0.0 Context Setting

Thursday, 29 August 204, which just so happens to be Skynet Sentience Day²!

I am in Portland, Oregon, where the high is 90f / 32c and atypical but not ha ha ha. Live as you are in the early days of the jackpot, etc.

It’s been a few months, and I’ve been busy, plus the usual disclosure that not writing here has been using up at least 20% of my daily energy in trying to avoid feeling stupendously guilty and ashamed that I have not written. But look!

I am back in hustle mode, so please excuse the call to action at the end of today’s episode. I already feel bad enough about it as it is.

0.1 Events: Hallway Track, and Pulling the Cord

Hallway Track is still on hiatus.

Pulling the Cord, my workshop about diverting government technology projects, fell victim to what was in hindsight entirely unrealistic expectations and hopes about what I could accomplish over the summer. It’s being reworked a little bit and you’ll find out here when it’s open for registration.

1.0 Some Things That Caught My Attention

One short thing and one longer thing in this episode.

1.1 DO REPLY

Here is a writing thing. Florian and I and new inductee Ted Han were working on some DO NOT REPLY cards and stickers for The Last XOXO Festival Ever and got totally stuck until we figured out that now is the time to bring out the DO REPLY stickers that honest to god were in the actual plan all along.

(I will tell you about the actual plan all along some day.)

But first, dearest reader, since I last wrote, we have started pretending to be weekly satirical comedy writers and produced WEEK OF cards comment ing on current events. So you can look at those. They’ve been fun to write and not stressful at all!

But the big thing is the DO REPLY cards which I encourage you to look at because some of them were intended to give you the warmest, fuzziest, heartwarming feelings and to spread those feelings.

And the big big big thing is that now you can buy the set of 6 DO REPLY stickers. The code things-that-caught-my-attention will get you 10% off.

(You can also buy the original 15 DO NOT REPLY stickers; the same discount code will work.)

(I mean while you’re here you can also just buy both. Knock yourself out, they’re all awesome, union-printed, and 10% of proceeds go to Trans Lifeline).

Hm, I still have to remind myself that TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT A THING YOU DID is not something to feel bad about.

1.2 Use plain language, and tell the truth

With occasional conspirator Ryan Ko I’ve been working on a policy memo for the last few months. It’s only about the need to radically improve the technology that powers government procurement in the United States and a plan to do it, so no biggie. But if you’re reading this you know me and you’re already laughing.

Here’s one of the section headers:

Nobody is happy, and everybody is making do

We started getting feedback this week. One bit we got was that the client loved this header.

(Dirty secret: this header is in practically every client report because, spoilers: it’s true about pretty much everything to do with technology and software)

So the thing that caught my attention just now is this:

Use plain language.

Writing plainly and clearly is part of my schtick, and I’ve had enough therapy now to accept the praise I get for it¹. At this point I have a combination of being lucky enough that I only work with clients that recognize, value, and want plain language, and the inverse, which is that people who don’t really don’t want to work with me. Which is just fine.

Someone the other day suggested that I try using AI to start writing when I get stuck, which is sometimes something I have a problem with. But I’ve tried, and every single time, for me, at least, it doesn’t work. The least bad way it doesn’t work is when I get so mad at the output that I angrily start writing which... is a result, I guess.

The reason why LLM text for me is bad is that it’s insipid, which is not a plain language word to use, but the secret is to use words like that tactically and sparingly to great effect.

They don’t write plainly because most of the text they’ve been trained on isn’t plain and clear. I’d argue that most of the text that’s ever existed isn’t plain and clear anyway.

It’s a numbers game, so in terms of job security, I’m not that worried about being replaced by AI because “I didn’t want to do that work anyway”. Yes, I know that statement is lobbing a nuclear bomb towards the way our entire economy works and the way it grinds people into dust.

I did have one bittersweet realization, a sort of “ha ha I’m crying inside”.

Plain writing works and is persuasive for some people but not all people. There will still be people who for various reasons are persuaded by, say, McKinsey-style language, and persuading those people is often critical to getting things done.

I do not like writing McKinsey-style language even though I think I could do a pretty good job of pretending to be someone who does it well.

So one time I gave whichever premium version of ChatGPT the outline of this policy memo and told it to write another outline and language for each of the sections in the way a professional management consultant associate with partner supervision would do it, and boy howdy was that grade-A persuasive business speak and now I feel very, very dirty because I know it would work and that the writing would do the job it needs to do, for the people it’s aimed at.

I’m actively testing the boundaries to which I will accept realpolitik!

So, again. Use plain language.

Oh, and as Dana Chisnell likes to repeat, tell the truth. People love it when you tell the truth because they rarely hear it. That said, I know people -- many people -- aren’t in the position where they feel they can tell the truth safely.

Use plain language. Tell the truth.

And think about whether you know anyone I can help and drop me a line, or you can assume my consent and do me an introduction

Because people keep reminding me that “telling people what you do” is not a bad thing, it’s a good thing, even, and that “people will want to help you”.

It’s been a while. How are you?

Best,

Dan

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