This is an old obsession of mine, which resurfaced today also following Ed's interesting post about the indie web and blogging in general.
I've kept a personal blog for twelve years (not counting previous experiments and my experiences in webzines), I've almost always written in Italian and mainly for myself:
it's only in the last 3 years that I've found people interested in what I write (thank you!) and it's all thanks to the Fediverse.
I say thank you because, even if I write primarily for myself, it's obvious that if I make what I write public, it's in the hope (often vain) that it might intercept someone, a kindred spirit.
To clarify:
this blog has no ads, and never will.
It doesn't even have Google Analytics or similar tools, so the only way to know if someone reads me is through reactions and comments in the Fediverse or by voice / chat.
I'm not interested in making money from it... Of course, it would be nice, but I don't see how to do it ethically and respectfully towards those who are kind enough to read what I write.
You're rambling as usual, Xab
You're right, my apologies!
As I was saying: English.
Now, like it or not, English is the lingua franca of our time.
It's what allows us to reach as many people as possible and thus broaden our horizons, interacting with cultures and mentalities very different from our own (I am an Italian who has lived in Athens for six years and tends to express himself in English, so while one can hope for better alternatives, practically I don't see any).
That said, let's consider the Fediverse for a second (my bias will necessarily be Italian, please keep that in mind).
The Fediverse is small
Even taking into account Threads and Bluesky (realities linked to an internet that personally doesn't interest me), the Fediverse is a microcosm that will never be massive.
And that's beautiful!
I firmly believe that a decentralized environment, without commercial drifts and based on a healthy exchange between people, not numbers, should be small.
That's how forums, IRC communities, and more generally the social web were until the second half of the 2000s or so.
If we look at the topics, the Fediverse is even smaller
The Fediverse, especially the one linked to Mastodon, closely resembles a Twitter with a progressive vocation:
- war news
- political news
- pages associated with fake portals
- recycled news spammed a thousand times by different profiles
- links to horrendous newspapers
etc.
You know the drill, I'm sure.
Many of these topics are extremely important, and it's right and good that they are addressed in a clean context, compared to the environments of Meta, Musk & Co.
The problem?
Other topics are miserably crushed, such as video games, music, art, and so on and so forth.
Therefore, it's very complicated to find people with similar interests with whom to forge a small, but strong enough bond to carry on a semblance of a conversation about some rare topic.
So, is it better to post in English?
I'm afraid so?
First of all, it's a useful exercise for non-native speakers like me, but precisely it can help avert the Kupamanduka effect.
Kupama WHAT?!
Perhaps you already know the story of the frog in the well, which I believe conveys the concept of a "bubble" in a very broad sense better than any other, and certainly not exclusively linked to social networks.
So, will you stop posting in Italian?
Of course not! If I'm chatting with someone who speaks Italian, it's only logical to continue the conversation in Italian. (Oh, and always remember to switch the language before posting—it's easy to forget!)
Even some of the posts I make here on the blog, like my "record of the month" series, I'll continue in Italian, at least for this year. In 2026, who knows?
But for public posts on my profile and for my interactions, I really think I'll start considering using English way more often.
Maybe I'll change my mind, but for now, que será, será.