Today is the day. From today on, I will dedicate less and less time to social networks. If my sense of nausea was already slowly growing towards places meant to create community, but which have actually transformed into the cesspool of humanity, the events of this past weekend have made me reflect a lot. Both on how we have been slaves for years now to an endless spiral of vanity, and on how we are fueling a system useful for generating disinformation and keeping alive a certain type of truth that is completely meaningless and above all anachronistic.

I have started asking around to friends for their xml files of their RSS feeds. I want to "nourish" myself with value. I want to try to hope that there will be more and more people willing to get off this madness and create their own space, where they can be themselves.

For work reasons, I will have to keep some profiles active, but I will limit myself to using them passively. Everything else will be published here. Except for my photos, for those I have decided (for now) to support foto app, in the hope that it can be free from any social media logic.

Update: very much on the same spot as Cory's here.

For several years now, the favorite sport of those who use music streaming tools has been throwing mud at Spotify and everything surrounding it. Not that Spotify is blameless; it has greatly worsened the quality of the user experience in the app, and for many, having music, audiobooks, podcasts, and videos all in one place is rather confusing.

Lately, the main topic, supported by screenshots of dubious origin, is how little Spotify pays for streaming a song. Finally, a reliable source from within the music world arrives, someone who can be trusted when it comes to these topics. Bob Lefsetz debunks this crazy narrative:

But when the hoi polloi are not bitching about the majors, they can't stop complaining about Spotify. The biggest and most innovative streamer out there. Maybe because unlike their big competitors they can't depend upon other income streams to support the effort. Spotify is not selling computers or shipping detergent, and Spotify is so good that it has the largest number of subscribers.

So why does Apple pay more per stream?

IT DOESN'T!!!

I care little about which platform is your reference. What's certain is that it would always be better to get informed beforehand and be sure of what you're claiming.

I have a certain reluctance towards software subscription models. I'm not at all saying that software shouldn't be paid for, quite the opposite, every piece of code written is a form of art from my point of view that deserves a lot of respect and all the necessary appreciation. However, I can't accept (I'm surely wrong) the fact that every month I have to pay the same amount for something that essentially changes little or nothing over time, like a note-taking application.

Specifically, I had been looking for a few months for a note-taking app that was platform-agnostic, that I could install through the Mac OS App Store because it doesn't require machine admin permissions, that made a clear distinction between work notes and personal notes, but above all had the ability to export what was written in markdown, so I could paste the newly written text on the blog backend quickly.

My choice had fallen on iA Writer, which I used for a few months with great satisfaction and with a lifetime purchase. But iA Writer is nothing more than a long list of txt files and, for my mindset, with a difficult distinction between work and home things. Moreover, since there was no Android app, I couldn't jot down notes on my dumb phone that I keep next to my bedside table.

I switched to Bear App. An application that I have always loved even if with an annual subscription and without an Android app. I sent out an SOS for help to those who might know others. And after various attempts, I landed on UpNote. It shamelessly copies Bear App and even if perhaps less elegant, it has some more features:

• It allows you to have both different vaults, so as to keep business notes separate from personal ones, and different Notebooks so you don't have to catalog everything through Tags, which I deeply hate
• It's platform agnostic so wherever I need it, I find it
• It exports notes in practically any format
• But above all, it's currently on a lifetime offer, so I hope I'll never have to worry about a note-taking app in my life again

My quest has ended. What about you, do you prefer to pay a small portion each and every month or are you a lifetime subscriber like me?

I'm not quite sure how to respond to the question posed by Jatan and revisited by Manu and Jamie.

My online experience began at the start of the century, mainly with forum boards. A prelude to social networks, but where civility and asynchrony still allowed for civil and passionate discussions.

And it was during those years, especially abroad and then in Italy, that the golden era of blogs and bloggers took place. The proto-influencers of the time. I myself was on the radar of social and digital PR agencies for a few years, receiving invitations to this or that event.

So I really couldn't say what I would have done if I had started my Internet experience a decade later, let's say. Thinking about it, I would say that I would have still looked at blogs as a tool for personal expression where I could tell my story through longform, without the limiting boundaries of platforms and like-grabbing posts.

Yes, because, and here I quote Jamie, the clear difference between the two things lies right here:

Social media is a lot like living in an apartment. There is a landlord who can decide to allow you to rent or not. There are rules and limitations. You cannot just paint the walls whenever you want and you certainly cannot just remodel the kitchen. You also have to modify your behavior. You cannot play your stereo super loud in the middle of the night. Consider that for a moment and it sounds like most social media platforms. You get an apartment — your profile. You can post as long as the landlord is okay with what you say. You cannot change the way your writing is displayed — no remodeling here. And as long as the landlord keeps the building up your words will be there. But you don't own anything, and when they decide to sell the building you will go with it.

