The Phrasebook

This is a collection of the specific pieces of language to have arisen across the Micro.blog community, with as much context provided as possible.

Sources:

• Micro.blog
• The web.

A

B

Blog

• A website on which a person or group of people publish posts, usually from a less formal viewpoint as compared to a publication such as a magazine.
  • Example: “I’m so glad to have set up my blog so that I can just post without worring about other people.”
  • See also: Weblog
  • Lookup

Blog post

• A post on a blog.
  • Example: “Whew! Got that blog post out just in time.”
  • See also: Post

Bookmark

• Bookmarking feature, with which you mark a post to save it in a separate timeline called Bookmarks. Formerly called Favorites.
  • Example: “The new Highlights feature in Bookmarks is great. Makes it so much easier to make link-blog posts.”
  • See also: Favorite

C

D

Discover

• Timeline of featured posts, curated manually by the Micro.blog team.
  • Example: “Seeing all of the photos in Discover is great but I also enjoy answering the random questions that appear on there.”
  • The Discover page

Discover filter

• Variations of the Discover timeline, sorted via tagmoji.
  • Example: “My favourite Discover filter is definitely books. No! It’s pizza. No! It’s art… ugh.”
  • See also: Emoji filter; Tagmoji
  • Emoji in Discover

Discover section

• A version of the Discover filter, usually used to refer to filters sorted via a specific word or phrase.
  • Example: “I found at least a dozen new people to follow in the Discover section for Micro Monday.”
  • See also: Discover filter
  • Emoji in Discover

E

Emoji filter

• See: Tagmoji; Discover filter
  • Example: “The new emoji filters are great. Finally my expert sloth analysis can be seen by more people.”
  • Emoji in Discover

External blog

• Feeds connected to Micro.blog from websites not hosted on Micro.blog.
  • Example: “When I connected my external blog I didn’t realise I would also get cross-posting. Sweet!”
  • See also: Self-hosted; Feed

F

Favorite

• See: Bookmark
  • Example: “Saved that post in my Favorites and then totally forgot about it lol”
  • Let’s talk about: Favorites

Feed

• Source of posts for the Micro.blog timeline, used in either RSS or JSON format, and connected to accounts.
  • Example: “I was using one feed with just my personal account but now it’s time to add posts from my sloth advice blog.”
  • See also: External blog
  • Timeline display rules
  • Lookup

G

H

Hosted

• Accounts with feeds connected to the Micro.blog timeline from websites hosted on Micro.blog.
  • Example: “I thought the hosted accounts were good when I joined but so many of this year’s updates have been making it even better.”
  • See also: Micro.blog hosted; Micro.blog blog
  • Pricing

I

IndieAuth

• Web technology that enables various functions, such as commenting, via logging in through a domain rather than a closed social platform. This is built into Micro.blog for both basic and hosted accounts.
  • Example: “Feels good to just use IndieAuth and worry a lot less about, you know, having my online banking at risk.”
  • About IndieWeb

indiebookclub

• Web app for tracking books you are reading, built on IndieWeb standards.
  • Example: “Oh, I used indiebookclub for those posts. Yeah, turns out sloths are fascinating!”
  • indiebookclub

IndieWeb

• Community-built and maintained alternative to the corporate, mainstream web.
  • Example: “It’s a relief to take a look at the work of the IndieWeb community and just know that people are trying to create an alternative to the silos.”
  • The IndieWeb

IndieWebRing

• Web ring built on IndieWeb standards.
  • Example: “Click through the links in the footer for the next random site in the IndieWebRing. Super easy!”
  • 🕸💍.ws

Indie Microblogging

• Blogs built on IndieWeb standards or at least to work with those standards.
• Also: The name of Manton Reece’s Kickstarter project for Micro.blog.
  • Example: “If Indie Microblogging can make it into The New Yorker then maybe it is time for the average person on the web to take notice.”

J

K

L

Linkblog

• See: Linklog
  • Example: “That one Apple linkblog burned my site.”

Linklog

• A blog in which each post serves primarily to provide an external link.
• Also: A list of links in the form of a blog.
  • Example: “Why doesn’t he just call it a linklog, like in the good old days?”
  • See also: Linklog
  • Lookup

M

Micro.blog

• Timeline-based social platform for reading, sharing, and creating blogs posts via feed-based technology. “A social network for independent microblogs.”
  • Example: “One of my favourite features of Micro.blog is how lightweight it is. Just a couple of easy steps in and my expert opinion on sloths are out there for the world to see.”
  • See also: Microblog, Microdotblog

Micro.blog blog

• See: Micro.blog hosted; Hosted
  • Example: “My Micro.blog blog is my preferred host for my blog whilst the microblogging part of Micro.blog is the nicest way for me to microblog onto my Micro.blog blog.”

