Karen McGrane
@karenmcgrane.bsky.social
On a good day, I make the web more awesome. On a bad day, I just make it suck less.
I like to tell my team at Contentful that we need to “win HR” which to me means that whatever weird shit they throw at us with good but maybe misguided intentions we handle with commitment and grace
Here’s me and @tcarmody.bsky.social winning housekeeping here on Valentine’s Day
Here’s me and @tcarmody.bsky.social winning housekeeping here on Valentine’s Day
February 14, 2026 at 9:30 PM
I like to tell my team at Contentful that we need to “win HR” which to me means that whatever weird shit they throw at us with good but maybe misguided intentions we handle with commitment and grace
Here’s me and @tcarmody.bsky.social winning housekeeping here on Valentine’s Day
Here’s me and @tcarmody.bsky.social winning housekeeping here on Valentine’s Day
I bought Tim a signed framed copy of this Achewood, mostly because he did a dramatic interpretation of the entire comic for me (quite enthusiastically) but also because, well, it’s true
February 14, 2026 at 6:15 PM
I bought Tim a signed framed copy of this Achewood, mostly because he did a dramatic interpretation of the entire comic for me (quite enthusiastically) but also because, well, it’s true
Me: I am celebrating my five year anniversary with the love of my life in Rome, in an amazing hotel suite where the staff wants to know when we’re leaving so presumably they can scatter Valentines rose petals
Also me: Where are my updates on what the dog is doing, I crave them
Also me: Where are my updates on what the dog is doing, I crave them
February 14, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Me: I am celebrating my five year anniversary with the love of my life in Rome, in an amazing hotel suite where the staff wants to know when we’re leaving so presumably they can scatter Valentines rose petals
Also me: Where are my updates on what the dog is doing, I crave them
Also me: Where are my updates on what the dog is doing, I crave them
“How’d you meet?” “Well, he moved in to my house and has never left.” We’ve spent the past five years and one week basically spending our lives together 24/7 (with very occasional work travel) and we’re happier than ever each and every day.
On our first date, I (famously in some circles) packed up a rental SUV, drove from Detroit to Philadelphia, and moved into my now-wife’s house so we could get it on for all eternity. (We had known each other for many years digitally but never met.)
This is an unapologetically sappy feel-good subject (at least, I guess, for people in a happy relationship”). So, to prepare for Valentine’s Day, what did you and your partner do for a first date?
My wife and I went to tea at Huntington Gardens and walked around.
My wife and I went to tea at Huntington Gardens and walked around.
February 14, 2026 at 3:51 PM
“How’d you meet?” “Well, he moved in to my house and has never left.” We’ve spent the past five years and one week basically spending our lives together 24/7 (with very occasional work travel) and we’re happier than ever each and every day.
It’s 2026. Everyone is talking about a hyperpersonalized, AI enabled future.
Every time I leave the country they still show me ads in the local language, which I do not speak
Every time I leave the country they still show me ads in the local language, which I do not speak
February 13, 2026 at 9:31 PM
It’s 2026. Everyone is talking about a hyperpersonalized, AI enabled future.
Every time I leave the country they still show me ads in the local language, which I do not speak
Every time I leave the country they still show me ads in the local language, which I do not speak
We had three copies at one point, that’s how much @tcarmody.bsky.social loves me
February 13, 2026 at 5:58 PM
We had three copies at one point, that’s how much @tcarmody.bsky.social loves me
I said all this last night but I don’t write for a sports blog
ICYMI: defector.com/high-level-a...
High-Level, Actionable Insights From Watching Doubles Luge For The First Time | Defector
To the uninitiated, luge itself might seem a silly sport, given that the average person might guess it mostly consists of holding onto a sled real tight as it goes fast down the ice. Of course, this o...
defector.com
February 12, 2026 at 8:23 PM
I said all this last night but I don’t write for a sports blog
I don’t know anything about luge, and I don’t really want to find out more about luge, and yet: I have questions
February 11, 2026 at 7:26 PM
I don’t know anything about luge, and I don’t really want to find out more about luge, and yet: I have questions
Reposted by Karen McGrane
All the Epstein files news - where there's evidence of men closing ranks, dismissing the known facts and suffering of victims, positing doubt in the face of evidence, historically and currently - reminds me of the behavior I saw on LinkedIn ->
February 10, 2026 at 8:53 PM
All the Epstein files news - where there's evidence of men closing ranks, dismissing the known facts and suffering of victims, positing doubt in the face of evidence, historically and currently - reminds me of the behavior I saw on LinkedIn ->
I was so proud that I led the redesign of The Atlantic in 2008 and advised them on rethinking what it means to be a magazine to being an online publication. It was a fun project. As with everything, it all falls apart.
See also: redesigning the New York Times in 2005.
Common thread: James Bennet
See also: redesigning the New York Times in 2005.