Having a blog is like having a single family home. Want to remodel? Okay. Want to play your stereo? Okay, within the noise ordinances. Want to change the way the living room is laid out? Fine, none of our business. This is why I have a blog. I want to have my own space, and do my own things, and not be under a landlord. That also means I have to mow my grass, tend to the rain gutters, and manage the upkeep. And just like houses some take more of that than others.

The real problem with this question lies in the demographic nature to which it is posed. The vast majority of people under 30 today would respond that they don't need a blog to express themselves. This is because social networks have watered down our online experience to the point where we expect feedback on any content we decide to post online: likes, reposts, or comments are the currency of exchange to which they are accustoming us.

Necessarily derailing the conversation to an aspect that I have addressed several times on this blog. Are people still themselves online nowadays? Or do they only show their best side in order to receive that satisfying fulfillment from engagement?

I still see few people being true, sincere, opening up without filters, even though they are aware of what they will face.

Starting a blog to be yourself. This should be the mantra. This should be obvious to everyone, without fearing judgments, without being slaves to the mechanics of some multinational company that in return only wants to sell our data for profit.

Starting a blog may seem difficult, but it's not at all, it's an act of love that you owe to yourself.

Free yourselves.

One of the fun things about having and reading blogs is participating in these challenges from time to time. They're useful for getting to know others and letting them know you, since most of the time, even when talking about personal topics, it's difficult to truly get to know each other.

Music is one of my greatest passions. I spend tens of thousands of minutes each year listening to and discovering new music. In the near future, I'd like to deepen my study of it, not so much by learning to play a new instrument, but by understanding the language necessary to comprehend it better.

1 What are five of your favorite albums?

• Significant Other by Limp Bizkit
• Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory by Dream Theater
• Nimrod by Green Day
• Is This Itby The Strokes
• Blossom by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
• Special mention to any Led Zeppelin album

2 What are five of your favorite songs?

• When a Blind Man Cries by Metallica
• Lazy Bones by Green Day
• I Don’t Love You by My Chemical Romance
• Devil Inside Me by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
• Nothing Breaks Like a Heart by Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes

3 Favorite instrument(s)?

Drums. I tried taking lessons a few years ago for about a year and a half. Unfortunately, I gave up mainly due to time constraints and because, in hindsight, I realized I had started way too late to learn and by then my cognitive abilities weren't responding well enough to my desire to master the instrument like a rock star.

4 What song or album are you currently listening to?

I have a small tradition. At the beginning of each year, I have the habit of creating a thread (previously on X, here are the ones for 2024, now on Bluesky) where I save my favorite album listened to during a week. Lately, I'm really enjoying The Blue Blanket by Charlie Reynolds.

5 Do you listen to the radio? If so, how often?

Years ago, yes, every day while driving to work during my daily commute. Now not anymore, I only listen to replays of La Zanzara (I don't even know where to start to explain this. It's a mix of trash, satirical, populist radio show that gives voice to the worst part of Italy, but it's a sociological experience to me).

6 How often do you listen to music?

Every day, at least 15-30 songs per day. It's one of my greatest passions.

7 How often do you discover music? And how do you discover music?

I've been a Spotify user since 2016. Occasionally I've tried all its competitors, always ending up returning to the base for various reasons. Anyway, every Monday I listen to Discovery Weekly (the auto-generated playlist by Spotify based on your tastes) and from there I try to discover new artists, follow them, listen to their albums.
I've discovered countless numbers of amazing artists through Discovery Weekly that at this point I think I trained the algorithm so well that it knows me really deeply. Honestly, some weeks it boils down to the point I like most of the songs I find there.
Another way to discover music is through the reviews I find weekly on this blog.

8 What's a song or album that you enjoy that you wish had more recognition?

Lately this one.

9 What's your favorite song of all time?

When a Blind Man Cries by Metallica. It has anything I need from a rock song. It's a great cover song too. Oh yes, I do love cover songs like A LOT!

10 Has your taste in music evolved over the years?

Yes. Quite a bit. I got into music thanks to an old classic rock cassette tape found attached to a magazine. Meanwhile, between middle and high school, I became passionate about the hip-hop and dance world. Then I completely turned to hard rock, alt rock and indie rock and all its derivations and I haven't strayed from those territories for over 20 years. I don't listen to Italian music but only in English, I detest live albums, and I deeply hate region locks for streaming music.

I felt it was the right time to refresh this 2-years-old-list. Some changes here and there, but not huge ones.

I keep on relying on the cloud to save all my docs and media, nothing will change my mind around that.

If you got any question around this list, drop me a message here.

