Notices by jilleduffy (jilleduffy@mastodon.social)

AI uses too many em dashes because HUMANS use too many em dashes

It learns from what humans have already published on the internet (I'm talking about mass-market generative AI here)

As an editor, I have worked with exceptional writers who wrote clear and cogent arguments...using 30 em dashes, none of which were necessary and all of which were distracting

Foldable phones
AI-generated summary search results
...
Every time I think of technology nobody wants, this is what comes to mind:

Really struggling to see the point of Cory Booker's holding of the senate floor. It's not a filibuster because there's no vote pending, not for another, what?, 9 hours?

I think about these issue A LOT: In the workplace, "Being a woman and being older is a double whammy" (Christina Matz, director of the Center on Aging and Work)

That's almost word for word what anti-ageism activist Ashton Applewhite said 2 weeks ago when I interviewed her for a forthcoming article

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240320-gen-x-workplace-ageism

The gem:

"All these midlife transitions are on your way to giving fewer fucks about what the world thinks of you and the decisions you have made, and making them with greater clarity and strength."

The conversation was a lot about women in midlife crisis, and I asked about whether women now are feeling more empowered after 40.

She said:
"The assumption that decline should begin at 40 is misguided, misogynistic, and wrong. And I think women are discovering that maybe it's a backlash. ...obviously this is taking place in this period of horrendous rollback of fundamental women's rights. So perhaps it's also saying, fuck that shit. I'm not going to curl up and dry up."

I interviewed an expert on ageism for an article recently (still in progress) who reminded me that most of the "problems" of aging were invented by capitalism

Yes, the body & brain change with age. That's a reality. And yet, the _vast majority_ of people are sound of mind and able to live independently until they die. All the other the stuff we are convinced we should "fix" is a product of someone trying to sell us something

Ok, so I went to the first source of reporting for this one, and it sounds like it was a resource group for LGBTQ+ folks, and trans employees who were talking to one another

That's the "sexual themes"

I'm not linking to the original source because it's pretty shitty and they shouldn't get more clicks

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/us/politics/gabbard-nsa-firing-explicit-chat.html?unlocked_article_code=1.z04.B7_P.N83pjrPXKzJL&smid=url-share

“It’s insane,” Mr. Massie said. “We’re going to increase the deficit with this. Why would I vote for that? You can’t cut taxes without cutting spending, and they’re not really cutting spending.”

The only Republican who voted against the budget is the only one speaking up about its bullshit

[gift link]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/us/politics/mike-johnson-budget-resolution-vote.html?unlocked_article_code=1.z04.LUbh.c28Dmt5DS9GX&smid=url-share

The news & state of democracy is making it tough for people to get through the work day

As an expert in remote work, I want to remind people (especially managers) this:

"It's hard to overstate how meaningful positive feedback is for people...just pure 'you did a great job, and I noticed.'"

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Everything-Guide-to-Remote-Work/Jill-Duffy/Everything/9781507217870

For everyone throwing around the words "ethnic cleansing," please remember it's a euphemism for genocide

You can just say genocide

If you don't think calling your congress member has any effect, here's an example of the contrary

Rep. Eugene Vindman of Virgnia heard from the spouse of a military member. This person wants to keep their remote work job. So Vindman quickly wrote an act that would exempt them and other military spouses

We'll see if it goes anywhere

https://www.29news.com/2025/02/05/virginia-reps-seek-exempt-military-spouses-in-person-work-order/

While none of this has been big in American news:

- the German government has collapsed
- the French government has collapsed
- the first round of the Romanian presidential election was annulled, citing Russian interference

Keep reading widely, friends

The drum I will continue to beat: Work will never love you back

https://productivityreport.org/2024/09/25/work-will-never-love-you-back/

When you interview for a remote work job at an organization that really knows how to do remote work well, there are a ton of tricks you can use to show them you'll be a good fit.

I have a whole chapter on finding a remote job and nailing the interview in my book The Everything Guide to Remote Work

#remotejobs #remotework
https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Guide-Remote-Work-Employees/dp/1507217862

- If you only read headlines shared on social media,
- and you do not read the actual stories
- and you do not read the stories that didn't make the front page
- and you do not open other newspapers, magazines, websites that contain journalism
- and you do not pay for any journalism

then you do not get to criticize "the media" for what it omits... or at least no one should listen to you.

It’s amazing how business want to run on data, but when presented with the successfulness of a 4-day work week, that’s not the data they want