Detritus of Empire - Chipping with Stone Tools....

It's time for changes.  For fifteen years and then some I've been posting three times a week under the flag "Detritus of Empire".  It's been fun, and I'd say 2,704 posts is a pretty fair effort.  Mostly short essays.  Sometimes just photos and commentary.

I'm actually not out of things to say, but the world has changed.  More specifically, the unreal world of the internet has changed.  

I started in 2011, which was near the end of the classic blogging era.  The internet had promise then.  Anybody could think something up, post it, and others would read it and carry on the conversation.  There was no money involved, just people conversing on a larger scale.

Ah, but the rise and monetization of various search algorithms prioritized certain subject material.  Largely, how shall I put this.... crap.  OK, fine.  

So classic blogging became passe  Now, my initial venture into talking into the electronic void was tied to my archaeological ventures overseas.  And my digging pals encouraged me to cross post to Facebook.  

That worked for a while.  But Facebook too has deteriorated markedly.  AI has not helped.  Bad management has not helped.  Other than a few delightful eccentrics who still use heavily the platform - cheers, you know who you are! - it has become a bad joke. 

Recently it has intermittently refused to make a clean link to Detritus of Empire.  No real explanation.  No plausible fix.  My diagnosis?  I suspect this is a response to my overlapping layers of ad blockers.  Or maybe its just another unannounced change in their policies.  

There is no solution using existing options.   What I've been doing for years has become the equivalent of chipping away with stone tools while the tribe on the other side of the hill has discovered bronze.  

I'm going to try Substack.  It seems more functional, at least for now.  Maybe once a week.  You're welcome to wander over to that side of the hill.  Ignore all that stuff about paying to subscribe.  My stuff will always be free and worth every penny.

Back in a few days with the first installment of a Substack based Detritus of Empire.  I'll still cross post on Facebook until it most likely gets stubborn on the matter.  

Here's me in 2011.  I have not changed at all.  That blue shirt is still in my digging bag and makes the trip to Vindolanda every year!

 Next time I'll try posting from Substack with a link to same.