Updated on December 10, 2021
It’s time once again for my annual year in review for Diverse Tech Geek, as we see how 2019 fared. There’s been a few changes, though not quite as radical as what the site went through in 2018.
The top 10 posts for 2019
Information below is taken from Matomo statistics, as of December 28, 2019.
- Streaming service review: Boomerang
- Cartoons that should’ve entered the public domain in 2019 (but didn’t)
- Why do so many Black superheroes have electrical powers?
- What’s coming to Disney+ at launch (and what’s missing)
- App review: Hoopla Digital
- How long does it take to binge-watch various long-running cartoons?
- My thoughts on Mastodon and PixelFed, open source social networks
- How to block autoplay videos in Firefox, Chrome, and Safari
- Most US households no longer have landline phones
- Streaming service review: PBS Kids
Digital and streaming media services seemed popular this year. The top entry is my review of retro cartoon service Boomerang. #4 saw some of my launch day thoughts on Disney+, while #10 was a review of PBS Kids’ service. I also wrote a review of Hoopla Digital (the digital media service carried by libraries) and pondered how long it’d take to binge-watch long-running cartoons like “Scooby-Doo” and “The Simpsons.”
Elsewhere, other cartoon related posts include the annual “stuff that should’ve entered public domain in 2019” post. There was also the perennial question of why Black superheroes tend to have electrical-related superpowers.
On the technology side, I wrote about federated social networks Mastodon and PixelFed, offered some tips on trying to block autoplaying videos, and looked at how most US homes now don’t have landlines. Ironic the last one caught on, given I thought it was a last-minute “filler” topic.
Changes to Diverse Tech Geek in 2019
As usual, I made some changes to the blog/site in 2019.
For starters, I shuttered (again) my site’s Facebook page. Between Facebook’s algorithms, throttling of organic page traffic, and their highly questionable practices in general, it was just as well.
I also moved from WordPress to ClassicPress, out of a dislike of WordPress’ changes; I still dislike the Gutenberg block-based editor. So far, ClassicPress has been running OK, though I’m still open to considering another platform, such as Ghost.
The experimenting with social networks continued. I tried Mastodon and PixelFed, along with Riffle, a Goodreads alternative. I also tried relaunching my Pinterest page.
However, the biggest blog changes this year (besides the ClassicPress move) include finally launching an email newsletter, along with Ko-fi and (new) Patreon pages. I’d been wanting a newsletter for some time. As for Ko-fi and Patreon, there’s not much to report on results-wise so far, though I do have a few ideas for how to improve my Patreon page for 2020.
