Had a full day of no meetings yesterday which meant I could get all the things done right? Nope, was ill obviously

Among spec'd out ideas that I've not done yet is one called "The Bullshit list" (working title) It takes bollocksy policy speak and sector language and gives you both a simple clear version in return and produces an open dataset of bullshit lingo and the worst culprits Might come back to this one.

The martian is up there. But mine is The Life Aquatic I think.

Keeping the weeknote streak alive. Weeknote 47 - Another shorter week, trip to northern ireland, delivering a workshop on question based approaches to data, meeting new people, prepping for TechFreedom first cohort, making Bearing a tool for choosing AI models. tomcw.xyz/weeknote/wee...

Choose Microsoft, choose a false sense of security, choose horrendous documentation, choose siloed working, choose incompatibility with anything else, choose co pilot, choose a culture set by technology.

Last (ish) call to join techfreedom.eu First cohort starting next week

Le weeknote 46 What happens when I go to France for a week and eat pasties? Featuring the Tom Pastry rating scale, climbing, pastries and some interesting links. tomcw.xyz/weeknote/le-...

In two weeks' time, @tomcw.xyz and I will be welcoming the pilot #TechFreedom cohort. There's still time to join them, as there are a few spaces left: techfreedom.eu

Define happiness ...

The importance of reflection, StackMap - a way to umm, map your stack, more work on TechFreedom, testing is good, oh shit moments, and the usual interesting things I've seen this week. tomcw.xyz/weeknote/wee...

Social purpose organisations deserve tech they can trust. #TechFreedom walks you through mapping dependencies, scoring risks, and creating a practical roadmap. @tomcw.xyz and I are welcoming the pilot cohort in 20 days' time. Will you join us? techfreedom.eu #Nonprofits #DigitalResilience

Stackmap - A tool for mapping your tech stack. I work with a lot of organisations on data and tech things. I often ask a simple question "Have you got a list of all your tools?" Often the answer is "err...John might know" or something similar. So I create a simple tool It's free on stackmap.org

Nobody: "Have you got a #TechFreedom newsletter I can subscribe to?" @tomcw.xyz and me: "Yep!" Scroll to the bottom at techfreedom.eu 💪

I'm just a man, standing in front of you, hoping that "one thing you keep coming back to" has finally found peace. New Subheading

I can imagine @tomcw.xyz and I using this with the #TechFreesom pilot cohort techfreedom.eu (and before someone comments, yes I'm charging the charging the car, not reading and driving!)

Yes, I publish weeknotes, where I ramble through my reflections on the week TechFreedom, 20% beefs, the grant application is dead, is everything a skill, catching up with people, getting turned down for things and some actual paid work things... tomcw.xyz/weeknote-44/

Is This Just a Skill? At one point everything was an app, or at least someone said it should be an app. Now I wonder, is everything a SKILL? And what's the difference between a skill and an actual product? tomcw.xyz/is-this-just...

The Grant Application is dead. What comes next? How federated protocols, local agents, and organisational self-sovereignty could replace the broken funding model. Come down the rabbit hole with me... tomcw.xyz/the-grant-ap...

Many social purpose orgs are exposed to hidden risks in their tech stack. TechFreedom is a three-session pilot, run by @tomcw.xyz and me, to map those risks and build a plan for change. Pilot cohort now open: blog.dougbelshaw.com/techfreedom-... #TechFreedom #DigitalSovereignty #PublicInterestTech

Where are the rebels? The ones at the edges? I think I was a rebel once. Maybe I became the establishment. Maybe I don't see the rebels because I'm not of that world. Or maybe you're all just there, in plain view, and I just need to ask.

Brad has just been left a voicemail offering him deposit bonuses and credit limits for some online gambling. It's a mystery why people in debt, remain in debt.

If everything is a wrapper or framework for LlMs and agents, interesting to consider that maybe you want to be valuable enough to find traction, but not viral enough to just become a feature in the big providers. Nano/oepn claw -> cowork etc

Weeknote 43 Another week, another weeknote. Continuing my unbroken streak this year. A bit of a long one this. Slightly meandering. Just enough structure. Saying no to neat little bows. A long week, residential, letting go of ideas, and some running tomcw.xyz/weeknote/wee...

