I discovered today that I have access to Twitter Blue, and as it happens I have a spare $3 in coins from the couch cushions, so I went ahead and got a subscription to see what this AZURE-TINGED SUPER TWITTER EXPERIENCE is like. Behold my glory!
So far the most noticeable thing is after I press the "tweet" button, a 20-second timer (by default, it's extendable) starts running, so if I see a typo I can recall the tweet before it posts in order to fix the error. NOTE: I'm still going to make typos, sorry.
I guess this is the functional equivalent of the long-desired "edit" button? As long as you're the sort to actually re-read your posts before they go live, in which case, you're probably doing that already and the timer is superfluous? But maybe not everyone does that.
(Also the Twitter Blue appears to have a built-in thread reader so you don't scroll through multiple tweets, you can read it all in one go. Why, it's just like having a blog again!)
Oh, and also apparently I can post 10-minute long videos, which I can pretty much assure you is a functionality I'm not going to take much advantage of here.
The ability to post cat pictures appears unaffected in any way. Spice, napping on the bed.
I'll report further when I play with Twitter Blue a little bit more. So far: It's all right, although it seems you're paying for the privilege of having functionality that you can find elsewhere, now baked into the Twitter client. Is that worth $3/month? Maybe for some!
(Oh, and, PS: Twitter Blue functionality does not seem to work in the Tweetdeck client. Whether that's temporary or not, I guess we'll find out.)

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More from @scalzi

9 Nov
"What? I'm not supposed to be on the bed? Is this new? I don't remember reading it in the house bylaw document. Can you show it to me, in triplicate? And notarized? Seriously, this is information that has never been presented to me before. Also, I wish to speak to my lawyer." Charlie the dog, on the bed WHICH SHE KNOWS SHE IS NOT SUPPO
UPDATE

CHARLIE IS CLEARLY ENGAGED IN A MULTI-CUSHION CRIME SPREE

WILL I NOT HAVE JUSTICE FROM THE LAW Same dog, same guilty expression, different piece of furnitu
THAT'S IT

THREE STRIKES LAW IS NOW IN EFFECT

DON'T DO THE CRIME IF YOU CAN'T DO THE TIME CHARLIE Charlie thinks that moving to the other side of the couch co
Read 4 tweets
5 Nov
Honestly I would just assume that any resume/CV I might submit would get tossed out because the screening software would see that I'm 50+ which means a) I'm too old, b) I have unreasonable expectations like "a livable salary" and "actual health and retirement benefits"
In the fullness of memory I can actually say the last time I submitted a resume/CV for anything was 1991 and my first full-time job at the Fresno Bee newspaper. Since then, all my work has either come from word of mouth recommendation or people soliciting me directly.
I am, mind you, aware of what a total fucking unicorn I am in this respect.
Read 4 tweets
2 Nov
*Have* to vote? Never, voting isn't compulsory in the US.

*Should* vote? Every chance possible, as basic democratic practice.

*Do* vote? Varies from person. Some never vote, some only vote in national-level elections. I personally vote in 'em all. Usually one or two a year.
(NB: In the US, it's easier for some people to vote than others. As a white dude in a small rural community, for example, I've never experienced any difficulty voting, either in person or absentee. This is not the same experience for others not of my demographic.)
Also, for the record, I support election days being a national holiday in the US, a universal option for mailing in one's ballot, massively increasing the size of the House of Representatives (one rep for every 250k people is a start), ranked-ballot voting and no gerrymandering.
Read 4 tweets
1 Nov
I'm not going to argue with any of this, especially the "extremely online" bit (I helped run a BBS at my high school in 1986), but I'm pretty sure I just code-named the character "Karen" as an in-joke for a neighbor and then the world used the name otherwise. So, uh, coincidence? "John Scalzi is extremely online and you can absolutely
I mean, I *may* be engaging in revisionist history here? But I don't think the "Karen" phenomenon was in full fettle when I wrote Emperox, and my neighbor's name *is* Karen (and for the record she's great), and I do name characters for friends. So I'm sticking with my story.
(Also for the record there are a huge number of name inserts ("Tuckerizations") in the Interdependency series, including other authors, high school friends and even my copy editor on one of the books. @MaryRobinette shows up twice! It's fun to give these sorts of salutes.)
Read 4 tweets
15 Oct
Those I first followed (in a non-Twittery sense) for craft as a kid/teen were journalists/essayists: HL Mencken, Molly Ivins, Dorothy Parker, Dave Barry, Nora Ephron, PJ O'Rourke. I loved Asimov's non-fiction books. And William Goldman's books about movies. #1stWritersIFollowed
(I couldn't tell which authors I first followed on Twitter; I think I just followed a bunch of my friends who are writers all at once.)
I don't think I follow any writers on Twitter I don't know/interact with personally (there are some I've not met in real life but we're friendly here) EXCEPT for @PaulRudnickNY, who doesn't know me from Adam but whose wit I've prized for so long that I'm happy to just fanboy him.
Read 4 tweets
13 Oct
It's kind of a chicken or egg thing. Part of my job is to give Tor highly readable books with big, easily marketable hooks, and the Tor's very talented marketing/PR people then spin up ways to get the word out that I couldn't, and we talk to each other about stuff all the while.
Bear in mind I'm a bit of a franchise writer for Tor (I have that big damn book contract with them) and the house is contractually obliged to make a big deal about the books I deliver. I don't have the same exposure and attention concerns that many writers do. But in return...
... I am also *very* available to Tor for just about every publicity/marketing thing they ask of me, both for myself and for other authors (note all the "in conversation" events I do) and for Tor in general. I get a lot from them, I give a lot to them. It works.
Read 4 tweets

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