Year-end Musings by Old Jim
Hello Bluesky, Goodbye Twitter and Unfriending Hundreds
It’s the end of 2024 and I’ve begun to make some changes, some small, some large. A new year is typically a time of new beginnings, and fresh starts and I’m getting the jump on the year by getting some long-neglected stuff done.
Bluesky
One major thing I’ve done recently is switching to Bluesky for my personal social media postings1. I have left X/Twitter as so many have due to either it’s owner, it’s policies or the vitriol there. Bluesky is what Twitter used to be like, but far better, easier to organize and no ads. Follow the people you want to follow. See what/who your friends are following. Get one of many “starter packs” for the special interest groups on Bluesky. So many options! I have also set up The Seaboard Review there2, and while the traffic from Bluesky is nowhere near what it is for the TSR Facebook account (yet), it’s a better option than Instagram, which doesn’t allow links (other than in the bio or in Stories).
Instagram & Facebook
Speaking of Instagram, I have all but left there permanently. I have deleted almost all my content, and I only use IG to communicate with my work group (mainly reels) and a few friends. As for my Facebook feed, I went through my 400+ “friends” and unfollowed hundreds. Many of these were authors that wanted to friend me when I ran The Miramichi Reader. I still have 258 friends, which is mind-blowing because I am an introvert who has only a couple of living friends. It’s easier to be friends online, I suppose. BTW, If you want to know how many friends truly follow you, post a photo of a pet you recently had pass away. I swear you will get more hits than if you posted you have Cancer. One day, I will pare down that 258 to 100, perhaps. If any of you who I unfriended are reading this, please send another request (or better yet, come over to Bluesky).
Retirement?
What’s next for Old Jim? Retirement looms on the horizon (from Horizon!) I will be 64 come April and while I don’t foresee me stopping work completely at 65, I am hoping that a part-time MRI position can accommodate me for a few years. I enjoy working in MRI, particularly evenings and weekends when the work environment is less hectic. I enjoy my patients, and the technology is fantastic. MRI provides such good imaging!
So, that’s my retirement plan.
The Seaboard Review
On to my newest creation which will be one year old in April (on April Fool’s Day, no less). We have reached 200 subscribers, which was my year-end goal. To date, we’ve posted over 200 reviews, interviews and newsletters. And what a great team has come together to make all this possible in such a short time! Some have their own Substacks or websites, some are authors, all have a love of reading and promoting good Canadian books and indie publishers. We even manage to sneak in an international title here and there.
I’m also happy to see so many paid subscribers which makes it possible to cover the few costs we have and give our volunteer reviewers small honorariums from time to time. We will never paywall any of our content, so we offer subscribers advance notice of posts via email before it goes on social media. Currently, we are offering 20% off a yearly subscription, offer ends December 31st.
Thanks for reading this far, and see you on Bluesky!
@miramichijim.bsky.social
@theseaboardreview.ca