Writers' Residencies

[Austruck]

I have had that issue on Amtrak.com (too) many times. In most cases it's me trying to let them know that the Lake Shore Limited's route page incorrectly omits Rhinecliff from the list of stations at the bottom of the page. I'm tempted to call and let them know, but I have no idea what a phone agent could do about it. :wacko:

Does it eventually start working properly? I even tried asking Julie the Virtual Assistant. Her assistance was virtually nil.  

 

[Austruck]

Well, the deadline looms large in the next 15 minutes here. I have tried to apply for this residency at least a half dozen times every DAY for nearly two weeks now -- on two separate computers, with two different browsers. The same issues continued every single day. I wrote to Amtrak's customer service about it on Monday but they never responded at all.

I just wrote to them again, expressing my displeasure at how poorly their application process has been designed.

Okay, I feel better now that I've complained to SOMEONE who might actually read this!  

 

[Triley]

Not only do you need social media skills but it looks like a big part of winning a free trip will be having a huge number of followers:

To throw your hat in the ring, you just how to fill out an online form by January 31 explaining a bit about yourself (with links to your various social media accounts), your social media instincts, and why you're a sucker for traveling by train. . . . .Of course, applicants who can prove they have next-level social media chops (and, most likely, a good chunk of followers) will probably have the best shot at winning, . . .

Looks like the winners will be Millenials with thumbs worn down to the bone from tapping on their PDA's every waking hour.
PDA? You really dated yourself there! [emoji14]

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I've often chuckled at the idea that we used to call a portable notepad, calendar, dictionary, and contact list a "personal assistant," digital or otherwise.  The owner was still doing all of the work and most of those interfaces were rather limited and poorly conceived.  In my view the first "digital assistant" that even approached objective success was Google Now, over two decades after the original concept had been commercialized.  Google's offering was soon joined by Siri, Alexa, and Cortana, but all these services still felt half-baked.  Digital assistants finally reached genuine legitimacy with "Google Assistant," although even that amazing accomplishment still required distributed level computer power behind the scenes.  If and when we get a general purpose Google Assistant style tool that requires no assistance or extra connectivity beyond being installed on a personal device the original dream of the PDA will finally be realized.