Common thread: James Bennet
I love the history of The Atlantic, I wrote there back in 2010, I was hired by the Wire for a brief minute, some of the best people I know built careers there, but it’s been cooked into Friedersmurf shapes for a long time
January 29, 2026 at 10:34 PM
I was so proud that I led the redesign of The Atlantic in 2008 and advised them on rethinking what it means to be a magazine to being an online publication. It was a fun project. As with everything, it all falls apart.
See also: redesigning the New York Times in 2005.
Common thread: James Bennet
See also: redesigning the New York Times in 2005.
Common thread: James Bennet
Reposted by Karen McGrane
Notion is the modern tech company's version of "we'll keep it in a wiki." I will not be taking questions.
January 29, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Notion is the modern tech company's version of "we'll keep it in a wiki." I will not be taking questions.
We are at another basketball game and I have gotten to see Franklin the Dog Up close and personal and the suit is SO MUCH WORSE than I’d even imagined
January 28, 2026 at 1:29 AM
We are at another basketball game and I have gotten to see Franklin the Dog Up close and personal and the suit is SO MUCH WORSE than I’d even imagined
Reposted by Karen McGrane
"Never again" wasn't supposed to mean "nothing that ever happens can be compared to this"
The US Holocaust Museum being more outraged by Tim Walz saying that, like Anne Frank, children today are in hiding from armed agents of the state, than they are about the fact that children are in hiding from armed agents of the state, is why Holocaust remembrance culture is in crisis.
January 26, 2026 at 11:45 PM
"Never again" wasn't supposed to mean "nothing that ever happens can be compared to this"
This dog loves me
How it started/how it’s going
(Three years of Orzo the Boston Terrier)
(Three years of Orzo the Boston Terrier)
January 25, 2026 at 3:34 AM
This dog loves me
Orzo’s third gotcha day, three whole years with my little guy
January 25, 2026 at 2:58 AM
Orzo’s third gotcha day, three whole years with my little guy
It's Create Once, Publish Everywhere (COPE).
I will tolerate Create Once, Reuse Everywhere (CORE) because my current company decided on that.
Create Once, Scale Everywhere (COSE) is not a thing.
Publish Once, Distribute Everywhere (PODE) definitely not a thing.
I will tolerate Create Once, Reuse Everywhere (CORE) because my current company decided on that.
Create Once, Scale Everywhere (COSE) is not a thing.
Publish Once, Distribute Everywhere (PODE) definitely not a thing.
January 23, 2026 at 1:39 AM
It's Create Once, Publish Everywhere (COPE).
I will tolerate Create Once, Reuse Everywhere (CORE) because my current company decided on that.
Create Once, Scale Everywhere (COSE) is not a thing.
Publish Once, Distribute Everywhere (PODE) definitely not a thing.
I will tolerate Create Once, Reuse Everywhere (CORE) because my current company decided on that.
Create Once, Scale Everywhere (COSE) is not a thing.
Publish Once, Distribute Everywhere (PODE) definitely not a thing.
Maybe not everyone's perfect wedding photo, but one of my faves. @tcarmody.bsky.social and I are coming up on five years together in a matter of days, we're SO perfect for each other.
I'll be the one to say, whoa it's really weird to find your person late in life but also completely satisfying.
I'll be the one to say, whoa it's really weird to find your person late in life but also completely satisfying.
January 11, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Maybe not everyone's perfect wedding photo, but one of my faves. @tcarmody.bsky.social and I are coming up on five years together in a matter of days, we're SO perfect for each other.
I'll be the one to say, whoa it's really weird to find your person late in life but also completely satisfying.
I'll be the one to say, whoa it's really weird to find your person late in life but also completely satisfying.
The quesadillas were delicious and it's a very cute sweater
After the Bills scored the first touchdown I panic-messaged @karenmcgrane.bsky.social to put her hat on, but she was making quesadillas and didn’t see it. Luckily after the second touchdown she put her Eagles sweater on and disaster was averted through sheer mojo
December 29, 2025 at 1:17 AM
The quesadillas were delicious and it's a very cute sweater
Someone posted something along the lines of “so annoying when a guy saying something Karen McGrane has been talking about FOR YEARS treated like it’s this exciting new discovery.”
Coincidentally, this happened to be the day that they proved the existence of the Higgs Boson.
Coincidentally, this happened to be the day that they proved the existence of the Higgs Boson.
Does everyone have a personal favorite of their posts. Not the most popular, but the one that just always makes YOU smile?
December 13, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Someone posted something along the lines of “so annoying when a guy saying something Karen McGrane has been talking about FOR YEARS treated like it’s this exciting new discovery.”
Coincidentally, this happened to be the day that they proved the existence of the Higgs Boson.
Coincidentally, this happened to be the day that they proved the existence of the Higgs Boson.
Reposted by Karen McGrane
I am at a Sixers/Lakers basketball game courtesy of @tcarmody.bsky.social and in a town with multiple iconic mascots this is just embarrassing, what are we doing here
December 8, 2025 at 2:44 AM
I am at a Sixers/Lakers basketball game courtesy of @tcarmody.bsky.social and in a town with multiple iconic mascots this is just embarrassing, what are we doing here