Dylan Tweney
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Writer, editor, swimmer, @tinywords publisher. Former editor at @venturebeat @WIRED. Not here so much - mostly on Substack: newsletter.tweney.com
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Articles by Dylan Tweney
How one reader's feedback changed the way I am writing my book
One sharp reader of my book proposal told me that it read like a list of eleven things instead of a unified argument. Here's the sentence that emerged from fixing that: What’s missing from AI-generated content is the same thing that’s been missing for decades from corporate pronouncements, executive memos, and a whole lot of business writing: Humanity. My list of eleven things was a carefully thought-out distillation of years of work as a journalist and editorial consultant.
AI for writing: It's a huge debate. Where do you stand?
On the other hand, my LinkedIn feed is about evenly split between people excoriating AI-generated writing as fake and horrible -- and people insisting that most readers can't actually tell the difference between AI-generated and human-generated writing. Which side of the debate do you come down on? As for me, I do not use AI to create drafts, period. But I do use AI to help me in various stages of the writing process.
Can you 10x your writing with AI?
Can you 10x your writing with AI? Press enter or click to view image in full size Photo credit: Country Gentleman, 1920 I’ve been saying for awhile that AI is a useful tool but that it’s no replacement for thinking things through yourself, which is what the process of writing helps you do. The notion that AI could just write things for you is based on a misunderstanding about how writing works.
Can you 10x your writing with AI?
Search for "AI writer" and you'll find a host of tools offering to write for you: Phrasly. QuillBot. HyperWrite. Typefully.
What Eminem taught me about SEO and authenticity
Years ago, I wrote a column about copyright on the Internet that became one of my most popular posts, drawing ridiculous traffic to my website for years. It helped that I gave it the title “The Real Slim Shady” and that, due to a fluke of Google’s search algorithm, it ranked on the first page of search results for that phrase.
Message Lab’s Ben Worthen on the enduring value of a great story, well-told
This week, I'm excited to share an interview I did recently with Ben Worthen, founder of content agency Message Lab. Ben's one of my role models in the content business, as he's built Message Lab into a standout content agency – one of the few to effectively combine top-notch storytelling and the effective use of metrics.
21 speechwriting resources from the World Conference of speechwriters
Last month, I attended the Professional Speechwriters Association's World Conference in Washington, D.C. I also attended the PSA's one-day Speechwriting School, which immediately preceded the conference. Both were invaluable. I met many other speechwriters, absorbed some of the lore of the craft, and learned many specific and actionable tools I can use in my own work.
What is a storyline, anyway?
When searching for a name for my newsletter, I kept returning to “Storylines” because I felt like it reflected the essence of my work. My favorite jobs have been ones where I help a client find their storylines and define them in a crisp, compelling, resonant way. That, in turn, has led to coverage, top-of-funnel marketing leads, closed deals, and customer retention for my clients. Good storylines are powerful.
Tips on using generative AI to help you write better
I recently wrote about how I use AI for writing. In this article, I’d like to share some detailed tips and prompts that have worked for me and other writers. The number one piece of advice I have for writers working with AI chatbots is to treat them like interns or research assistants you are giving assignments to. In other words, don’t expect the AI to do the work for you — certainly not at the same level that you do. Treat it as a helper and collaborator.
21 ways to use AI to make you a better writer
A burning question for anyone in the content business is this: Will AI replace me? In the short term, it’s certainly having a sharply negative effect on writers’ careers. Freelance writing work is disappearing, according to a study done by Upwork that Christopher Mims reported on in June. Since ChatGPT first appeared, the number of freelance jobs posted on sites like Upwork and Fiverr has declined by 21%, and freelance writers’ fees have declined by 19%, worse than any other category of freelancer.
How I use AI for writing
A burning question for anyone in the content business is this: Will AI replace me? In the short term, it’s certainly having a sharply negative effect on writers’ careers. Freelance writing work is disappearing, according to a study done by Upwork that Christopher Mims reported on in June. Since ChatGPT first appeared, the number of freelance jobs posted on sites like Upwork and Fiverr has declined by 21%, and freelance writers’ fees have declined by 19%, worse than any other category of freelancer.
Don't panic.
