Getting ahead with smart connections
After 20 years with a public profile on LinkedIn, I believe I have figured out a way to minimise noise here. In my case, it means figuring out how to make meaningful connections. In my case, it also means trying to add more to conversations instead of repurposing ideas that I share in other places. It’s like getting ultimate value from a special flavour of connectivism.
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While packing up stuff
During the 10 months that followed my packing up from a corner office, I’ve combed through more than 25 years of teaching materials I acquired to support academic modiles in media production and digital transformation. [1] I thumbed through unpublished consultation documents (e.g. “AI Implementation Policies for Schools” and “Essential Field Notes for Classroom Implementation”). I still believe I can add value to discussions about how AI is reshaping society but I know I’m not at the head table so my voice in framing policy and practice resonates primarly from community feeds such as LinkedIn. That doesn’t prevent me from making occasional audio notes for people listening on Spotify.
Pipelines for my notes
In 2021, while preparing to teach a post-graduate module that showed how to build a second brain, I started to eat my own dog food and that meant creating a trusted archive. My first attempts involved piping information between OneNote (and Class Notebooks), Google Drive, OneDrive, Obsidian, and Notebook. Thanks to students who offered unvarnished feedback, my convuluted process gradually evolved into a productivity workflow with vaults, agents, and note pipelines. Various connectors, first in forms validated by SDKs in Zapier then by API calls and now with MCP, have allowed me to run much of my productivity as as form of “Personal Knowledge Management in a Vault”. [2]
Smart Connections link my hive of markdown files from “Obsidian to Public Working Notes”. I depend upon Obsidian, Readwise, Zapier, Claude, and micropublishing to produce items such as this one you’re reading now. This process speaks directly to knowledge workers who want to capture, synthesise and publicly share what they learn. Since the late 90s when I used one of the first colour laptop aboard Irish Rail, I have rejoiced in turning simple note-taking into a visible professional asset. I feel part of a “build in public” narrative that Open Education Resourcers often laud.
Where to this Winter
I already have a section of my personal notes carved out for the upcoming AI Winter when major tech companies will lead stock markets in a downturn. I feel so fortunate that I spent thousands of euro to purchase two iPads with expansive storage before higher prices arrive for 2026 Apple products. Because AI data centres demand excessive amounts of silicon products from chip manufacturers, consumer electronics items will be more expensive or will be offered with less RAM or reduced storage during the next 12 months. I missed my opportunity to buy a Mac Mini during the first quarter of 2026 and I don’t plan to buy a new iPhone until 2028 when Apple offers €250 discounts to reduce inventory.
Like many others, I will revert to form with reflective engagement through writing, podcasting and creator workflows with “in the art of intergenerational conversations”. I expect to become more active with my Ghost via Erasmus programmes with creative friends. And I’ll share a few of these adventures on LinkedIn as we plod through the AI Winter.
- Photo of one of my final Zoom calls from my office corner: www.flickr.com/photos/ir…
- “Personal knowledge management in a vault” on Bernie’s blog insideview.ie/2024/10/2…)
- Expect to see and hear more authentic voices at authenticstories.eu