So, there are at least three things to cover. First: doing what, exactly? Second: what of all this around us—what of the vast robinsloan.com empire? Third: whoah, let’s talk about how cool Twitter is! We’ll take it, as always, bird by bird:

First: doing what?

I’m going to be working on media partnerships with my friend and erstwhile colleague @ChloeS. This couldn’t be cooler: it’s everything at the intersection of Twitter and media, from live events on TV to citizen journalism on the web to Na’vi tweets in IMAX 3D. (Just kidding—but you know Twitter is Eywa, right?)

Back at Current in 2008, Chloe was the mastermind behind our Twitter-powered election programming—probably my single favorite project in all the years I worked there. So I’m hugely excited to be conspiring with her again, and (soon) with all the producers, reporters, developers and strategists at media organizations that want to do cool, transformative things with tweets.

Second: whither robinsloan.com?

Don’t worry: all of this work continues! I’m still plugging away on Pilgrim and still committed to media invention on a monthly basis. (iPad, hello?) This is definitely not a zero-sum game; in fact, I think Twitter is probably the perfect perch for a person interested in—you know—words and technology.

Third: wooo Twitter!

I’m excited to go work at Twitter because it’s a system and a service that I actually, er, love. (Maybe you knew that already.) Now, okay, you don’t need me to tell you that Twitter is fun and useful. Got it. But let me just underscore three things that I think make it really, really special:

• Twitter is built around this one odd, remarkable constraint—and if you ask me, almost all of its magic flows from that fact. Maybe once it was entirely a technical limitation, an SMS thing. I think it’s become more than that. Frankly, I think it’s become poetry. Twitter makes me stop and think about language more frequently and more deeply than any other technology in the world. What a great thing for a technology to do—what a very human thing.
• I feel like I’m constantly learning and re-learning how to use Twitter. And I think that’s because, paired with this odd constraint, you’ve got this crazy openness—this refusal to specify exactly what you’re supposed to do with the service, or how, or even why. So those determinations fall to us, and as a result, the whole thing seems to be convulsing and transforming, like, every six months. Do you remember when hardly any tweets had an http://? It wasn’t that long ago—but now whole ecosystems have sprung up around the business of preparing links for Twitter. That kind of fast, organic change indicates real health and strength. It’s also just really fun! Like a good story, with that central, driving question: What happens next?
• I’m not a great programmer, but I do dive in from time to time, and my first hands-on experience with the Twitter API, back during the election, was a revelation. Using ludicrously simple tools, and without asking anybody for permission, you can plug into this thing and get—well, jeez. You can get life. I don’t think there’s another API in the world that’s so simple but so vital. And honestly, I don’t think we’ve come close to harnessing all that it has, and will have, to offer.

So, those are all things I would have told you even if I wasn’t going to go work at Twitter—but they should help make it clear why I’m so excited that I am.

Okay, that’s the update. I’m going to continue my weeknotes here, but they will change in character somewhat. There will no longer be anything about the perils and practicalities of being your own business, obviously. Instead, they’ll simply chronicle my “extracurricular” writing and inventing, and the process behind it.

And as for all the cool Twitter media partnership work ahead: there will be a place to talk about that, too! When it’s ready, I’ll point you to it.

I start in mid-February.

Now I’m going to go tweet about this.

I’m going to try to keep a record of all the Annabel Scheme unboxings so far:

• The full photo-shoot from @OffBeatMammal.
• With acknowledgments highlighted by @jenosaurus.
• Nice clear shot of the cover by @trammell.
• Every angle (including the back) from @museofchaos.
• One of my favorites—it actually looks sorta quantum unstable, doesn’t it?—from @jameystegmaier.
• Another good shot of the cover from @lenkendall.
• Another snap from @rjurney.
• Annabel in Sacramento from @howardweaver.
• A terrific shot from Mel—check out the rug in the background.
• This is sorta like the book’s mug shot from Rich Magahiz.
• Four copies splayed like playing cards from @vuokko.
• A nice self-portrait-with-book from @beckzorz.
• WHOAH how great is this shot from @jackcheng?
• Looking rather Scheme-like yourself here, @EC.
• Looking a bit suspicious here—but that’s to be expected from @magicandrew.
• Perhaps the best-composed shot of the four-pack—but that’s to be expected from @rodnaber.
• A gallery from @couch.
• A moody portrait from @mbaratz.
• Scheme on the tree (with her ghostly face very apparent) from @BrianDeacon.
• And here’s a video (!) of the unboxing from @shamptonian!
• A mega-unboxing video from the Children’s School edited by Anthony Albright!

Also, check this out: @mmai made a Twitter list of Annabel Scheme backers! Worth following; it’s a fine group of people.

Let me know if you see any more (or did one yourself) that I missed!

P.S. The Twitter search for #annabelscheme is a river of delight.

Related posts:

1. A party and a PDF