But it's so flexible, it can do ANYTHING. I'd just like it to do something

Blimey Notion is a bloated piece of crap

Is our obsession with neat little bows on workshops and projects actually diminishing the impact they have? The long-term impact. The impact we hope they have beyond our involvement? tomcw.xyz/the-case-for...

I never used em dashes, mainly because I was never taught or learned what they were. But I'm zigging where everyone is zagging and am now purposely using them — they are actually beautiful and functional and I don't care if people think it's AI

Diaster with the sourdough this morning. Tried too much rye and spelt. You want the hydration? I cannot handle to hydration

Just discovered the wealth of ideas and frameworks and tools @tomcw.xyz is sharing for free on his blog & The Good Ship for 3rd sector / gov / CiCs. Extremely useful and generous, thanks dude. good-ship.co.uk

Another week, another weeknote A very busy and productive week. Time in airtable, writing docs, getting stuff sorted for TechFreedom. Still managed to write two posts, and go for a good run in the hills. Usual interesting things, including digital kite flying tomcw.xyz/weeknote/wee...

What has the Index of Multiple Deprivation ever done for us? A genuine question I have. tomcw.xyz/what-has-the...

I'm really rooting for this 👉 TechFreedom, a short course for social purpose orgs who want to understand their tech risks and DO SOMETHING about it. Importantly you leave with a plan for reducing your dependency on US Big Tech 🙌🙌🙌 techfreedom.eu via @dougbelshaw.com @tomcw.xyz #digitalsovereignty

Hitting my weeknote midlife crisis age…Opening sign ups to TechFreedom, building a browser extension (and MCP) for my memory, falling behind on a project, finishing the week on a high note, and lots of interesting things, including a blog about seeing an otter in saltaire. tomcw.xyz/weeknote/wee...

Have you heard me banging on about tech sovereignty, adaptability, big tech and resiliency? About how your tech is an organisational cultural choice? If not, how? If you have...well, would you like some more? tomcw.xyz/why-we-creat...

#TechFreedom is a small‑cohort programme I am running with @tomcw.xyz to help co‑ops, charities, unions, and public‑interest orgs map their tech stack and cut risky dependencies on Big Tech. Details and pilot cohort info: blog.dougbelshaw.com/techfreedom-... #TechFreedom #Coops #DigitalSovereignty

Some dude called Brad has clearly been putting phone number into websites over a number of years. First it was cars Then it was gambling Now it's the money advice service. I'm slightly annoyed but also a bit worried for brad here

Half term, fossil hunting and February wild swimming

The disconnect between 'openclaw/agent driven organisations yeah!' and the needing permission for a paper clip/command and control/nom reality of most organisations is funny and scary.

As a parent, do you ever think "I wonder what I would be doing with all that free time I used to have?" Just saw one of my friends was having a go driving a bobsleigh and now I know.

This is pretty wild read — “Trust is Being Manufactured Faster than It’s Earned” socket.dev/blog/ai-agen...

A couple of years ago, LNER introduced one click and automatic 'delay repay'. It was good, it would automatically let you know you were entitled to compensation. Obviously this was too good, as they've now reverted to burying this process behind many many clicks.

Breadnotes. I mean weeknotes tomcw.xyz/weeknote/wee... Tech Freedom, saying no, starting a couple of new bits of work, learning about Ice Breaker One and Free Ice Cream, resilience in practice, redesigning my website.

Chiseled Jaw Guy, Knee Guy, Old Guy, Midnight guy, and The Path Finder are the first five in. #BM100

Love this show. Minch rules.

Best spectator sport of the year has just started. Keith and the random names of people lost in the brash for the first couple of loops.

We've had the ability to automate things for years. The ability to understand how jobs actually work, not automate things that shouldn't be, and not automate things badly still seems beyond us, and AI isn't fixing that I'm afraid.

Sourdough Saturday

That @tomcw.xyz and I have created #TechFreedom for organisations that want to understand where their data really lives, how reliant they are on single platforms, and how much their tools watch them. Post: blog.dougbelshaw.com/techfreedom/ Site: techfreedom.eu #TechFreedom #DigitalSovereignty

Currently at 7 hrs travelling by train. By my calculations I could have gone from Durham to Paris and had time for a beer by now. Unfortunately I've managed to make it 186 miles and am still not home. C'est la vie

Spent two days facilitating, showed several matrix (of course). But if we are being real, this might be the real 2x2 matrix