Since 2007 I have come to love Posterous as a platform for a number of blogs (some of which look more like proper websites than blogs thanks to Posterous's functionality, without me having to really know what I am doing in technical terms because Posterous does that thinking for me).

Posterous's announcement that they have now been acquired by Twitter gives me mixed feelings. I love Twitter, but for entirely its own reasons and not as a 'replacement of' or 'alternative to' any other site or social network - it adds to my life in both online/virtual and real-life terms. I am delighted for everyone at Posterous that their years of hard work are now being converted to them into cold hard cash - they deserve every dollar of that! But I also have to say... I'm worried... worried what the future may bring to Posterous users.

You see, I was thrilled when Twitter bought TweetDeck... until they launched their post-takeover version of TweetDeck, which lacked most of the functionality of its predecessor, specifically the features that made it the best desktop application for Twitter and all the other sites, media and tools it integrated (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, FourSquare, MobyPicture and so on). It was almost as if Twitter tried to kill it off by buying it.

While I've been able to revert to the pre-takeover version of TweetDeck, I do realise that if I bump in to any bugs or issues with it, there won't be any support, and I doubt that under Twitter's umbrella there will ever be a version of TweetDeck that is going to be anywhere near to what it used to be.

With Posterous there is no going back to previous versions, and I can't seem to work out whether Twitter acquired Posterous for Posterous, or for the talented people behind Posterous... could users be set for a disappointment similar to post-Twitter-era TweetDeck?

So as pleased I am for all the people involved behind the scenes, as an end user I can't help but be worried. And I hope that expressing that concern as publicly as this may catch the attention of the 'powers that be' involved and ideally tempt them away from any temptation to diminish or even kill off Posterous.

Just in case, I guess I'll have to start studying possible alternatives. Blogger? Lacking sophistication. WordPress? Something I've been trying to put off while there was Posterous, as Posterous is so much easier for Not-Very-Techie types like me, especially with the help from fabulous theme developers like Cory Watilo. Tumblr? Love it, but not for the kind of thing I currently do on Posterous.

The thought of migrating my Posterous spaces elsewhere gives me nightmares, so I hope I won't ever have to. But none of Posterous's or Twitter's statements on this acquisition assure me to that effect. "We'll give you ample notice", to me, sounds like "you better start getting ready for change"... and that worries the hell out of me.

While I realise that all these fabulous tech solutions are free to use by its end users, and that as a non-paying user I am merely an asset and not a customer, I do wish tech entrepreneurs would consider their users' (business) continuity a bit more... that they haven't paid in any money doesn't mean they haven't invested.

Without (non-paying) users, would all the money and work founders/entrepreneurs/investors/developers put in pay off in the same way and/or to the same extent like, say, Facebook's IPO? Or like tech start-ups' buy-outs such as Twitter's acquisition of TweetDeck and now Posterous?

So where is the users' return on investment?

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.
Op dit werk is een Creative Commons Licentie van toepassing.

UPDATE: The bass guitar was sold to a proud father who bought it for his young son. May he get to love and enjoy it as much as (or even more than) I have done.

The Lovely Little Laney Amp I already sold a couple of years ago, now it's the turn for my Beautiful Baby Bass. It hurts but for now it has to be like that. It's stuff. It's replaceable. (So don't be surprised if years from now, you'll see me save up to buy the exact same model bass guitar again.) For now, there are more important things to worry about. And that's OK. It's life.

I'm selling the lot - the bass guitar, the hardcase, the strap, the leads and the DVDs. (I haven't found back the books but I will have a look for them as well.)

Now go on, place your bid(s)... Hopefully it will make someone as happy as it did me.

(Previously posted on Facebook) (Last updated 28 January 2012 - further updates will undoubtedly follow.)

The new podcast "Ian Collins Wants a Word" will launch on 31 January 2012.
(Aside from that, you can catch Ian on radio weekly on Stephen Nolan's show on BBC 5live on Saturdays after 10pm, and see him make regular TV appearances on BBC News and Sky News.)*

Some answers to questions (as previously posted in the Facebook page's comments):

Q: How do I get Ian's podcast(s)?
A: From Tuesday 31 January 2012 you can download it and/or subscribe to it using iTunes, or listen to it on iancollins.com.