It’s July, and things are moving slowly in my neighborhood. The sun came up right on schedule this morning at 6:03. I know it happened, because I was there, though I didn’t see the sun itself until about ten minutes later, when it rose over the fogbank covering Hayward. The tide was out and half the Coyote Point cove was just mudflat, puddles of water reflecting the slowly brightening sky, the power towers, and a handful of lights sprinkled on the opposite shore.
Embracing the Zen of collaborative writing
I jumped into a writing career right out of college because I was jazzed about the potential for self-expression, and because I was getting hooked on the rush of seeing my work appear in print.
25 things I learned in 25 years of newsletter publishing
In today’s writing circle, fellow writer Alicia asked me if I had just recently launched my newsletter. “No,” I said, “I’ve been publishing it in one form or another for about 20 years.” In fact, when I looked at the archive, I realized that I’ve been publishing a newsletter for over 25 years. When I first started sending emails to a few friends and family, back in 1998, I had no idea that the practice would turn into a career-transforming newsletter. In fact, it was sort of an accident.
Writing together in series and parallel
Today we’re pleased to present work from prolific writer and editor , who makes some astute observations about the power of two different methods of writing together. Foster offers a full calendar of Writing Circles that are free and open to everyone. Come join us! RSVP here. For me, the word “writer” has long called to mind the archetype of a poet in a lonely garret, scribbling away on page after page (or banging away on a keyboard) as the city goes about its business, far away and outside.
The top tools for collaborative writing, part 2: Project management and publishing
In my previous post, I talked about the top tools content pros use for writing and editing. But collaborative writing goes beyond the mere creation of content: You also need some kind of project management tool to keep track of assignments, deadlines, approvals, and so forth. In other words, you need an editorial calendar. So, what’s the best platform for creating and managing an editorial calendar?
The top tools for collaborative writing, part 1: Writing and editing
What tools do you need to make a collaborative writing project successful? At the most basic level, the minimum requirements are a word processor and some way to share your documents with others. Yes, Google Docs ticks both of those boxes. But let’s look at what content professionals actually use — there’s more variety and nuance than you’d expect. And if you’re managing content projects of any complexity, you need more than word processing: You also need project management.
Blogs are alive and well, survey data shows
If blogging is dead, there’s no sign of its demise among content creators. Over 80% of professional content creators are busy writing blog posts for our companies and clients. The form is far from defunct; it’s just evolving. That’s according to a survey of professional writers and editors that I conducted among colleagues and in various content forums in Spring 2024. I was looking for perspectives on collaborative content creation — what we write about when we write with others.
The Spiritual Crisis of White Men
For many of us, life hasn’t turned out quite the way we expected. Granted, this is true for many people of every gender and race, but for white men, it has a particular flavor of surprise. We were raised in a culture that made us feel comfortable walking into any situation, prepared to lead or take up space. We were raised to feel entitled to happiness: It’s right there in the Declaration of Independence, a document that was clearly written with men like us in mind.
How to measure content effectiveness
The final step in my six-part POWERS process for team-oriented content production is to study the results. If you don’t pay attention to the effectiveness of your content, it’s difficult or impossible to improve it. What may be worse is that it’s also impossible to prove that the content was worth the investment. So studying the results — quantitatively and/or qualitatively — is an essential final step. It allows you to close the loop and start the next content project smarter and better prepared.
Notes from a totality
Today’s solar eclipse was far from total where I was. In Northern California, the Moon blocked at most about one-third of the Sun. Of course, I watched it, with Karen, sitting in our driveway with a colander (to make a constellation of pinhole-camera crescent Sun images on the ground). We chatted with our neighbors, one of whom lent us his eclipse glasses. We tried to convince the recycling truck driver to take a look, but he said he was too nervous.
Release management for content products
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What does an editor actually do?
A few weeks ago, I used an image in this newsletter that I wish I hadn’t. It was a picture of a little sign on someone’s desk that said, “Write without fear. Edit without mercy.” I kind of regret using that image because editing without mercy is not my style. I can be blunt, yes — but I also try to be kind. I’d rather say something like, “Write without fear. Edit with clear-eyed compassion.” The goal of an edit is to improve the copy — and, ideally, to improve the writer in the process.
Avoid the blank page
You know that feeling when you're staring at a brand-new Google Doc, and it's completely white except for the blinking cursor in the upper left? Sometimes this blankness is an open field of possibility, but more often than not, it's stress-inducing. Thanks for reading Postcards From the Waterline! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. For individual writers, it can lead to writer’s block.
