When you report a piece for two years & then write it up in 8000 words, there are obviously lots of things on the cutting room floor

But this 🧵 isn't about that

This thread is about something else not in the piece: what it was like to actually *do* this research & writing

1/

Let's start with the fact that my main paying-job is *not* ethnographic journalist on tech companies. It's being a law professor. I teach property, info privacy, and internet law.

It is a fantastic job, but it is full time, particularly in your first few years teaching.

2/

That means at the same time as I was traveling back and forth across the country on red-eyes to be at FB to do this work I was also giving 26 two hour speeches about adverse possession and eminent domain to 70+ 1Ls.

Would not recommend.

3/

But how did I even start doing that? How did I get access inside Facebook?

I will tell you the secret: *I asked.*

4/

I went to a PR person at FB & one of the people who does stakeholder engagement in early 2019 & I said:

"Listen, I think that this Oversight Board thing is going to be a big deal and you are telling people you are doing this transparently. So you should let me report it."

5/