Q: Why can't I find Ian's podcast on iTunes?
A: Because it's not there yet. It launches 31 January 2012 and won't be visible before then.

Q: Is there an RSS feed/URL for Ian's podcast?
A: Not yet. It launches 31 January 2012 and any direct link(s) available from then will be shared when they're available.

Q: What is a podcast?
A: A podcast is a media file made available on the internet for download to a computer, portable media player, smartphone or other compatible device. Besides Google, a good resource for information about podcasts in general and iTunes podcasts in particular is Apple's website: click here to read Apple's web page dedicated to the topic; they also have a page where they answer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Q: But I don't have / I hate Apple/iTunes/etc..?
A: You don't need an iPhone, iPod or iPad to get podcasts; anyone with a PC or Mac can download podcasts using iTunes or listen to it on iancollins.com.

Q: What about my Android phone/tablet?
A: Android users can sync podcasts like any other files from their computer to their device or use podcast apps as listed on this online article by The Next Web and no doubt other information will be available elsewhere on the web.

Q: That rules me out then, I have a BlackBerry...
A: No, it doesn't. BlackBerry users can sync from their computer to their device using BlackBerry Media Sync (an extension to your BlackBerry desktop software); once the URL for Ian's specific podcasts is known you may even be able to download them directly onto your BB using the BlackBerry Podcast App, who knows.

Q: Yeah, but...
A: Bottom line is: any device that can play media files will be able to play podcasts. As for the Ian Collins Wants a Word podcast, if iTunes doesn't tickle your (device's) fancy, any web-enabled device should be able to get you to iancollins.com where the podcast will be made available as well.

Q: How can I contribute to Ian's podcast?
A: Give him a shout on the studio mobile 07789 18 32 62 (from outside UK: +44 7789 18 32 62). He wants rants, opinions, things that annoy you, whatever you like! it's a normal UK mobile number so not premium rates or anything. If he likes the message he may include it on the programme.

* Ian's confirmed appearances from now until the end of February are as follows
  (list is subject to change and may not include all TV appearances):
  - Fri 28 Jan '12 (TV) Sky News 10.30 & 11.30pm;
  - Sat 29 Jan '12 (TV) BBC News 11.15pm;
  - Sat 29 Jan '12 (RADIO) BBC 5live 11.30pm & 12.00am;
  - Tue 31 Jan '12 (PODCAST) Ian Collins Wants a Word;
  - Sat 04 Feb '12 (RADIO) BBC 5live 11.30pm & 12.00am;
  - Tue 07 Feb '12 (PODCAST) Ian Collins Wants a Word;
  - Sat 11 Feb '12 (RADIO) BBC 5live 11.30pm & 12.00am;
  - Tue 14 Feb '12 (PODCAST) Ian Collins Wants a Word;
  - Sat 18 Feb '12 (RADIO) BBC 5live 11.30pm & 12.00am;
  - Sun 19 Feb '12 (RADIO) LBC 97.3 1-4pm;
  - Tue 21 Feb '12 (PODCAST) Ian Collins Wants a Word;
  - Sat 25 Feb '12 (RADIO) BBC 5live 11.30pm & 12.00am;
  - Sun 26 Feb '12 (RADIO) LBC 97.3 4-7pm;
  - Tue 28 Feb '12 (PODCAST) Ian Collins Wants a Word.

 Join Ian Collins on Facebook or Twitter to always have his latest updates.

© 2012 Ian Collins / Jo Hughes. All rights reserved.

To: [Ex-husband]; [Ex-husband's wife]
Sent: Dec 02, 2011, 01:51 AM

Came home to various missed calls from BOTH of you. You BOTH need to stop this. You could have just settled your argument between yourselves, yet you dragged me in by both calling me repeatedly over the past 3-4 weeks, so here are some home truths: I did NOT land [ex-husband] in debt, it's quite the reverse and while [ex-husband] got his bankruptcy I am still paying and that's how I almost ended up homeless. I did NOT know [ex-husband] had a new relationship, let alone two! We separated 08 April 2009; when [ex-husband] put an earlier date on his petition for divorce I did not contest it to allow the divorce to go through. I would never have known about the lies at my expense had you not contacted me, BOTH of you, to drag me into your argument; what do I have to do to stop you both from harassing me and move on - issue proof that [ex-husband] lied when this is YOUR argument not mine?! How pathetic and wicked are you both, seriously. LEAVE ME ALONE!

