New site and domain

Hello everyone.

I have made several blogs over the years. Some of them still linger around, but most of it is gone now. Server I used for my main blog haven’t been up for a very long time. In the mean time, I tried to blog on another platform. While It was also a WordPress platform, I found platform’s options limiting and it’s pricing policy even more limiting.

The itch of writing didn’t leave me. I finally made the sensible move and got my very own domain and proper amount of space. This is blog is partially self hosted. I do my own thing, under my own domain, but I bought server space from a company. I would prefer running everything myself, but this will do quite well.

Text and speech

I am fully aware that golden age of blogging is far gone. It doesn’t matter. This is something that I want to do. I could say that it is something that I even need to do. Some of you might have followed me in YouTube and Twitch. They should already be aware – as painfully as I am – that I am far better writer than speaker.

That isn’t actually a big surprise. I have been writing my whole life. I started publicly speaking last year. It will take time to hone the use of voice in par of my writing. It is very possible that I will never become a very good public speaker.

And let’s also remember that English is not my first language.

However. This YouTube thing is a journey that I was happy to start. Learning new things is always fun. Honing my skills as presenter and editor is surprisingly relaxing. Just like writing. I guess I am happy, when I am doing something creative, knowing that at least someone will enjoy the outcome.

What am going to do with this blog?

I try to do as much as I can with Open tools. I am strong supporter of projects like LibreOffice and Krita. My current video editing is done with OpenShot. I am constantly looking and testing various similar tools.

I am not doing this for being cheap. I can pay for service. I am doing this out of ideology that commercial creative and office products should have free alternatives, with unrestricted distribution avenues. Freedom of information and creativity is something I consider as universal right. This is especially true, when we are living in digital age. Companies have right to develop and sell commercial products, but we consumers should also have right to work with alternatives.

I need to press that I do not have anything against commercial success and companies in principle. What I want is that we have alternatives, which allow freedom of innovation and creativity, despite what personal economical resources users have in their hands. If dedicated company develops better products and features, and you have personal resources to acquire their services, then go ahead and buy their products. There is absolutely nothing wrong in that. Good service is worth spending the money.

YouTube, Twitch and Twitter

My current release platform is YouTube. I am developing my social media channels professionally. Despite all of it’s issues and gripes I have with it; YouTube is still the best platform to release video content.

Do I wish this to change? Let’s say that I would really want to see YouTube to change their policies to another direction. I understand that so called ‘Adpocalypse’ event at 2017 have taken some options away from platform’s hands. However, YouTube is using plenty of strange rules and one-sided methods, which are making the use unnecessarily hard and unpredictable. People are using Patreon to support their favorite content creators, despite of YouTube’s own paid subscription system. I personally favor Patreon over YouTube paid subscriptions. This is the case, because I do not actually trust YouTube not to throw something new on the table, or directly in to garbage bin. They – as well as Google itself – have done it too many times in the past.

I also have Twitch channel on my own. I actually started my video streaming “career” there, but it is currently on hold. This has been due to my unstable working hours. My day job does not have stable shifts, so I am taking what I can, when I can. This naturally means that I have to work with YouTube videos when ever I have the time. Twitch streaming happens, when I have enough videos for couple of weeks and day job shifts do not drag me around. Just as well, I will continue streaming. Feel free to subscribe to my Twitch channel to see when I am online.

Of course all the videos, streams and blog posts are posted to my Twitter account. Following it is the most certain way to catch up with all releases and publications.

Do I have more topics coming up?

This blog is my free space. I am going to use it for what ever comes to my mind. I will be writing a lot about Open Source products, but I am also going to speak about other things that are close to my heart.

If you happened to follow my previous writings, you might know how important things freedom of expression and human rights are to me. This blog will most definitely return to document and discuss about social media, net neutrality and various rights topics as well.

Blog will also follow closely development of applications and commercial software solutions, when ever there is something that interests me.

And of course we are going to talk about games and modding them. My modding guides and tutorials will return. This time they will happen on the space that I can actually manage myself and tweak as far as I want to. Thumbs up for that!

TL;DR

I am back. Let’s get this show back on the road.