7 ms·

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-

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.
  - parfe 16y ago
    That's a fairly snobbish response. So basically an essay is not a blog post because you say so?
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
  - pg 16y ago
    To me the difference is the amount of effort one puts in. Originally a blog post, as the name "web log" implies, was something one wrote that day-- a log entry. Whereas essays sometimes take weeks. The distinction has gotten blurred, but insofar as there is a distinction I think that's the root of it.
  - btilly 16y ago
    The style ideas you have for essays almost certainly don't match what Paul Graham sees an essay as. Read http://www.paulgraham.com/essay.html http://www.paulgraham.com/essay.html for details.
- patrickk 16y ago
  Between one of pg's essays and a typical blog post? Pg spends weeks writing a typical essay of his (or at least he used to), editing it and getting feedback from colleagues and HN alumni before, whereas a typical blog post is banged out in a couple of hours, with little or no rewriting. Also, just look a the page of one of his essays versus all the visual clutter on the typical blog post. Maybe superficial you may say, but I don't think so. It speaks volumes about the motives of the author. Maybe the blog writer wants to SEO optimise, promote their business, serve AdSense ads...whereas a pg essay is an extremely refined stream of thought on a specify topic. And his primary motive appears not be to sell you something, but figure stuff out as he writes. So the difference between an essay and a blog post? Huge differences I think.
- frobozz 16y ago
  Where did that question come from? This is about Twitter, so the more relevant question is "What's the difference between an essay and a tweet?" I'm not sure how to define that difference without something weak like "essays are longer", but even abstracts are typically expected to have more words than a tweet has characters.
  - parfe 16y ago
    I was asking because the OP wrote "he prefers writing in essay format" which seems to be giving PGs writings some sort of prestige beyond calling it a blog post. Yes, PG has lots of experience and writes well, but I don't see a need to elevate his blog to something more.

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.
- parfe 16y ago
  That's a fairly snobbish response. So basically an essay is not a blog post because you say so?
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
- pg 16y ago
  To me the difference is the amount of effort one puts in. Originally a blog post, as the name "web log" implies, was something one wrote that day-- a log entry. Whereas essays sometimes take weeks. The distinction has gotten blurred, but insofar as there is a distinction I think that's the root of it.
- btilly 16y ago
  The style ideas you have for essays almost certainly don't match what Paul Graham sees an essay as. Read http://www.paulgraham.com/essay.html http://www.paulgraham.com/essay.html for details.
patrickk 16y ago
Between one of pg's essays and a typical blog post? Pg spends weeks writing a typical essay of his (or at least he used to), editing it and getting feedback from colleagues and HN alumni before, whereas a typical blog post is banged out in a couple of hours, with little or no rewriting. Also, just look a the page of one of his essays versus all the visual clutter on the typical blog post. Maybe superficial you may say, but I don't think so. It speaks volumes about the motives of the author. Maybe the blog writer wants to SEO optimise, promote their business, serve AdSense ads...whereas a pg essay is an extremely refined stream of thought on a specify topic. And his primary motive appears not be to sell you something, but figure stuff out as he writes. So the difference between an essay and a blog post? Huge differences I think.
frobozz 16y ago
Where did that question come from? This is about Twitter, so the more relevant question is "What's the difference between an essay and a tweet?" I'm not sure how to define that difference without something weak like "essays are longer", but even abstracts are typically expected to have more words than a tweet has characters.
- parfe 16y ago
  I was asking because the OP wrote "he prefers writing in essay format" which seems to be giving PGs writings some sort of prestige beyond calling it a blog post. Yes, PG has lots of experience and writes well, but I don't see a need to elevate his blog to something more.