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In regards to twitter...they should just give pg this guy's twitter account http://twitter.com/paulg http://twitter.com/paulg He only used it once, and that wa

by vaksel 16y ago

In regards to twitter...they should just give pg this guy's twitter account http://twitter.com/paulg http://twitter.com/paulg He only used it once, and that was back in 2007. I'm sure the twitter guys would pull some strings to get pg as a user. Especially since they have no problem securing unused accounts "We have a rough guideline of 9 months of non-use." Other viable alternatives: http://twitter.com/realpg http://twitter.com/realpg - only used 2 times a year ago. I've also registered http://twitter.com/pgyc http://twitter.com/pgyc so you can use that if you want(registered so some asshole doesn't go and hold it hostage). I figure YC is something you'd be known for...and even if you stop doing the whole YC program...it'll still be part of your legacy. And it's a short username.

buro9 16y ago
Why should twitter give anyone's account to anyone else? Besides, you're assuming because they're not posting publicly that they're not DM'ing or anything else. I'd be pretty peeved if I had registered an account and when I finally decided to make use of it had discovered that it had been removed to give it to some other person of the same name. Twitter should leave people's accounts alone unless there is a good reason (preferably legal) for interfering with it.
- vaksel 16y ago
  twitter has access to the accounts...I'm sure they check whether or not the guy logged in or DMed within the past 3 years before transferring an account. Either way, he can have the pgyc one I got...and the other people get to keep their accounts.(although based on their twits...I'd bet that they are the logged in once and test and never used again types.)
- allenp 16y ago
  I guess the question is - why should someone (non-paying) be able to reserve an account name and not use it for nine months or more and expect to be able to keep the account? It doesn't serve any benefit to the community to have squatted accounts.
- kmfrk 16y ago
  >Why should twitter give anyone's account to anyone else? (Because) it's happened before: http://foreign.peacefmonline.com/entertainment/201007/63667.php http://foreign.peacefmonline.com/entertainment/201007/63667..... "pg", "paulg", etc. are probably too generic to warrant giving it away, but I think it's okay to deal with nick squatters in most cases.
briancooley 16y ago
Just going out on a limb here...maybe pg doesn't want a Twitter account and "no good names available" is just an excuse for folks like Scoble who can't believe he's still a holdout.
- pg 16y ago
  It's really true. I ignored Twitter initially because it was described as micro-blogging. As a macro-blogger I assumed it wasn't for me. By the time I realized it was actually a new messaging protocol, all variants of my name were taken.
  - avibryant 16y ago
    This sounds like a fixable problem. What would some acceptable variants of your name be? If you email me (avi@twitter.com) I will see what we can do. I'd certainly love to see you on Twitter.
patrickk 16y ago
I think the real reason he isn't on twitter is that he prefers writing in essay format (I think the thing about not getting a good username was slightly tongue-in-cheek). When asked about twitter he didn't seem to enthused about it.
- vaksel 16y ago
  write essay -> twit out a bit.ly link -> get retweeted -> more exposure
  - patrickk 16y ago
    I don't think pg is too worried about more exposure. I find out that he has a new essay out on HN, and I'd imagine it's the same for a lot of people. There's a lot of cross-pollination between sites like Twitter, HN, Reddit etc. (the demographic being early-adopter techie crowd) so if a person didn't get the new essay from one of these sources, they'd get it from another. People who aren't likely to frequent any of these sites probably aren't likely to read his essays anyway.
  - tome 16y ago
    Can't he be content to let his fans tweet it for him, if they want to?
- parfe 16y ago
  What is the difference between an essay and a blog post?
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - sprout 16y ago
    Essay implies you follow some actual style guide, even if it's unwritten. Blogs require no structure.
    - 16y ago

by vaksel 16y ago

buro9 16y ago

Why should twitter give anyone's account to anyone else? Besides, you're assuming because they're not posting publicly that they're not DM'ing or anything else. I'd be pretty peeved if I had registered an account and when I finally decided to make use of it had discovered that it had been removed to give it to some other person of the same name. Twitter should leave people's accounts alone unless there is a good reason (preferably legal) for interfering with it.

vaksel 16y ago
twitter has access to the accounts...I'm sure they check whether or not the guy logged in or DMed within the past 3 years before transferring an account. Either way, he can have the pgyc one I got...and the other people get to keep their accounts.(although based on their twits...I'd bet that they are the logged in once and test and never used again types.)
allenp 16y ago
I guess the question is - why should someone (non-paying) be able to reserve an account name and not use it for nine months or more and expect to be able to keep the account? It doesn't serve any benefit to the community to have squatted accounts.
kmfrk 16y ago
>Why should twitter give anyone's account to anyone else? (Because) it's happened before: http://foreign.peacefmonline.com/entertainment/201007/63667.php http://foreign.peacefmonline.com/entertainment/201007/63667..... "pg", "paulg", etc. are probably too generic to warrant giving it away, but I think it's okay to deal with nick squatters in most cases.

briancooley 16y ago

Just going out on a limb here...maybe pg doesn't want a Twitter account and "no good names available" is just an excuse for folks like Scoble who can't believe he's still a holdout.

pg 16y ago
It's really true. I ignored Twitter initially because it was described as micro-blogging. As a macro-blogger I assumed it wasn't for me. By the time I realized it was actually a new messaging protocol, all variants of my name were taken.
- avibryant 16y ago
  This sounds like a fixable problem. What would some acceptable variants of your name be? If you email me (avi@twitter.com) I will see what we can do. I'd certainly love to see you on Twitter.

patrickk 16y ago

I think the real reason he isn't on twitter is that he prefers writing in essay format (I think the thing about not getting a good username was slightly tongue-in-cheek). When asked about twitter he didn't seem to enthused about it.

vaksel 16y ago
write essay -> twit out a bit.ly link -> get retweeted -> more exposure
- patrickk 16y ago
  I don't think pg is too worried about more exposure. I find out that he has a new essay out on HN, and I'd imagine it's the same for a lot of people. There's a lot of cross-pollination between sites like Twitter, HN, Reddit etc. (the demographic being early-adopter techie crowd) so if a person didn't get the new essay from one of these sources, they'd get it from another. People who aren't likely to frequent any of these sites probably aren't likely to read his essays anyway.
- tome 16y ago
  Can't he be content to let his fans tweet it for him, if they want to?
parfe 16y ago
What is the difference between an essay and a blog post?
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- sprout 16y ago
  Essay implies you follow some actual style guide, even if it's unwritten. Blogs require no structure.
  - 16y ago