Corporate power today is scary, but not new. In WHEN COMPANIES RULE, I recount its 400-year history from the East India Company to Amazon, what motivates the oligarchs who would be kings, and what we can do about them. Out in November, pre-order now: cup.columbia.edu/book/when-co...

NEW project: a #dataviz of #Eurovision lyrics. The question: was "do #ESC lyrics follow world news"? TL;DR sort of, but not quite :-) The result is this #scrollytelling article, inspired by @puddingviz.bsky.social 's style. Methodology and code linked. puntofisso.net/eurovision/

Not now, Facebook memory from 8 May 2015. The subsequent twists and turns were a whole lot scarier.

Nodding approvingly at this: darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/in-defense...

I built an interactive guide on how Shazam (the music identification app) works! This is the next installment in my newly coined "How The Heck?" series, where we explore everyday tech that can feel like magic (QR Codes, GPS, and now this one). Hope you enjoy it! perthirtysix.com/how-the-heck...

Today's find via the @puntofisso.bsky.social newsletter treasure trove/bargain bin: some practical things to experiment with for people looking to boost their site GEO: evilmartians.com/chronicles/h...

I'm on a 70-strong Zoom call of middle aged folks with a mega Miro whiteboard and it is utter, glorious chaos. Lockdown vibes.

A random Facebook feed post from Michael Rosen may just have saved my summer holiday (my passport's valid until January but issued in May 2016...). It's not just 3 months' validity that matters, folks!

While looking for open licensed 18th/19th century views of London this week, I came across this corking view of the Crystal Palace dinosaurs by George Baxter, c.1854. They're a phenomenon now, must have been crazy back then when they really dominated the landscape

I'm enjoying using Claude artifacts to build myself little tools and shortcuts. I've ended up doing social media as a community centre volunteer, and my new 'Frequent Flyers' artifact helps me crop a usable section from the steady stream of A4 flyers I get sent, and generate an accompanying caption.

My friend Matt has been iterating his really interesting secret-keeping product, Tidy Affairs. You can try it out for free with a 7 day trial using the code TIDYTRIAL. I think it has potential to fill a gap in how we prepare for the end in a digital world: tidyaffairs.com

*NEW* stories in April, including positive stories to balance the bad times. Articles with and by: @touretteshero.bsky.social @oskabright.bsky.social @maryohara1.bsky.social @georgejulian.bsky.social @sabasalman.com and many more. communitylivingmagazine.com

A propos of nothing, what's the first thing you listened to music on? Apart from a brief stint with a dubious robot-shaped radio with scary red eyes, this Hitachi did me for my first 7 or 8 years.

I've been professionally observing how people use tech since the 90s, and it is simply not possible to make universal digital tools. Some things work or are necessary for some people some of the time, nothing works for everyone all of the time. And yet, something in us wants us all to be the same.

Feeling pretty politically homeless rn, and I suspect that's the story behind this chart for a lot of folk.

Mr. Chatterbox is a really fun project. It's not great to talk to but it's a fun demo of what you can build using entirely out-of-copyright training data It's a 2GB nanochat model - I released a new llm-mrchatterbox plugin that can run it on my Mac simonwillison.net/2026/Mar/30/...

Love Olio. Tempted to get this and put it my freezer drawer smeared with strawberry jam to freak out the family

Can we get to 4000 followers before our birthday on Sunday? Can you help us to help fill ears with quiet rather than noise. 🎧🦉🌊🌳🐝🌧️🎧

This is a good, readable intro to heat pumps by Evan Davis: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A lovely post by Madeleine - I'm so glad you found the letters as moving as I have. "Being in the middle of all these lives, bought it to life. The boring, endless days. The cold, hunger, longing. The joy and adventure. The children born and lost. The hope for the future."

Do you know of any shed previously owned by a famous person? Would like to do a new feature on famous sheddies and their spaces.

If you’re interested in open government data, please read (and repost) www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blogs/digita...

Posted a snap of my new toaster on Instagram last night and woke up to a screenful of messages on Threads from strangers irate that I've taken too long to report back on what I think of it. Is this social media in 2026? www.threads.com/@lesteph/pos...

Do the hard work to make it short.

I imagine the designers of this research project were either on a dare or drunk: www.nature.com/articles/s44... h/t @whatleydude.com and the ever-excellent Five Things on a Friday

There's a section in @lapope.bsky.social's recent newsletter which is really sticking with me this week. It's in the context of content design but I'm trying to apply it to following the news and social media - Control, Influence and Concern: lapope.com/2026/01/16/o...