Micro.blog hosted

• Websites hosted on the Micro.blog hosting service via paid subscription.
• Also: Accounts with the associated subscription, including feeds from a hosted website or possibly numerous hosted websites.
  • Example: “The Micro.blog hosted accounts are a great option for getting up and running quickly.”
  • See also: Micro.blog blog; Hosted

Microblog

• A blog made primarily of short posts, usually consisting of fewer than 500 characters. The character limit depends on the platform upon which the posts are displayed, ex. on Micro.blog and Twitter the limit is 280.
• Also: The name of Micro.blog as it is sometimes spoken.
  • Example: “I first learned about Microblog in The New Yorker and because of that one sloth blog.”
  • See also: Micro.blog; Microblogging; Microdotblog; Micropost

Microbloggers

• People who primarily post to their blog with microblog posts.
• Also: Sometimes used as the slang name for members of the Micro.blog community.
  • Example: “Microbloggers have undoubtedly become the dominant group of bloggers the world over.”
  • See also: Micronauts

Microblogging

• The act of publishing short blog posts.
  • Example: “Whilst Jack might hate the word “microblogging”, I for one think it’s good when people are clear and transparent about what it is they are doing.”
  • See also: Microblog; Micropost; Microblog post

Microcast

• Short version of a podcast, usually consisting of episodes that are less than 10 minutes in length. Upper limit tends to be 30 minutes.
  • Example: “That microcast was great. It was lacking in sloth talk, however.”
  • See also: Micro Monday

Microdotblog

• The name of Micro.blog as it is often spoken.
  • Example: “Microdotblog? That’s it, right?”
  • See also: Micro.blog; Microblog

Microgram

• Extension for Micro.blog with which you can create a “Photo Index” page in grid form. Made by Jonathan LaCour.
  • Example: “Got my grid-based photo needs more than covered thanks to Microgram.”
  • Microgram on GitHub

Micronauts

• Sometimes used as the slang name for members of the Micro.blog community. Coined by Josh de Lioncourt.
  • Example: “Phew! The micronauts really came to my rescue there. Never seen a sloth move so quickly.”
  • See also: Microbloggers
  • Josh coins micronauts

Micropost

• See: Microblog post
  • Example: “That micropost took so much longer to write than I’d care to admit.”

Micropub

• Web technology that enables various functions, built around posts via your own domain. Micro.blog supports this via the posting API.
  • Example: “Now that iA Writer supports the micropub API they are unquestionably supporting the open web.”

Microblog post

• A post that is short in length, usually no larger than 500 characters and often considered even shorter than that
• For example, Micro.blog and Twitter consider microblog posts to be no longer than 280 characters.
  • Example: “Getting these awesome weekly recaps to fit into a microblog post isn’t easy. Thankfully I can check that sloth blog as a reward.”
  • See also: Micropost

Micro Memories

• Extension for Micro.blog with which you can create a special page; an archive for the specific day on which the page is visited. Made by Jonathan LaCour.
  • Example: “Got all of my anniversary post needs covered by the excellent Micro Memories.”
  • See also: On This Day; Photoblog; Sunlit
  • Micro Memories on GitHub

Micro Monday

• Weekly community event wherein people recommend other members of the community to follow.
• Also: Official Micro.blog microcast, hosted by Jean MacDonald and published every Monday. Features members from throughout the community.
  • Example: “Micro Monday recommendations are built around a single person so you are much more likely to get a reliable suggestion when compared to @-mentioning people en masse.”
  • Micro Monday on Discover

N

O

On This Day

• See: Micro Memories
  • Example: “On This Day helped me to remember something from a year ago; the beginning of my journey to being a world class sloth expert.”

P

Photoblog

• Blog centred around photographs, usually consisting of posts with little or no text.
  • Example: “That single photoblog was enough reason on its own to leave that comprimised silo network alternative. Good riddance!”
  • See also: Photoblogging; Micro Memories; Sunlit

Photoblogging

• The act of publishing photoblog posts.
  • Example: “Finally got my photoblogging up and running, though I’m sure Jack would disapprove.”
  • See also: Photoblogging; Micro Memories; Sunlit

Post

• A published entry onto a blog.
  • Example: “I’m not sure if I’ll keep that post up. Come to think of it I should just update it with an edit and then let people know about the update in a new short post.”
  • See also: Blog post

Q

R

S

Self-hosted

• Website that is, to a large degree, run by the individual rather than on a hosting platform. Often involves managing a server, using a control panel, etc.
  • Example: “I went with self-hosted in the end. Just not sure any of the hosting options can handle my record-breaking sloth traffic.”
  • See also: External blog

Special section

• Variations of the Discover timeline that are set up for specific events or themes, sorted by words or phrases.
• Examples: NaNoWriMo, Inktober, WWDC.
  • Example: “I might not be participating but the special section for NaNo is still a great way to support people throughout the event.”
  • See also: Discover section; Discover filter

Sunlit

• Official app for iOS focused around the photoblogging parts of Micro.blog.
  • Example: “I wasn’t sure about the idea of a companion app built around photoblogging but Sunlit is just such a nice way to keep up with my timeline.”
  • See also: Micro Memories; Photoblog; Photoblogging
  • Sunlit on the App Store

T

Tagmoji

• Emoji-based taxonomy used to filter posts by type, which can then be seen in Discover.
  • Example: “Wait a minute. There’s no tagmoji for sloth?”
  • See also: Emoji filter

U

V

W

Wavelength

• Official app, for iOS, built for podcasting on Micro.blog.
  • Example: “Wavelength looks awesome. I can’t wait to do it.”
  • Wavelength on the App Store

Web Ring

• A collection of websites linked together, usually via a common link structure on each website.
  • Example: “Wait. Web rings are still a thing?”
  • See also: IndieWeb ring

X

Y

Z

Updated: 19th August, 2021

Notes

The integrity of the entires are based around a mixture of technical definition, common usage, and specific discussions of the language. I will update the entries whenever I come across information to support any necessary edits or deletion.

You can see regular definitions of the language we use on Micro.blog in Lookup, whilst more links and information can be found in the Links directory.

If you would like to contribute to this page, either with suggested additions or edits you can @ me or send me a message via email.