Fan mail from New York Times readers
A breakdown of my inbox after having my first major tech piece in the NYT:
- "You, sir, are an idiot." — 2.
- "OMG you mentioned my company! BFF!" — 2.
- "I'm a fellow freelance writer who just happened to think of you today and oh say, what's your Times editor's email?" — 2.
- "I know I haven't talked to you in years, but I'm one of those blue-state middlebrows who thinks the New York Times is the most important publication on Earth — well, that and NPR, which is all I let my kids listen to — and anyway I always knew you were a great writer and now that you're in Circuits I guess I can admit to knowing you. So I take it you're no longer a Republican?" — 3, amazingly. I haven't been so cruelly happy since Berkeley prof Brad DeLong called me a "wingnut" in 2004, apparently for not pulling the lever hard enough when I voted for Kerry. But I digress.
- "Please write the exact same story again, except with me / my client in it." — 17. I understand. PR people gotta eat, too.
- "God you're sexy. Brad Stone, too. Is he taken?" — 1. I have no idea. Brad?