Organizing and outlining
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Getting ready to write
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Tapping into your team’s writing POWERS
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Writing as a team
Hello everyone! I’m starting a new chapter today. Actually, I’m starting a whole new book. Thanks for reading Postcards from the Waterline! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. For the past six weeks, I’ve been working on the manuscript of a short book about a topic that has informed most of my career: How to write better.Unlike most writing books, this isn’t aimed at the individual writer or would-be author.
What working as an editor and journalist taught me about AI content generation
Creating content with AI is an interactive process. Generative AI is not like a magic wand, where you speak a few arcane words, wave the wand in a wizardly sort of way, and sparkling letters fly out from the tip, coalescing into the shape of a complete essay, article, or chapter.
Finding a swimming buddy
My first swim in open water, about ten years ago, was in the shallow, protected waters of Coyote Point, a cove halfway up San Francisco Bay. I was nervous, hyperventilating, wearing too much neoprene, and probably didn’t swim longer than about ten minutes. So how did I get from that point to being able to swim six miles in the open ocean without stopping? Practice, practice, practice, as the old joke about Carnegie Hall goes. But first I needed to find a swimming buddy or two.
Note to self
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Sitting down is an act of revolution
The act of sitting down is an act of revolution — Thich Nhat Hanh Sitting down is revolutionary because it means you are stopping and choosing to rest in this place, in this moment. It’s revolutionary, because modern life is so busy. At work I’m busy getting things done, then I turn to projects at home, to shopping, to gardening, to exercise.
Tech journalism from print to SEO to PR with Dylan Tweney on Apple Podcasts
40 min Jennifer Riggins (@jkriggins) and Rich Gall (@richggall) talk to the former Editor in Chief of VentureBeat, Dylan Tweney, about tech journalism and the role it plays in the industry. Covering a history of tech journalism over the last two decades, from the days of print through to SEO- and social media-friendly content, this episode looks closely at how the way we cover and explore technology has changed.
Gallery: Outrageously Complicated Rube Goldberg Videos
Skip Article Header. Skip to: Start of Article. << previous image | next image >> Cartoonist Rube Goldberg got famous drawing fanciful, bizarrely complex, jury-rigged contraptions to accomplish simple tasks. Not content with imagining these things, modern Rube Goldberg machine makers put such machines together in real life (or in virtual worlds) so you can actually see them go. There’s even a contest for the best.
May 25, 1945: Sci-Fi Author Predicts Future by Inventing It
1945: Arthur C. Clarke begins privately circulating copies of a paper that proposes using space satellites for global communications. It was a bold suggestion for 1945, as the war was just winding down and most people were undoubtedly more concerned about the necessities of life than they were with beaming radio waves down from space. But Clarke, a physicist and budding science-fiction author, had his head firmly in the future.
Security Boulevard
Valimail’s data shows a slow decline in the rate of email spoofing through exact-domain impersonation over the past several years. In the last year it’s remained roughly level at about 1% of all email volume authenticated by Valimail. This is significantly down from 2.3% in the first half of 2018, and 5% in 2017. One thing to note is that, as Valimail’s customer base has grown, so too has the number of domains at enforcement that we manage.
Security Boulevard
The majority of the 933,000 domains with DMARC are owned by small companies, small nonprofits, or individuals. Perhaps companies with large IT budgets can do better at deploying DMARC and getting to enforcement? The answer: A little bit — but it depends on the industry. Among billion-dollar publicly traded companies (globally), almost 52% of these companies’ primary domains have DMARC records.
Security Boulevard
The battle against phishing rages on. Estimates from the FBI peg losses due to just one type of email-based attack, the business email compromise (BEC), at $1.7 billion in 2019 alone. Other sources have noted that 83% of email attacks are brand impersonations and another 6% are impersonations of people, meaning nearly 90% of all email attacks rely on deceptive sender identity (ie spoofing).
How DMARC works to protect companies — and elections (video) - Security Boulevard
TechRepublic recently published an article plus a short, 6-minute video that explains exactly how DMARC works and why it’s needed to protect companies, organizations, and even presidential campaigns. Lance Whitney, a writer for TechRepublic, spoke with Karen Roby about how email spoofing works, how devastating it can be, and why there’s cause for hope in the email security posture of the majority of presidential campaigns.
Grief and gratitude.