📨 Mail Client: GMail for personal usage, Outlook for business purposes
📮 Mail Server: Google Workspace
📝 Notes: Bear App UpNote
✅ To-Do: Google Tasks
📷 Photo Shooting: iPhone, Sony Alpha a7RIII
🎨 Photo Editing: Photomator, Darkroom, Pixelmator Pro
📆 Calendar: GMail Calendar
📁 Cloud File Storage: Google Workspace 100TB
📖 RSS: Feedly Lifetime subscription
🙍🏻‍♂️ Contacts: Google Contacts
🌐 Browser: Microsoft Edge
💬 Chat: Telegram
🔖 Bookmarks: Microsoft Edge Collections (so underrated feature, it made me switch from Chrome)
📜 Word Processing: Microsoft Word
📈 Spreadsheets: Microsoft Excel
📊 Presentations: Microsoft PowerPoint
🛒 Shopping Lists: Google Keep
📰 News: Feedly
🎵 Music:  Spotify Premium Family
🎤 Podcasts: Spotify Premium Family
🔐 Password Management: 1Password

Last night we went to bed knowing that one of the largest fires in recent decades was underway between Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

We woke up to a black sky, the acrid smell of ash, and nearly 3,000 acres swept away in just a few hours.

Fortunately, we are safe here in Marina del Rey, our offices are closed, and we are working from home, but knowing that hell is breaking loose just a few kilometers away doesn't make you feel at ease.

We are not in danger, but we are closely following news and alert bulletins because the wind is expected to continue for a few more hours, and its unpredictability could change the situation in a matter of minutes.

If you are in an impacted area or close to what is happening in Los Angeles County, in addition to real-time news from local television stations, I recommend downloading the Watch Duty app (iOS, Android) which sends real-time bulletins to your phone.

Stay safe, be ready to evacuate. It will get better.

Inspired by Manuel, Kev, Brandon, Luke, and Dalton

Why did you start blogging in the first place?

It was 2007, and I was about to travel to Canada to witness the development of the new FIFA video game in Vancouver at the EA Sports Studios. I decided it was a good time to emulate the trend of the moment and create my own space to document the various stages of my journey. It wasn’t my first experience with online writing, as I had already been contributing to Everyeye.it for quite some time at that point.

What platform are you using to manage your blog, and why did you choose it?

Since I had no background in web development or programming, I initially picked up Squarespace. With just a few clicks, I was able to publish my first post and purchase the domain fluxes.it. In fact, my first blog was called Fluxes.

Have you blogged on other platforms before?

Yes, I have. I’ve tried moving away from Squarespace multiple times—not only because of how heavy it was to load the homepage but also due to its annual maintenance costs. I experimented with WordPress, but that turned out to be an even worse experience. I also tried Medium but abandoned it quickly due to its walled-garden approach, despite its excellent editor interface. Finally, thanks to Manuel, I settled on Kirby. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!

How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool or a panel/dashboard that's part of your blog?

Lately, my go-to writing tool has been Bear. I’ve tried iA Writer—which I absolutely love—but in my quest for a single app for both work and personal notes, Bear turned out to be the perfect balance of elegance and practicality. It’s also one of the few tools that lets me copy a text in markdown and paste it directly into Kirby.

When do you feel most inspired to write?

Usually when I’m home alone, often during breaks on work-from-home days. However, my best ideas tend to come at night just before falling asleep—and most of the time, they’re lost as they blend into my dreams.

Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer as a draft?

I publish immediately—on impulse—often without even rereading. This is probably why readers accessing my posts via RSS often encounter all sorts of typos. I’m trying to improve, but most of the time, corrections happen after publishing.

What's your favorite post on your blog?

This one: Definitely this one. Sorry it’s in Italian, but I’m sure you know how to translate text online nowadays.

Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?

Nah. So far so good. I recently returned to my old domain contino.com, and everything is running smoothly. After all this time, I finally don’t feel an obsessive need to change graphics or platforms anymore. I can confidently say that I’m very satisfied and don’t feel like changing anything—it only took me 15 years!

🛬 We're back to LA. It's been two intense weeks. We mainly ate and put on a few extra pounds. We didn't rest, but we dedicated all our free time to relatives and friends. Maybe next year we'll have to change our approach, otherwise we won't survive 😅. Coming back didn't give us any particular feeling; in fact, it felt like we'd been away for just a few weeks instead of a whole year. We also noticed that when we're here in California, we have the habit of calling Milan home, while in the past two weeks in Italy, we always called California home. It's funny how things change perspective based on the time and place they happen. However, we're happy to be back here, in the warmth and at 20 degrees Celsius.

