

Where in the World is Kathy Sierra? -- Or, the best tech writing blogger ever - cruise02
http://davidbarneswork.posterous.com/where-in-the-world-in-kathy-sierra-or-the-bes

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thesethings
Kathy did not close her Twitter account due to anything bad (unlike the
unfortunate threats that coincided with her blog shutting down.)

There are lots of ways to participate in communities and conversations, and
she wanted to step away from that one for a bit.

I can't point to a public URL as I got this from private conversation, but
there was a public Tweet from one of her friends on this as well.

In any case, her work is GREAT and anybody from an engineer to a marketer
would do well to absorb her customer-centric philosophies that make EVERYTHING
clear ("your product doesn't kick ass... your product makes your CUSTOMERS
kick ass...")

Google and learn :D

~~~
runevault
I've actually been meaning to go back through her passionate users blog and
reread some of the entries, there was so much great content put up there
before she closed it off due to threats.

~~~
tankman
What kind of threats?

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thesethings
Death threats. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6499095.stm> The whole situation
was weird. Though she specifically was targeted, it seemed like the site the
threats came out of was a group of generally angry, lame folks who lashed out
in all directions constantly. I could barely understand it at the time (though
I of course would have freaked out in her shoes, as the language was so
specific and graphic.)

~~~
phaedrus
Doesn't this seem eerily similar to the way Steve Yegge suddenly stopped
blogging/removed his public presence? And then _why (whytheluckystiff) also
pulled down all his online presences. It makes me wonder if some group of kids
is systematically threatening lots of top bloggers.

~~~
philwelch
There's "some group of kids" that acts like assholes in general, of
course--"Anonymous". Not to blame them in particular, but it's not exactly
difficult to get a vaguely-defined, poorly organized group of bored kids on
the internet to hate you if you have any kind of notoriety.

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petercooper
_Does Kathy's approach resonate with you? I'd love to talk to you about Packt
Beginner's Guides books. Email me on davidb@packtpub.com_

Just in case anyone misses it right down in the bottom, it looks like the
author is an acquisitions editor with Packt and is looking for authors willing
to take a Kathy Sierra approach. That might interest more people around here
than the whole post does..

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mikecane
I didn't know she closed her Twitter account. I noticed her absence. I hope
she is OK.

