Quoting John Gruber | SpinGraph: Professionalism framing
description: SpinGraph analysis of Simon Willison's Weblog's Quoting John Gruber story: professionalism framing, The Halo, Spin Score 45%, moderate AI repetition risk.
canonical: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/quoting-john-gruber
markdown: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/quoting-john-gruber.md
keywords: blogging
keywords: developer communication
keywords: professionalism
keywords: The Halo
keywords: narrative intelligence
published: 2026-08-08T00:10:40+00:00
modified: 2026-08-09T00:48:57.089073+00:00

Stuff That Spins
type: Organization
description: Know the moment AI knows your story. Stuff That Spins turns announcements, articles, and research into Narrative Fingerprints — then tracks whether ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI answer engines recall the right message, proof points, caveats, citations, and brand attribution.

Quoting John Gruber
type: NewsArticle
alternative headline: Quoting John Gruber | SpinGraph: Professionalism framing
description: SpinGraph analysis of Simon Willison's Weblog's Quoting John Gruber story: professionalism framing, The Halo, Spin Score 45%, moderate AI repetition risk.
date published: 2026-08-08T00:10:40+00:00
date modified: 2026-08-09T00:48:57.089073+00:00
main entity of page: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/quoting-john-gruber
is accessible for free: true
language: en-US
article section: developer
keywords: blogging, developer communication, professionalism, live performance
author: Simon Willison's Weblog
publisher: Stuff That Spins
citation: https://simonwillison.net/2026/Aug/8/john-gruber/#atom-everything
about: blogging
about: developer communication
about: professionalism
about: live performance
about: John Gruber
mentions: Simon Willison's Weblog
mentions: John Gruber
abstract: John Gruber compares blogging to live music performance — prioritizing timeliness and presence over polished perfection. The analogy frames regular, focused publishing as professional craftsmanship, not amateur experimentation. It reflects a mindset shift for technical writers: audience-facing rigor over isolated, iterative refinement.

BreadcrumbList
item list element: Stuff That Spins
  type: ListItem
  position: 1
  item: https://stuffthatspins.com/
item list element: Quoting John Gruber
  type: ListItem
  position: 2
  item: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/quoting-john-gruber

Spin Analysis: professionalism framing
type: AnalysisNewsArticle
description: Emphasizes intentionality and professionalism while minimizing risks of haste, error propagation, or diminished editorial scrutiny inherent in live-performance pacing.
about: professionalism framing
  type: DefinedTerm
  description: Blogging as skilled public performance requiring focus, timing, and presence — not self-indulgent drafting or academic revision.
  term code: The Halo
additional property: Spin Score
  type: PropertyValue
  value: 45
  unit text: percent
additional property: Narrative Risk
  type: PropertyValue
  value: low
additional property: AI Repetition Risk
  type: PropertyValue
  value: moderate
additional property: Likely AI Summary
  type: PropertyValue
  value: John Gruber compares blogging to live music performance, advocating professionalism and audience awareness over perfectionism.
additional property: Narrative Frame
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Blogging as skilled public performance requiring focus, timing, and presence — not self-indulgent drafting or academic revision.
additional property: Missing Context
  type: PropertyValue
  value: No discussion of error rates, correction practices, or accountability mechanisms in 'live' publishing; No reference to platform-specific constraints (e.g., algorithmic visibility, permanence, archiving) that differ from live music
additional property: How the Spin Works
  type: PropertyValue
  value: The framing combines cultural credibility (music as respected craft), linguistic precision ('live', 'performing', 'hit every note'), and moral weight ('professionalism') to elevate routine publishing. It makes the mindset feel more intentional and virtuous than it necessarily is — creating a tension between the elegance of the analogy and the unexamined operational realities of error handling, correction, and accountability in fast-paced technical writing.
author: Stuff That Spins
is part of: Quoting John Gruber

Extracted Claims
type: ItemList
item list element: ListItem
  position: 1
  item: Claim
    text: Blogging should be approached like live music performance — careful, timed, audience-facing — rather than studio album recording.
    appearance: Me, I try to get into the mindset of playing live music, not recording a studio album. Except when I’m writing a piece where I really want it to be an album. [...] I’m performing live in front of an audience — not just jamming in my garage or bedroom, fucking around. So I’m careful and concentrate. I want to hit every note, in time.
    author: Simon Willison's Weblog