A client is so proud of their site being archived in the UK Government Web Archive - as virtually all UK gov domains are - they'd like to press release the news, to the pleasant bemusement of The National Archives. It's all rather lovely. (And absolutely right: the UKGWA is a magnificent thing)

ICYMI over the weekend, here's my latest look at charities on X and how this has shifted this month.

So autocorrect, in my ongoing chat with 'Ashley', how likely is it I will want to open my message with 'Morning Asshole'?

I mainly follow Jesper for the woodworking but this gentle video taught me a lot more about Denmark’s relationship with Greenland than I knew before: youtu.be/iRFIUG6mB4o?...

More from @markpackuk.bsky.social on his question about the government use of X: government will carry on prioritising X for government comms, despite the evidence about X's promotion + protection of unlawful activity. It no longer pays to advertise there lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...

I used to love Twitter, even if I had to really reign in my shitposting when I got elected. It used to be genuinely useful professionally too. It has long ceased to have any positive net benefit, either individually or societally, and anyone in public life who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.

This on public holidays around the world is fun - I learned that Nepal has over 30 public holiday days/year, and presumably very little gets done in Sep/Oct there... www.not-ship.com/when-do-most... /via @puntofisso.bsky.social's newsletter (worth subscribing to even if you're not a 'data' person)

Unbelievably, #DuvetKnowItsChristmas generates such good will on social media that over the years we've raised somewhere approaching a quarter of a million quid for homeless charities. If you can spare a bob or two, sling some to Centrepoint, and here's the link: www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...

It’s starting… #duvetknowitschristmas

As we get all reflective and #wrapped at this point in December, here's my little technique for looking back over year - my first (and so far only) TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@lestephg/vi...

A thread of how to say “nobody asked you” from around the world, starting with this one… A Lithuanian way of telling someone to mind their own business is ne tavo kiaulės, ne tavo pupos. It means “not your pigs, not your beans.”

Installing solar panels won't automatically mean you get paid for surplus you export to the grid - you need to set up your export tariff. Just been sorting out my mother-in-law's tariff and export admin - though she's missed two summers-worth of export revenue. Installers should be on top of this.

The Top 10 (non job links) from my newsletter this year - About the GOV Reuse Library reuselibrary-dev.apps.cloud-platform.service.justice.gov.uk/about.html ...was top by a country mile.

5G routers have come down in price a bit: today I’ve upgraded the shed internet from a 4G external router (8mbps) to a sub-£250 Cudy P5 plus a Maswell 4x4 MIMO antenna, and now see 100+mbps on my little hill in south London…

I don’t think there is any read across - at all - from the OBR’s ability post a document to its website at the right time and the OBR’s ability to produce fiscal and economic forecasts.

While we're all sneering at WordPress, I'm not sure this is really a story about CMS failings or technical incompetence. Lots of orgs do what - apparently - OBR did and the world keeps turning, it's just that the stakes were higher in this case than people had considered and resourced for.

Best thing about sharing your house with builders for 6 months is the daily reminder via FixFM of just how many classic 1980s hits I'd forgotten about #GoChesney

Enjoy 5 minutes listening to The Man In Seat 61 (aka Mark Smith) talking about adventures in train travel and how the Caledonian Sleeper is his favourite route: railway200.co.uk/podcast/mark...

Despite riding the social media wave pretty well over the first 10-15 years, I'm confused by what works and what doesn't now. This is a thoughtful take on what effective social media strategy looks like in a world of FYPs vs followers: www.milkkarten.net/p/social-med...

I can’t help myself. My children are 17 and 14.

"This out-of-whack/back-in-whack cycle is not a source of motivation. It is motivation. Annoyance is the only truly renewable resource known to man." Lots of quotable bits, which you may enjoy if you're having a frustrating day: www.experimental-history.com/p/thank-you-...

I’m part of this group coaching/support network of mid-career, mid-life men - someone described the sessions today as “nourishing” which is spot on. New people are joining soon, so if you’re interested (some £ involved) check out and contact Ben for a chat: www.leanmindway.com

A bit long term, but my favourite version of "how poor the past was" is in this chart. Working hours go up (peaking at a 66 hour week), real wages go right.

GSA lawyers have sent a takedown request for my little archive of the 18F site. Sadly will probably take it down, but remarkable they care that much about defunct agency content online 🤷🏻‍♂️