Recently I have undertaken the Green Software for Practitioners (LFC131) course and exam from the Linux Foundation which I found to be an informative course. I decided to write this article as it is a course that I would recommend to IT Professionals no matter what specialism you have. It is also a free course and exam that provides a certificate and digital badge that show you have an understanding of the topic and some principles to apply to help reduce carbon emissions.
The course covers the topic list below in good detail and provides an insight into each area, with a knowledge check at the end.
Carbon Efficiency
Energy Efficiency
Carbon Awareness
Hardware Efficiency
Measurement
Climate Commitments
The exam is 20 questions and requires an 85% pass mark in order to complete.
This course may not provide all the answers but does provide a good level for you to understand the topic.
Further Reading
To provide some further reading on climate change the article linked below is one that I helped write on preparing your business for climate change.
“Staying ahead of the curve” is an important skill set for any technologist. Knowing what is going on both internally to your company and externally, builds your knowledge capability from following strategy to identifying trends and innovation provides you with an edge to being technologist.
Information and technology is evolving at a rapid rate, so how can you stay ahead of the curve? This is something that needs a multifaceted approach dedication is a hard task to know everything so you have to build your own information strategy and filter what is important and what is just noise or not relevant.
Below are some essential strategies to help you to stay ahead of the curve.
Embrace a Growth Mindset
Learning increases your understand and get to grips with technology and business skills. These should be balanced with soft skills to help make you a more rounded technologist. Coined by psychologist Carol S. Dweck, a Growth Mindset is the belief that one’s abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work, and resilience. This mindset is in stark contrast to a fixed mindset, which assumes that intelligence and talent are innate and unchangeable.
Networking encompasses the art of building meaningful relationships, fostering connections, and creating a collaborative community. Just as computer networks enable the flow of information, networking with people propels the exchange of ideas, opportunities, and support.
Building a Professional Network: A strong professional network can open doors to opportunities, provide valuable insights, and support your career journey. Focus on Quality Connections to build out your network and prioritise meaningful relationships over a large number of contacts. Its not about numbers but how you connect with your network.
Joining Tech Communities and Forums: Participate and join industry-specific organisations, alumni groups, and online communities which will help grow your knowledge, skills and connections. Joining professional organisations such as the BCS can provide access to a wide areas of knowledge and professionals.
Attending Meetups and Networking Events: There are lots of meetups and events that can come from joining communities. Events both physical and virtual are a good platform to meeting others with similar technological mindsets. This is also a method to build your professional network.
Knowledge Exchange: Networking is a two-way street where professionals share insights, experiences, and knowledge. Engaging with peers, both online and offline, allows technologists to tap into a vast pool of expertise. Whether it’s troubleshooting code, discussing the latest frameworks, or sharing project experiences, networking facilitates meaningful knowledge exchange.
Early Access to Information: Being part of a network often means gaining early access to information. Whether it’s insider tips on upcoming technologies, insights into industry shifts, or exclusive event invitations, networking provides a conduit for staying ahead of the curve. Platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter can be powerful channels for real-time updates.
Mentorship Opportunities: Establishing connections with experienced professionals opens the door to mentorship opportunities. A mentor can provide guidance, share industry wisdom, and help navigate the complexities of career growth. Mentorship relationships foster continuous learning and personal development.
Tech News and Trends
Keeping updated on the latest trends and developments in both the technology and business sectors is a key activity for any technologist. This includes understanding how emerging technologies may impact various industries and be aware of the business challenges and opportunities associated with these changes.
Newsfeed: Create a personalised newsfeed using diversified sources to provide up to date news and trends on the topics that are of interest to your area of technology. Consider expanding to other areas to learn new things. Looking at different industries and technology areas can often bring fresh and new perspectives on things, whilst also providing possible innovation ideas.
Newsletters: Subscribe to newsletters from reputable tech publications. They often curate relevant articles and deliver them directly to your inbox.
Podcasts: Listening to a diverse set of podcasts can provide insights and opinions into business, technology and news.
Blogs: Follow technology blogs that cover industry trends, product launches, and expert insights. Regularly reading blog posts can keep you informed.
Understanding the Business Side of Technology
As a technologist, it’s imperative to move beyond the confines of it, coding and technical expertise to comprehend the broader business implications work and projects. Understanding the business side of technology is a transformative skill set that not only enhances individual career prospects but also positions the technologist as a professional integral to organisational success.
Stay Informed About Industry Trends: Keep yourself updated on the latest trends and developments in both the technology and business sectors. Understand how emerging technologies may impact various industries and be aware of the business challenges and opportunities associated with these changes.
Read Business Literature: Reading business-oriented literature helps to expand your thinking and mindset beyond a technical view. Sources such as industry reports, business magazines, and books can provide insights into the strategic aspects of technology in business.
Engage in Cross-Functional Collaboration: Actively seek opportunities to collaborate with professionals and key stakeholders from different departments within your organisation. Engaging with colleagues from different departments can provide valuable perspectives on how technology aligns with and supports various business outcomes and functions.
