Building a Better Social Web

I delivered the keynote at RubyWorld 2024 in Japan, where I covered the decentralized social web, Mastodon, and Ruby. It was a fun trip, and I look forward to more opportunities to talk about the social web in 2025. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 1 day ago

Where is the Art?

My Electromagnetic Field 2024 #emfcamp talk is now on YouTube! I explored computer art and #penplotter pioneers. Thanks to the EMF video team for the great editing. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 10 days ago

MQTT turns 25 – here’s how it has endured

October 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of MQTT, a crucial protocol for connecting devices in diverse environments. With origins in lightweight networks, MQTT has flourished, empowering countless applications, from home automation to industrial systems. Here's to its bright futur … | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 2 months ago

Meetup.com is so over

Meetup's gone from community king to overpriced ghost town, thanks to Bending Spoons. Enshittification strikes again! Now what? | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 2 months ago

Podcasting updates

How and why I switched from Apple Podcasts to Pocket Casts (after enduring bizarre skipping with CarPlay). Plus, I’ve been on some podcasts to chat about Open Source stuff, and the Mastodon 4.3 release. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 2 months ago

Fixing my Bambu X1C

A couple of weeks ago I was attempting to use a “glow in the dark” filament in my 3D printer for the first time. It was a bit tricky to manage, and in end I had an unfortunate situation where the filament broke in the print head, so I needed to try to unclog it. […] | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 2 months ago

Get Involved at OggCamp 2024: bring a talk or demo

OggCamp 2024 is nearly here, promising an electrifying revival of community, creativity, and open-source innovation! Dive into discussions, share your ideas, and celebrate free culture. Bring your talks and projects along with you! | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 2 months ago

Overview of the Fediverse Discovery Providers project

Renaud and I shared an update on the Fediverse Discovery Providers project at Fediforum. The presentation covered plans for new services and discussion on Auxiliary Service Providers. Initial specs and a GitHub repository will be available soon. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

My brief notes on day 1 of Fediforum Sep 2024

The fourth edition of Fediforum kicked off today. New Fediverse projects, live demos, and discussions made for an exciting start. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

An OggCamp preview

A video interview about OggCamps past and future! | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Underwhelmed by Glowtime

Apple event liveblog banter more entertaining than actual announcements; no compelling updates that I can see (yet). | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

A few photos from London’s South Bank

When I was in the South Bank area of London last week, I took some photos at the skate park. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

More grumps

Techgrumps latest episode (3.19) featured annoyed tech pros discussing DNA testing, AI, and power struggles. Check it out and stay grumpy! | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

A viral moment

A surprising moment of fame (via Hacker News) after sharing the MNT Pocket Reform review. A massive spike in site visits, lively discussions, and 6000 views - not bad for less than a month back into writing. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Progress is easy to miss

Today led me to think about the marvels of humans and technology, from generative AI to the evolution of programming languages. Let's not forget to explore new, sustainable approaches, and also, let's think about what we're building on. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Notes and links

An assortment of activities from today. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Art experiments

Some initial work with paint. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Fediverse for government organisations, a follow-up

More reasons for governments to operate their own Fediverse platforms, and examples of those who already do so. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Blaugust 2024: lessons learned & wrap-up

Results and things I learned from taking part in #Blaugust2024 | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Weekend gaming

A few brief games reviews - Full Void, Squirrel With A Gun, Cloud Gardens. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Keypad hacking

A current maker project is adapting an RP2040-based macropad to use with my MNT Pocket Reform. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

The Web, made by Humans

Today, I was reminded of the existence of the humans.txt proposal - for websites to describe who made them. With all the "AI" and other stuff happening online... maybe this is a good time to look at it again? | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Some fun small games

A few PICO-8 games, and why I love constrained platforms. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 3 months ago

Learning about the ATmosphere

A short report of a talk about ATProto and Bluesky, held in London. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

MNT Pocket Reform: a (literal) field test

A trip to an outdoors event on a Bank Holiday, with some on-the-go blogging in between tasty treats. Here's how the Pocket Reform worked for me. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Somewhere in the (M5)Stack

A journey into debugging an M5Stack module that had been discarded as defective. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Today’s notes

A grab bag of different weekend activities. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Tweaking templates

The site is coming together, with new adjustments and updates. Added fun icons, a featured posts carousel, and easy access to archives. Still working on font usage and fixing a broken embed. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

On Symbolism

There's been talk about a symbol for the Fediverse. The existing logo has history, but Meta's Threads started to use an alternative icon. Now, there's a proposal for a Unicode character ⁂ as the new symbol, with mixed reactions. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

The Collage Atlas

So, I finally hopped back into gaming after a while. I tried out The Collage Atlas and it's a gem. The graphics, sound, and overall vibe are spot on. Loving the indie, artsy scene lately! | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

A fresh coat of paint

How and why I've cleaned up the look and feel of my blog and homepage. | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Return of the Ogg(Camp)

What's an OggCamp? Why, it's a free culture and free and open source unconference, of course. It is happening again soon. You should come.… Continue reading Return of the Ogg(Camp) → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Mastodon – on your wrist

A very quick screenshot tour of a few Apple Watch apps to check your Mastodon timeline.… Continue reading Mastodon – on your wrist → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

the birth, life & death of stars

My entry for the August 2024 monthly mini plot party.… Continue reading the birth, life & death of stars → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Many micro:bits

Today I helped out a little with a electronics and coding workshop, using the micro:bit.… Continue reading Many micro:bits → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

A list switcheroo…

I made a Mastodon list of the accounts I want to keep up with on Threads - here's how I did it.… Continue reading A list switcheroo… → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Fediverse for Freedom

Finally, X seems to be crumbling. Here's why I think decentralised, federated social platforms offer the best opportunity for freedom.… Continue reading Fediverse for Freedom → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

I love the Web

The World Wide Web is an incredible, free resource, full of creativity. I love it.… Continue reading I love the Web → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Midweek miscellany

There's not much to share today, but Prusa launched the MK4S, making the MK4 even more tempting. Flipboard now lets users follow anyone in the Fediverse. Also, OggCamp tickets are available, and I had some tech hiccups. Stay tuned for more updates!… Continue reading Midweek misce … | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

The Trunk Line

I've been publishing the Mastodon engineering updates series, "Trunk & Tidbits" for a few months, and the July edition was just posted.… Continue reading The Trunk Line → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Techgrumps – with added duckweed

I was one of the participants in Techgrumps episode 3.18 where we talked about AI, business models, and more. … Continue reading Techgrumps – with added duckweed → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Synology issues

A faulty drive in my home server, but the fix has been pretty painless.… Continue reading Synology issues → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Fixing digital holes

I'm trying to replace the lost embeds on my historical blog posts. … Continue reading Fixing digital holes → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Henry Found the Time

The eighth album from one of my favourite artists, Alex Cornish, is out now. I'm excited!… Continue reading Henry Found the Time → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Maintaining a rhythm

An end-of-week update post summarising work, tinkering, and more.… Continue reading Maintaining a rhythm → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Pi Pico 2

Thoughts on the Raspberry Pi Pico 2… Continue reading Pi Pico 2 → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

Recovering my Shuttlecraft

I've had a single-user ActivityPub server - Shuttlecraft - running quietly for a while, and only just noticed that it had crashed. Now, it's back out in the Fediverse.… Continue reading Recovering my Shuttlecraft → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago

MNT Pocket Reform: first impressions

Initial experiences with the MNT Pocket Reform, primarily the hardware (and tinkering!)… Continue reading MNT Pocket Reform: first impressions → | Continue reading


@andypiper.co.uk | 4 months ago