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Initial press reports neatly relayed the official press release which deliberately gives no details regarding the manner of death and asks "that everyone respects the family's privacy at this very sad time".

The police report that followed next did not go beyond basic detail, either: the police had been called to an address where they found someone dead and the next of kin confirmed the dead person's identity.

So the press pack swiftly moved on to the daily business of competing with each other over who can outdo the other on bringing out the (better? worse? more?) details of the circumstances of the person's passing.

Could they not have waited that little bit longer and leave it for the loved ones to decide whether they wanted that to be brought out into the public domain and in which way?

Why this rush, possibly at the expense of people involved?!

All well and good, this 24-hour hunger for immediate news all the time, but at moments like these I wish people would just slow down... think for a moment: Within an hour of the news of his demise being published, comments went from celebrating the person to making him the subject of something... did no one else notice that?

I don't care however true any ponderings or 'eye-witness reports' over a person's physical and/or mental state in the run-up to his untimely demise may be; are such ponderings, particularly their timing, always appropriate? Was it really too much to hold on just that little bit more and consider the human being over the story for just that little bit longer?

Note: this post wasn't written in some self-righteous sense of wanting to defend any particular individual(s). I am posting this as a member of the public whose interest the press claim to serve when they publish someone's official statement asking for respect, only to instantly move on to things that then, in my eyes, show blatant disregard of that very request.

From: Jo
Sent: 08 November 2011 21:09
To: [ex-husband]
Subject: Final goodbye

Dear [ex-husband],

I didn't see your emails until today, after I got home from the hospital. My body is still in a mess, but I don't want to postpone this message.

So I got your panicky call last week, then nothing. Then those repeat and wicked phone calls from your wife - she never told me her name - after I'd just been brought back to the hospital ward from the operating theatre (and just before I passed out from sudden blood loss, by the way). I was worried about your wellbeing but too weak to do anything until in the evening when I was recovered well enough to phone your mum to check if you were alright and she confirmed that you were. That's what friends do, right?

Still, I am completely bemused at all these lies. I thought you knew me well enough to know that I would have granted you the divorce if you had honestly told me that you wanted it because you had met someone else. There was no need for you to commit perjury on your petition for divorce, unless it was to perpetuate your lie(s) to her that you'd already well and truly split up from me when in fact we hadn't (yet). (And of course, in the meantime, you got to continue to take everything you could from me until there was nothing left.)

All the secrecy, lies, game-playing... I don't want any part of it. EVER.

Your wife's immature phone calls to me, ignoring I was ill in hospital, suggests she's about as mature as you. As in: rather immature. (She may really be a very nice and lovely person, but I can only go by first impressions and those weren't pretty.)

If the two of you have marital problems, they're not mine and I certainly do not want to be dragged into them.

If she gets violent with you to the point where you need hospital treatment... not a great example to your daughters nor to any children you may be having with her, but again... not my problem and I do not want to be dragged into them.

Had I known about you being in a new relationship - having remarried even - and that being friends with you was to be a threat to your relationship, I would have backed off. Please now don't create issues for me by asking me to cover your back and lie for you. Allow me to move on with my life as much as you have done.

I guess I will never understand why you felt the need to keep so many secrets and tell so many lies, as far as I'm concerned I would rather have had the truth, however much uglier that might have been. (If other people in your life couldn't/can't, that's their problem.) Right now I am so (way beyond) shocked and disappointed at your web of lies, I really don't know what to think of you, really. I wondered why our mutual friends suddenly backed off from me but I guess now I understand... they had all become part of the "don't tell Jo" game... that hurts me more than I would like to admit to.

But I'll get over that, and I really want to move on. All the stuff from our wedding (pictures, presents, honeymoon souvenirs etc.) that you insisted you wanted to have... I suggest you let it go, don't dwell on that past and build on your present and future with your current wife. Once I feel better I'll get rid of those. As for the other personal belongings of yours you never collected, like I explained, I live in a very tiny home now without storage space, so as soon as I can afford to (which may be several months yet), I will have them delivered to your parents' address.

Apart from that, I think it's best we no longer stay in touch from now on. I thought we divorced as friends and would have liked to have remained friends, but it's obviously not working if you feel the need to lie to me and others about it.

I sincerely wish you a happy life.

Jo

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