I started my Twitter account in April 2014 with no idea what I wanted to do with it. Followers have come and gone but I have retained some of my earliest followers, including the very first who has continued to follow me on Bluesky.

I had trouble getting to grips with Facebook. I started using it again after a couple of years absence, only to be immediately suspended! Nevertheless, I’m continually receiving notifications from my original FB account which used my default email address. Most notably from someone I don’t know personally although I’ve met his daughter, I accidentally friended him by mistake instead of his nephew. His brother was once married to my sister.

It took me 12 months to reach 100 followers on Twitter, I’m equally suspicious of accounts that immediately acquire hundreds of followers and those who fail to acquire followers after several years of negative comments. I simply shared stuff that interested me and people started following me because they were learning something from my tweets of which they were previously unaware. Those who could learn most don’t follow me.

This is particularly the case with petitions. I no longer thank people for signing a petition I’m promoting, although I do acknowledge it. People are more likely to thank me for raising awareness of on an issue. I have written a couple of blogs about why I continue promoting them despite having doubts about their effectiveness.

Things took off once I reached my century, it seemed that having lots of followers was the way of getting lots more. I still haven’t figured out why when I was merely sharing articles with which I agreed.

In the early days, when I was a member of the Labour Party and had more time, I enjoyed pissing off right wing politicians. My greatest achievements were goading Luke Achehurts and John McTurnip into blocking me, I refuse to give either of them their proper name 😄 Others who blocked me were two dishonourable Labour members who went on to become ignoble Tory peers, Watson and Austin.

About 10 years ago I started writing my blog, originally published on the now defunct Critical Mass Magazine. I was greatly encouraged by Chris Williamson, who assured me that brevity was a strength rather than a weakness. Chris and I tend to think alike, we were unsuccessful in organising a zoom meeting in which we might discuss issues on which we disagreed.

I ran a discussion group on Twitter at the request of a friend, now deceased, to support Jeremy Corbyn but repurposed to support Chris. It ultimately failed because Eunice thought that others were trying to usurp my position, one of them blocked me which ended the group. The same person had to be persuaded to unblock me before I could be added to a Critical Mass discussion group, only for the same thing to happen again!

The #SocialistSunday hashtag opened up a new ball game and I was in from the start. If I didn’t share this blog I would still have to give a shout out to my comrades. It’s a matter of building a network, my own contribution is secondary but well received.

I considered moving my blog to Substack but decided I wasn’t writing frequently enough, or at sufficient length, to warrant it when I’m paying an annual subscription to WordPress. I might reconsider as I’m developing a following without posting much and my fortnightly Mike’s Diary posts are popular. Whatever I decide I’ll continue to share on #SocialistSunday but I’ld appreciate any feedback on the idea.

I think only my followers can see my posts on X at present, at they’re the only ones who respond, but that’s perhaps a good thing. I’ve enough followers that I don’t have to bother about anyone else but I can’t escape all the nasty trolling going aimed at others and it takes a lot of self-discipline to refrain from responding, even though the last thing I want is to get into an argument with an idiot.

For some time I posted a Daily Quote for certain named friends but I invited a couple of friends to contribute for the sake of diversity. I reduced my output from 7 days a week to 3 days, then 0 days. I have recently revived my previous habit of posting daily.

My biggest project so far has been raising awareness of the numerous independent lifeboats in the UK and Ireland, those that are not part of the RNLI. It took a year of research but I’ve now moved on to other things, apart from my pinned tweet on both Bluesky and X. A few years ago some friends joined me for a York Walk to raise money for York Rescue Boat and I continue to support them with a monthly donation.

Another campaign I’m actively engaged in is to close down Drax power station, in the constituency where I live, and to prevent planning permission being granted for a data centre on the site. I’m campaigning on line for now, I was unable to attend a protest camp which was cancelled anyway, but I’m corresponding with a friend in British Columbia where the timber is currently sourced.

We also share an interest in indigenous rights and conservation, two causes that are inseparable. We’re most knowledgeable about the First Nations of North America, I’m a member of Lakota Peoples Law Project, but we don’t stop there and are still learning. In my first article for Critical Mass Magazine I wrote about how much our western ‘civilisation’ could learn from indigenous nations. It’s no longer available but I think I have the original text and might republish it on WordPress one day.

I enjoy creating memes and I’m continually developing my skills, but I’m unable to animate them as I can’t find an app that will work on my iPad. I’ve tried a few graphics apps but tend to stick with old favourites. I cancelled an AI app because it didn’t give me the results I hoped for, it did produce some good results but not sufficient for me to continue paying. I’ve also discovered an aptitude for a whitty quip, especially if it involves a play on words 😄

We need to distance ourselves from politics occasionally, which is why I share music videos that are often, but not always, protest songs. I have for 12 years posted a collection of images of Yorkshire every Friday and share some old ones again on Monday. This has become a tradition in my online community, friends would worry if they missed a post 😊

New age verification rules meant that, for awhile, I was unable to access direct messages on either Bluesky or X without providing a facial recognition photo or credit card information – both of which I refuse to do as a matter of principle! That’s no longer an issue but I don’t answer DMs unless I’ve been asked beforehand and I won’t share my email address openly.

What I’m saying is: anyone who has anything to say to me privately must first ask permission, which will be granted to all comrades acting in good faith. My email is inundated with unsolicited messages, many requesting donations from organisations to which I’ve previously donated, but I need to check my junk folder genuine messages.

I’ll finish with a reminder that it costs nothing to subscribe to this blog but ensures you won’t miss anything, and you’re welcome to join my on Bluesky if you’re not already doing so.