Platforms like WordPress and Blogger have changed the way in which people share content for good. They’ve taken away all that could be deemed as technical, and replaced it with interfaces that are as easy to use as 1-2-3. And being available at zero cost has also helped them become incredibly popular, of course. Still, there’s a couple of entry barriers that could turn some people off.
Even if you’re going to use your blog to post the simplest of updates, there’s some customization to do. There’s themes to choose, there’s layouts to try, there’s widgets to install. Granted, none of these are a big deal. And in most cases, if you create a blog then these are the kind of things you’ll be eager to do. Few people fail to enjoy thinking of a name for a blog, or deciding on its visual style. But for those who don’t want to know, and who just want a space where they can speak their minds when they feel like doing it then there’s Scriffon.
Simply put, Scriffon is a publishing platform that takes everything to its most basic level. A French startup, Scriffon was created by Martin Bouladour as a text-only publishing service. It can be used on the fly, without the need to customize anything, and you can have as many pennames as you want. Plus, Scriffon is a general publishing platform. This means that you can post just whatever you want: a short story, a recipe, a joke, a how-to… This gives Scriffon a clear edge over similar platforms like Figment.com, which are focused on specific texts such as fiction only.
In any case, the interface that’s used turns Scriffon into a platform you could never mistake with anything else. Since only text is shared on the site, everything is predominantly black and white. As Martin himself puts it, “a text that is not comfortable for the readers to read will be less read”.
And Scriffon is also distinctive in the sense posts can’t be commented by other people. So, if you plan to use Scriffon to share your own creative pieces then you won’t have to worry about trolls or spammers messing with your posts. Of course, this also means you won’t get to receive positive feedback. Which can be a bit of a bummer if what you look for is the interaction that ultimately comes to define an artist and his fans.
So, we could say that Scriffon is text publishing without the “magazine aspect” that blogs always tend to have. I really like it for the most part, but I can’t help thinking the service would be even better if there were some sort of way for people to comment on what you’re posting. Anyway, I really encourage you to give it a try and see where does it stand for you.