📵 I believe I'm one step away from the long-awaited liberation from social media slavery. These two past weeks, I practically never opened any social media app on my phone and only took photographs without ever posting them. On the contrary, my mind was wandering about what my next post could be about and the future projects of this newborn 2025. Hence my decision to reshape my iPhone's homepage, "hide" toxic apps as much as possible, and leave space only for what I know can enrich me instead of making me waste time and sleep. I'll make a dedicated post later in the year.

📋 I appreciated this short list made by Steve for 2025. I don't like making a list of New Year's resolutions at the beginning of the year that I know I won't keep. Instead, I prefer to set tangible goals that I hope to achieve by December.

IN

• blogging
• podcasting (I hope to start and complete a new idea I've had for some time. I'll talk about it in due course)
• gaming
• reading
• music
• more sport
• more California discovery
• writing

OUT

• worrying too much
• social media
• being afraid of creating
• wasting money on useless apps and subscriptions

📺 My wife Noemi hates starting TV series that she knows aren't finished. She hates having to wait a week for a new episode or a whole year for a new season. I don't know if it exists, but she perfectly embodies the stereotype of binge-watching. It doesn't make much difference for me, but I probably at least need to at least review a summary of the previous season when the new one is released: I have a terrible memory. I was thinking about this because lately, we've watched almost exclusively self-contained Mini Series: Madness, The Perfect Couple, Baby Reindeer, etc. They don't require a big commitment, they have episodes that are on average 1hr-long, comparable to a short movie, and we know from the start what we're getting into. No more than 5 episodes, knowing we can reach the end without the anxiety of waiting. I don't know if it comes from our recent experience using various platforms, but I'm noticing more and more often the Mini Series label next to newly published productions. Could it finally be a trend? Have they realized that the excess and abundance of content is leading us to crazy mental confusion?

This year's wrap-up post must open with a necessary premise. Some of the posts from the beginning of the year are still in Italian, but if you're interested in reading them, any online tool you choose to use today will allow you to quickly translate the text and understand its meaning.

Let's start with the classic and obligatory list of previous episodes: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013

I still find it hard to believe that I've reached the twelfth year of this annual appointment that allows me to look back and retrace the life of this blog. A blog that, as far as I'm concerned, has regained a certain centrality in my online life. The main topic of this year, to which I'm particularly attached: online interaction dynamics.

The subject of my thesis never ceases to fascinate me. Never like this year, with the advent of new microblogging tools like Threads or BSky, have I reflected on how insignificant those spaces are compared to what is contained within a human being and their complexity. Basically, social networks bring out the worst in people, no matter which platform. Unfortunately, this continues to be an absolute truth even in 2024. Therefore, my focus for 2025 will be to give more space to long and hopefully interesting thoughts here.

On this topic, I'd like to quote two posts by Louie Mantia. The first, Everything Competes with Everything:

I am becoming more selective about what I end up giving my resources to, because I want that energy returned. Not everything does that. Doomscrolling on social media drains me, whereas a good movie energizes me.
So I've come to realize it isn't just competition among all media and products—it's also about competition between all of that and what I value.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who perceives a certain fatigue not only in keeping up with the circus of these new tools but in trying to give the best version of oneself for the pure pleasure of being considered. It's no longer for me.

And the second quote fits perfectly thanks to one of his latest posts, Nowhere Place:

Because it's so effortless to post, everyone does it without thinking much of it. Very few people are engaging meaningfully. Superficial posts are followed up with drive-by replies. And no one likes that, I'm fairly certain.

I'm not immune to this. I've been doing exactly this for as long as I can remember. But last month, I decided to stop posting on social media, because I realized that if I want to say something, I'll write a blog post about it. If I lack the energy to go through that process, then it's not really worth sharing.

I wonder if everyone would be just as satisfied if they typed something into a box, hit post, and it went nowhere at all. How much of the reason people instinctively post is just catharsis? Is it just that we need somewhere for those thoughts to go so we can let go of them? And if so, is there a nowhere place we can send them instead?

Let's move on to the actual recap:

• The blog turned 15 years old!
• My first year living in the U.S.A.
• The amusing story of how my Italian driver's license was suspended
• In February, I tried Apple Vision Pro and wrote about it on RoundTwo's channel
• Pasta in the United States is different
• We tried an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles: Forma
• All my active subscriptions for 2024
• One of the topics closest to my heart, digital music
• The games I wrote about this year: Balatro, Top Spin 2K25, PlayStation Portal, The Game Awards 2024, eFootball
• Cinema and TV Series: Civil War, Dark Matter although actually the entire 2024 recap can be found at the usual Trakt link.
• We started exploring California a bit: Amerigo Vespucci, Sequoia and Death Valley
• Last but not least: this year I listened to a ton of music. In fact, it was the year I listened to the most.

With this, I send you a big hug and, as usual, wish you an excellent end of the year and a fantastic 2025.

Ah, of course...Keep in touch!