I’ve been writing on Substack for just over a year now. It’s been a lot of fun and the time has flown by. As I’m typing this, Tech & Nonsense has 210 subscribers. I appreciate every single one of you and I hope you’ll stick around.
Writing has been fun, but by far the biggest source of enjoyment in my time at Substack has been discovering the great publications and great writers on this platform. Some of them cover topics I’ve always been interested in, and a few have helped me discover a brand new area of interest.
This is a little like an awards ceremony speech, where I’m not going to be able to mention all the great sites and writers I follow on Substack. I’ll likely do a Part 2 somewhere down the road to chip away at that, but for now I have used a 100 percent not logic based, gut feel, these are the ones that most come to mind approach. Said differently, the hell with logical approaches.
With these recommended publications (or stacks, I think the cool kids say) I’ll offer my own quick thoughts, at least an excerpt from each publication’s About page, and a recommended taster link. One more thing to note - I honestly can’t recall how may free posts you can read, or full posts you can read, for all these publications, but I think you should be able to at least read the taster post links for each of them.
Enough of the intro, here’s my Stack of Recommended Stacks:
Exponential View:
My 02: This publication has increased my knowledge about generative AI and a number of other topics exponentially over the last year. It was one of my first and best resources to learn about prompt engineering, provided an excellent research database for Notion, and consistently serves up excellent interviews with leading thinkers and creators across many domains.
Stack’s About Page:
Azeem Azhar is an expert on artificial intelligence and exponential technologies. Every week in Exponential View, Azeem shares his analysis of key developments to help you understand how technology is shaping the next 3-5 years.
Recommended Taster Post: Promptpack: AI-enhanced prompting
About Chromebooks
My 02: This publication is written by my all-time favorite tech writer, Kevin C. Tofel. Chromebooks are under appreciated and an absolute pleasure to use. Posts on this stack offer a rundown of the latest news on chromebooks and Chrome OS, along with deep reviews of chromebooks and very detailed how-to guides.
Stack’s About Page:
Ex-Google, ZDNet & GigaOM. I know a little about Chromebooks and the IoT.
Recommended Taster Post: This week's news from About Chromebooks, October 8, 2023
Eric’s Substack
My 02: A top tier destination for anyone interested in cybersecurity - particularly incident response and SOC (security operations center) roles.
Stack’s About Page (excerpt):
My name is Eric Capuano, I am an InfoSec founder, practitioner, advisor & SANS DFIR Instructor. I spend most of my time doing awesome things @ LimaCharlie and running trainings at BlackHat and other awesome conferences.
I post articles about Information Security, Security Operations (SecOps), Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR), and occasionally other miscellaneous topics loosely related to the aforementioned. On occasion I will also release training guides in these areas as well.
Recommended Taster Post: So you want to be a SOC Analyst? Intro
CyberInsights
My 02: Coverage of a good range of cybersecurity news.
Stack’s About Page:
CyberInsights is about cutting the clutter and getting insights from cybersecurity news. Every week, we choose two news items, distil the essence and ask cybersecurity professionals thought provoking questions!
Recommended Taster Post: Logistics, Cyberattacks and BCPs | The .tk domain saga
The Cyber Why
My 02: Thought provoking takes on the cybersecurity industry and what’s trending.
Stack’s About Page (excerpt):
We are a small collection of market analysts, technology curmudgeons, big thinkers, investors, and startup operators. This is our outlet to present to the world how we see things. This is where we will predict the future, condemn the deserving, and generally not pull any punches. We write a weekly news roundup coupled with periodic deep analysis and thought pieces.
Recommended Taster Post: The Next Era of Cyber Security Capabilities
Yaro on AI and Tech Trends
My 02: One of my early favorites on Substack, and still one of the first things I read every day. Yaro covers a lot of very interesting ground, always has some spicy hot takes, and I love the “AI Tools of the Day” section.
Stack’s About Page (excerpt):
Get full access to our newsletter and our community where we share curated and simplify the latest news and stories in the Ai, web3, and tech world. Our reports help thousands of professionals stay ahead of the game and make better decisions.
Additionally, you can join our community to meet like-minded professionals, CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and individuals and enhance your network.
Recommended Taster Post: The Future of AI According to 600+ Researchers
Educating AI
My 02: I’m not an educator, but I think this is a fascinating area from many angles and this stack offers in-depth coverage and great long thought pieces.
Stack’s About Page (excerpt):
Welcome to a new phase of "Educating AI," where we're not just observing but actively shaping the future of education in the AI era. I'm Nick Potkalitsky, and this year, we're delving into critical questions at the heart of AI's role in education.
Recommended Taster Post: The Times They Are A-Changin' - for the content AND the awesome AI-ified Bob Dylan image.
Disruptive Concepts
My 02: I only recently discovered this stack - hat tip to Nick Potkalitsy from Education AI for a Substack note linking to one of its recent posts. This was a love at first read scenario for me, and I’ve already seen that it covers a really interesting array of subjects.
Stack’s About Page (excerpt):
In an age where innovation moves at lightning speed, it's easy to be left behind. But fear not, tech enthusiast!
Dive deep with us into the next 5-10 years of technological evolution.
From AI advancements, sustainable solutions, cutting-edge robotics, to the yet-to-be-imagined, our mission is to unravel, decode, and illuminate the disruptive innovations that will redefine our world.
Recommended Taster Post: Disruptive Concepts: Ten Predictions for 2024
Cyborgs Writing
My 02: Another stack I’ve only just started reading, and I’m already hooked. A wonderful crossover spot covering writing and AI / state of the art technology.
Stack’s About Page (excerpt):
I am a writing professor who has spent years studying ancient philosophies and how they inform the writing process. Writing technologies are always changing… but the art of rhetoric is always there to help us understand those changes.
I explore and teach the right use of ancient and new technologies to break old ways of thinking, so that you can:
Create new content online.
Clearly communicate research insights.
Impact the world with your ideas.
Find creative solutions to problems through writing
Recommended Taster Post: 3 Simple Ways to Build GPTs
Create. Innovate. Educate.
My 02: This stack just launched in the last few days. I’m able to highly recommend it because, as I mentioned in a note: “Alicia is a brilliant educator, a brilliant creator, a brilliant techie, and probably most of all, a brilliant person to watch a World Cup Final with. I can’t wait to see what she shares here.”
Stack’s About Page (excerpt):
This is a personal Substack of Alicia Bankhofer, and educator in Vienna, Austria. Alicia Bankhofer teaches English and Digital Literacy in Vienna, Austria. She also trains teachers in developing digital competency in all subjects. Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, she has resided near Vienna, Austria since 1994.
Recommended Taster Post: The Work of a Teacher is A Changin' 🎵
That’s all I’ve got for today, as I mentioned above I will probably end up being forced to do another of these because of all the great publications I come across in Substack. I hope you’ll enjoy discovering one or more of these publications.