Welcome to Person Familiar

There's a quote about books attributed to the late great Christopher Hitchens that could apply equally to Substacks: "Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases, that's where it should stay." 

To date, I've heeded Hitch's quip. Sure, I've kicked around the idea with friends and colleagues of starting a blog or newsletter dedicated to the craft of technology communications—that is, the field of how companies and organizations inventing the future express themselves to people externally and internally. It's something I know a good deal about, having been in this world for going on two decades. But I've kept the impulse on the shelf either due to time constraints, worries about employer conflicts, or concerns about satisfying the recurring demands of the content beast.

So why start now? In short, because the state of communications about communications in tech is terrible. The public dialogue sounds nothing like the private dialogue that comes out when people in the space get together. And I'm sad to say, but it's our own damn fault. The communications profession foisted the Thought Leadership Industrial Complex upon the world. Now, we've trapped ourselves solidly within its banal fortress walls.

Person Familiar is my humble attempt to create an escape tunnel under those walls with real, critical, and useful perspectives and advice.

Person Familiar is first and foremost for other communications professionals. There will also be a good deal of value here for founders and executives who want to better understand communications topics, concepts, and strategies in service of company and/or personal success. And maybe—just maybe—there'll be a few journalists or media industry omnivores who will find something valuable in what I have to say, too. Everyone is welcome.

I aim to publish here at least once a week, touching on everything from news and happenings like the controversial launches of consumer AI hardware to more evergreen topics like why corporate values tend to be meaningless and how to fix them. I'll also share some first-hand stories from a career that's spanned fascinating places, people, and experiences. I may occasionally pull in some friends and former colleagues for guest pieces and conversations, too.

This will always be a free newsletter. All I ask is that you share it if you find value in something I've published here. 

Lastly, why the name "Person Familiar"? I've long been one of those unidentified "persons familiar with the matter" cited in news stories. It's an only-in-journalism phrase meant to telegraph to the reader that the writer talked to [gestures broadly] someone in a position to know things which helped inform the reporting you're getting. In practice, what it usually means is a company spokesperson or executive who wants a journalist to be able to use a quote or piece of information but doesn't want their name attributed to it for various reasons (although this practice has been going through a revision in some corners of tech journalism). The irony here is that I'm finally putting my name on my work.

I hope you'll join me. This should be fun.