's about what information one decides to share between those spaces, and it's a topic I don't want to consider just yet.