Link Love: WTH is up with Meta?

I try to keep my introductions to Link Love pen or at least pen-adjacent but this week, I need to address the Meta-sized elephant in the room. There is a lot of panic (myself included) swirling around about Meta’s change in policies especially for anyone with a business account (that would be me) and the news that they have stated that they will be using “automated software” (AKA ai) to scrape data to improve its “products”. The statement below says they will “pull updates for such domains, web pages and URLS” that are “associated with your products and services”.

This new policy was supposed to take effect on Oct. 30 but has been pushed back due to Nov. 20, 2026 due to  outcries and outrage from the online community, particularly… everyone in my social media feeds. At present, there is no option to opt-out of this data scraping short of opting out entirely from Meta’s online platforms (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp).

My concern is that every post I make gets posted on to Facebook and Instagram to catch readers where they might see it. These posts include my original collage art, photos, review content and sometimes the nmes of winners to our giveaways or people I have had contact with at events. I like to think of Well-Appointed Desk as a community of like-minded pen enthusiasts but I don’t want my work bought, sold or processed by the machine and I don’t want the folks (like you) who visit this site to feel like they are being surveilled either. I know we are just talking about pens and ink here but no one else needs to know that.

In preparation for a possible exodus from Meta’s stranglehold on social media, please consider following The Well-Appointed Desk in one of the following ways:

1. Subscribe to this site so posts will arrive in your email. you won’t have to wait to be reminded on Facebook or Instagram that there’s a new post. You can even read the whole post right in your email. To subscribe, on the side bar (in your web browser) or at the bottom of the page (on your mobile device) is a field to type in your email address. We are self-hosted and will not sell your email address to anyone.

1. Sign up for our shop newsletter. I write every word so these come out approx. 1-2 month, maybe a little more around the holidays and will alert you to new merchandise, sales and the occasional ramble. This is a separate sign-up list. If you subscribe to the blog above, you will not receive the shop updates and vice versa. If you want both, sign-up in both places.

2. Consider joining our Patreon. For $5 a month, you will get a bi-weekly podcast that I write, read, edit and post myself (yes, I learned to edit audio sort of) as well as email updates, special deal, free printables and more at higher tiers. If you do decide to join the Patreon, please sign-up via a computer web browser and NOT through the phone app. You can read and enjoy all the content on the app after you sign up but Apple will take a substantial cut of your subscription fee because they are dicks. Android App Store probably does too but Apple is REALLY bad about it.

Ink:

• Colorverse Colorvents Past (Part 1) (via Dime Novel Raven)
• So, you want to write in blood (via Extra Fine Writing)

Notebooks & Paper:

• Filofax in films and real-life (via Philofaxy)

Art & Creativity:

• Illustrator Lizaveta Khikhlushka Is Turning Ordinary Subway Stations And Industrial Alleys Into Breathtaking Works Of Art (via Design You Trust)
• Meet The Artist Who Turns The World’s Most Misunderstood Animals Into Breathtakingly Cool Masterpieces (via Design You Trust)
• Wish You Were Here! Rose Sanderson’s Witty Postcards Conjure a Strange Reality (via Colossal)
• Old Country Roses (via Liz Steel)

Event Reports:

• Running Our First Stationery Event: A Retrospective on the “On The Paper Trail Live in Nashville” Weekend! (via The Gentleman Stationer)
• 2026 BunguLA – A Brief Sunday Visit (via The Pen Addict)
• (8) Bungu LA Vol.2 in La La Land (via Penguin Post by April Wu)

Other Interesting Things:

• Etsy’s Sweeping New A.I. Policy- And What It Means for Genuine Pattern Sellers (via Wearing History)
• (4) Thursday Stream: On The Paper Trail Recap, The Bauhaus Blue Lamy 2000, F-in Birds Postcards and More (via dwrdnet on YouTube
• Review: Wacom Art Pen 2 with barrel rotation (via Parka Blogs)

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