1. A Gift(s) for You
This week the team is in varying states of winding down. We have started to dip into the world of advertising and getting the word out on Letterbird, and we also made some headway into a useful Letterbird integration. In Pika land, Arun has decided that we should get more invested in our editor. To this point we have been making use of several layers of open source projects. These layers have begun getting in our way. The editor is very important to the Pika experience and we decided that we want to be in more control of how that editor functions. No, weâre not building a whole new editor, but we do want to peel back some of those layers. Paring down the editor onion, if you will.
We have also spent a goodly amount of time building some Pika presents for you. Firstly, you can now essentially run an entire personal website on Pika with the unveiling of Pika Pages. (Pages can also have variables so you can inject a post list into them. Read more in our FAQs.) Secondly, weâve added support for titleless posts, allowing you to get your write on without the hurdle of thinking of a title.
2. 2024, The Year of the Blog?
I want everyone to have a blog. I really do! I love seeing people express themselves, hone their writing skills, and share their perspectives on whatever catches their interest. I enjoy them sharing their weird. I respect what it takes to be vulnerable in doing that publicly.
I realize that we all have the option to post to Facebook, XTwitterX, Instagram, and so on, but I donât find those places to be nearly as interesting as a blog on your own site. Whether thatâs at yourname.pika.page or your own custom domain or a unique URL at some other blog service, I find it just reallyâŠnice to see folks having their own internet plot where they can plant their flags and express themselves. Even if they choose garish colors and oddball fonts, itâs all good. (Okay, I have my limits there!)
Around my internet haunts it feels like many engines have been revving up in 2023, but maybe in 2024 weâll see more people actually moving back the way of the blog. At a certain point the algorithms and ads, the feed and attention grabbing will become too much. Perhaps people will seek to connect on their own terms, in their own place. To reach out for connections outside of their existing geographies and social networks. A blog is a perfect place to do that!
A blog, and a site, can be your place on your terms. Maybe the dream of two cars and a house is a bit of a challenge to achieve these days, but you can have it all on the internet, and for a much lower price. If youâre thinking that itâs time to start building your internet home, perhaps you should sign up for Pika and give it a try. It costs nothing. At least for now*. âBarry
* There will always be a free version of Pika. It probably wonât have features like Pika Pages, though.
3. Happy New Year!
Hmm. It was a very Pika-forward newsletter. Thatâll teach people to leave on holiday!
Good Enough is taking a break for the holidays and weâll be back with more silliness in 2024. Itâs been a pretty great first year with our full Good Enough team, but we have lots we want to achieve in 2024. Weâre excited, but ready for a break.
So I leave you with this from todayâs chatâŠ
Shawn received a text message from DoorDash:
âWow, check any water in your order. It might be alcoholic,â says Arun.
Shawn suggests, âWill ask him to fix our dining table, too.â
Happy Birthday!