The last twenty-four hours have been a little…well, eventful. My new book, You Deserve a Tech Union, was finally released! I can’t tell you how excited I am that it’s here.

But that’s not all that happened yesterday.

First, my first-ever op-ed piece was published! Over at WBUR, I’ve written down some thoughts on Hollywood’s twin strikes, and how they’re an excellent example of organized labor’s power in the face of “generative artificial intelligence.” Here’s a little excerpt:

I’m a veteran web designer, whose career grew up alongside the tech industry; I’ve recently written a book about the intersection of tech, automation and organized labor. Referring to these platforms as “artificial intelligence” conceals the extent to which they are deeply reliant on human labor. These programs have been fed massive amounts of data, including copyrighted works, much of it created by people who haven’t been compensated.

I’d like to thank Kate Neale Cooper for inviting me to write this piece, and for pushing it in some directions it needed to go; I’d also like to thank Cloe Axelson for her close edits and excellent suggestions.

Secondly: Roadmap, a magazine with a special focus on work, kindly republished a short excerpt from You Deserve a Tech Union:

…it’s worth remembering that people — you, me, all of us — live and work in the hours, minutes, and seconds we’re trying to streamline out of our product cycles. And our industry has a terrible track record of asking about the second-order effects of its product decisions. For example, if we could instantly create designs in a browser, what happens next? What jobs would be changed as a result? Who would be impacted?

I’d like to thank Molly McArdle, Roadmap’s editor-in-chief, for her interest in my book, and for being willing to share some of it with the magazine’s readers.

Third, I got some mail tonight: a box filled with my copies of You Deserve a Tech Union.

A freshly-opened cardboard box, containing a few dozen copies of my new book, “You Deserve a Tech Union.”

Ethan is standing next to the box of books, and is holding one of the copies of “You Deserve a Tech Union” in his hand.

I’ll be honest: the book launch didn’t feel quite real until this box arrived. And now? It feels very, very real. I had several emotions as soon as I opened the box; I had several more when I started leafing through one of the copies.

Ethan is looking through one of the copies of “You Deserve a Tech Union,” and has a pensive look on his face.

I’ve been working on this book in some form or another for the last two years. After all that work, stress, and self-doubt, it’s extremely tangible. It’s a thing in the world. I’m still trying to figure out how that feels.

One more thing happened yesterday: I went for a run. I took advantage of some slightly cooler weather, and ran over the river into Boston.

My book release happened to land on the two year anniversary of going into the hospital, and starting several months of slow, frustrating recovery. Back then, I didn’t know if I’d ever walk again, much less be able to run again. After some time, I did manage to get my feet back under me. That said, there’s no telling how long I’ll be able to keep running — at some point, things might very well change again.

The Charles River in Boston, with a handful of red-sailed sailboats visible in the distance. The sky is filled with gray, heavy-looking clouds.

But last night, I managed to run past the emergency room I checked into two years ago. Heck, I practically leapt over the patch of sidewalk next to the hospital where my cab had dropped me off.

Two years and one little book later, I’m glad I’m still here. And I’m glad you are, too.