Dylan Tweney

Rough Drafts

Four takeaways from the bankruptcy auction of Gawker Media

Univision is acquiring Gawker Media for $135 million, news reports confirmed yesterday, beating out Ziff Davis in an auction for the media company’s assets. Here’s what that means for the media industry.

Dylan Tweney Aug 18, 2016 5 min read

Family

Better yet, Ledecky!

So the 9 year old, who loves to wear soccer jerseys with the names and numbers of his heroes (Ronaldo, Neymar) said this morning he wanted a Team USA Olympics swim cap that said Phelps on it. “Or better yet, Ledecky!” he added. Definitely Ledecky, he said later, because she wins by larger amounts. D

Dylan Tweney Aug 14, 2016

Rough Drafts

Recapturing the dream of open social media

It’s hard to imagine now, but the web once meant far more than Google and Facebook. In the early days, there was an explosion of optimism and experimentation as people embraced blogging, mostly via a range of sometimes half-baked open standards that let them publish, share, and communicate with each

Dylan Tweney Aug 11, 2016 3 min read

Trail panorama showing mountains, a distant village, and the "crystal" sculpture on the left.

Rough Drafts

What I learned in college

I was one of those students who did very well in high school and college, and then, once I graduated, immediately regretted all that diligence. I knew right away that I should have maybe taken it easier, taken myself less seriously, and been more open to things outside my immediate field of vision.

Dylan Tweney Aug 8, 2016 4 min read

Notes

#firstsevenjobs

Assistant proofreader Paperboy Babysitter Roadside weed whacker crew Sandwich cook/pizza maker/pizza delivery guy Door-to-door canvasser Photocopy machine operator

Dylan Tweney Aug 8, 2016 2 min read

Rough Drafts

Altamont

Driving down from the Altamont Pass, the highway curves through a long, shallow, descending valley on its way down to the flats of the San Joaquin Valley. Wind turbines on either side, and the occasional cow. Karen noticed the hills rising up from us on the left side were covered in dark green trees

Dylan Tweney Aug 6, 2016 1 min read

Rough Drafts

Downriver

Floating on the American River with the 15 year old and the 9 year old.

Dylan Tweney Aug 5, 2016 2 min read

Rough Drafts

Motivation and inspiration

It’s been almost exactly a year since I left a salaried job and went independent. This is now the third time I’ve been an independent entrepreneur (not counting the times I’ve launched publications or products within existing corporations), and each time I’ve taken a different approach: 1999: seed-f

Dylan Tweney Aug 4, 2016 2 min read

Rough Drafts

Slot machines, magicians, and app designers

Around the turn of the century, people started talking about the “attention economy.” A natural outgrowth of the ad-supported Web, this stemmed from the idea that people’s time and attention would soon be valuable commodities, because of their scarcity. The phrase has dwindled in popularity but the

Dylan Tweney Aug 3, 2016 3 min read

Rough Drafts

My brain was begging me for relief from social media

Taking control of your social media use may be the most rewarding life hacking technique I know of, given its ratio of benefit to effort. I like social media. Networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat have a powerful ability to keep us connected with other humans. For me, Twitter has functioned

Dylan Tweney Aug 2, 2016 3 min read

Rough Drafts

31 days of writing

Like many people, my attention is fragmented and my concentration broken. I’m going to try working my way through this with the skills I know best: Writing and editing.

Dylan Tweney Aug 1, 2016 1 min read

Rough Drafts

The people who believe themselves to be white

Ta-Nehisi Coates, in Between the World and Me, repeatedly refers to “the people who believe themselves to be white.” This curious phrasing opens up the possibility of hope in what for me, as the father of two black children, is otherwise a terrifying and disturbing book.

Dylan Tweney Jul 26, 2016 5 min read

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