I’m not entirely sure I know the difference between grief and depression. My father died on February 7, and for the past two and a half weeks, I’ve been grieving his death. This is normal and expected. It’s exactly the kind of ordinary devastation that people all over the world feel every day, that we will all feel eventually. We saw it coming from a long way off.
Ryan D. Tweney, 1943-2020
Ryan D. Tweney Ryan D. Tweney, professor, book collector, husband, father, and mentor, died February 7 in Pahrump, Nevada, aged 76. Born in Detroit, Ryan was raised by his mother Helene Tweney and grandmother Viola Marciniak, and educated at Cass Technical High School, the University of Chicago, and Wayne State University, where he earned a Ph.D. in psychology.
Security Boulevard
The 2020 U.S. presidential election has reached a significant cybersecurity milestone. For the first time, more than half of the candidates for president have domains that are protected from spoofing. Of the 15 candidates currently in the race (as listed by the New York Times), eight are protected by DMARC policies set to enforcement. That leaves just seven unprotected domains, of which four have configured DMARC but have left it in a monitor-only mode (a policy of “none”).
The Institute, by Stephen King
The Institute by Stephen King My rating: 3 of 5 stars “The Institute” is a dark vision of psychic power and how it could be abused by a shadowy organization that transcends any one government — people who believe they are doing massive good for the world while actually inflicting tremendous evil on the children they are using. Like most of Mr. King’s work, it’s a page turner.
Virgin's Richard Branson Plans Deep-Sea Diving Venture
Virgin Oceanic's submarine will be able to 'fly' to the deepest parts of the ocean, nearly 37,000 feet below the surface. Rendering courtesy Virgin Oceanic. Virgin Oceanic's submarine will be able to 'fly' to the deepest parts of the ocean, nearly 37,000 feet below the surface. Rendering courtesy Virgin Oceanic. Gallivanting billionaire Richard Branson is well on his way to space. Now he plans to explore the deepest parts of the ocean as well.
A Zen family vacation
A Zen monastery isn’t the kind of destination you’d typically think of taking the family on vacation, but that’s what we did this summer. I got up very early one morning in late June, shoveled the 18 year old and the 12 year old into the car, along with some basic camping gear, and drove south for approximately 8 hours, until we arrived at the gates of Deer Park, a Zen monastery in the Plum Village tradition, founded by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Just 17% of domains with DMARC are actually protected. Here’s why
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) usage continues to grow. About 80% of all email inboxes worldwide support DMARC, according to Valimail’s latest research report. Based on Valimail’s real-time DNS analysis of tens of millions of domains globally, as of July 2019, more than 784,000 domains use DMARC — more than twice as many as were using it at this time last year.
Wherever Satoshi Nakamoto is, he's probably filthy rich by now
Dylan Tweney@dylan20 May 17, 2015 3:06 PM The mysterious creator of Bitcoin identified himself as “Satoshi Nakamoto” in the 2009 software release that kickstarted the cryptocurrency. After playing an active role in the Bitcoin community from 2009 to 2011 — only via email, never in person or by phone — Nakamoto disappeared, leaving many people dying to know who the real person is behind this pseudonym. But why the secrecy? The New York Times suggests one good reason: Safety.
How OK Go's Amazing Rube Goldberg Machine Was Built
In music, timing is everything. When you're dancing with an enormous machine, it's even more important to get the timing correct, down to the microsecond. For its latest video, released on YouTube Monday night, pop band OK Go recruited a gang of very talented engineers to build a huge, elaborate Rube Goldberg machine whose action perfectly meshes with the band's song, "This Too Shall Pass," from the band's new album, Of the Blue Color of the Sky.
Progress in the global fight against fake email (Research)
Valimail has been doing rigorous analysis on the data behind email fraud since our company’s earliest days. And we’ve been publishing research reports based on that deep insight for several years. Our research program now sets the industry standard for reliable, hype-free data on the state of email fraud, email authentication, and identity-based email attacks.
Review: Naked Steel, Bare Flesh Sex Up Game of Thrones
Skip Article Header. Skip to: Start of Article. In HBO's new Game of Thrones, Lord Eddard Stark, played by Sean Bean, is the sort of man who, when he sentences someone to death, feels duty-bound to execute the condemned man himself — with a really big sword. Photo: Nick Briggs/HBO The dwarf Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) is nobly born but despised by all. Still, he steals the show.
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