Attend Business Conferences and Seminars: Participate in conferences and seminars that focus on the intersection of technology and business. These events often feature industry leaders sharing insights into how they leverage technology to achieve business objectives.
Build Relationships with Business Stakeholders: Identify and develop relationships with key stakeholders in your organisation. Regular conversations with these individuals can provide valuable insights into the business goals and challenges that technology can address.
Understand Financial Implications: Learn the basics of financial principles and how they relate to technology projects. This will help you to understand and how to assess the costs and benefits of technology initiatives, and how to communicate these aspects to non-technical stakeholders.
Map Technology Solutions to Business Objectives: Always keep the broader business objectives in mind when working on technology projects. Understand how the project / your work contributes to the organisation’s outcomes and business goals will allow you to articulate the business value of solutions.
A year ago I wrote about the hidden cost of reading articles and visiting websites. Cookies were created in 1994 by Lou Montulli who was a web browser programmer at Netscape Communications at the time. Cookies are an important part of a site being able to provide information and help track a user with purchasing items and store items in their basket. They also help provide marketing revenue for sites and clicks to products based on a users usage habits.
However 30 years on from the first cookie, is our relationship with cookies becoming more strained? 2024 will see more developments with cookies and API’s as a replacement and this year will see more developments in this area.
I regularly clear out my cookies via an automated task, I get the inevitable popup and text, asking me to accept cookies to proceed to the site I am on. Sites can create and track their own cookies, and some use third party tools and services to provide cookies and manage them.
Visiting a site I get a popup asking me to share access to my device and data allowing 1550 other companies to store and access cookies on my browser. This is isn’t really something I want to do and dont really have anything to do with the site I am visiting. Only the ability to Accept All is available and I do not really want to spend the time checking through 1550 partners to see what they really want to do on my device. No thanks. I will find the information or product via a different site that provides better options to manage these.
These services do have a Reject All option, but some sites choose not to display this ability.
Whilst there is a need for cookies, I can’t help but wonder how many people just click the accept all button and how many people will really sit and review the information on the 1550 partners that their data will be shared with?
Browser companies have already started to block or phase out support for third party cookies for the past couple of years. The 4th January 2024 marks the start of Google starting to phase out the use of third party cookies, with a full phasing out by the end of Q3 2024.
Third-party cookies are the main mechanism that enables cross-site tracking. Several major browsers have either already placed restrictions on third-party cookies in some way or are planning to. Third-party cookies also enable many valid use cases, such as managing state in embedded content or enabling user sessions across multiple sites.
As part of the Privacy Sandbox project, Chrome is phasing out support for third-party cookies and proposing new functionality for cookies along with purpose-built APIs to continue supporting legitimate use cases while preserving user privacy. The phase out will be gradual and starts from January 4th, 2024 with disabling third-party cookies for 1% of users to facilitate testing.
As 2024 begins I have updated my PKMS (Personal Knowledge Management System) to keep up with the latest developments in knowledge management and my own priorities. You can use this as a pattern to help create your own PKMS and stay informed and ahead of the curve.
A PKMS is a system that can help you manage and organise personal knowledge, which includes information that is relevant to your personal and professional life.
A well crafted and maintained PKMS can provide a capability for:
Continuous Learning:
Together with a growth mindset a PKMS facilitates a structured approach to acquiring, organising, and reviewing knowledge.
Increased Productivity:
Access to relevant organised information as you need it, keeping you ahead of the curve.
Knowledge Retention:
Ability to store and retrieve information as required in an organised repository.
Adaptability:
Technology, Information and Data evolves on a daily basis and it is important to stay informed.
I still believe strongly in separating my personal social and business social, although there is the occasional need for the two to cross. These are the tools that I use. There are lots of other tools available that you could use to build a PKMS yourself.
Personal Life
Personal Journal
My go to notebook of choice for Journaling is still the Moleskine plain pocket book and I am on journal number 37, soon to be no 38. Its quality and paper is good enough for my needs and archival quality. I still favour the Pilot ball ink pens (0.5 or 0.7) as they flow nicely on the page. See my blog post No batteries required for further details.
Social Media
In keeping my work life separate from my personal life, I use platforms such as Instagram and Facebook for friends and family with appropriate two factory and security settings in place. Even with those settings you still need to consider that once something is online, it could be public in the future.
Professional Life
Research
This is split into several areas and these are a few of the inputs that I use to grab information, feeds, data from:
Streaming Services
RSS Feeds
Podcasts
TED Talks
Web Searches
Blog Posts
Courses
Reading
This is a high level list of the types of content that I gain information from for research and learning.
Streaming Services covers platforms such as YouTube. The availability of cameras and online streaming platforms, more content is being made available and recorded by people to pass on their knowledge.
RSS Feeds low my to pull updates from sites into Feedly.
Podcasts cover both Audio and Video casts that I watch/stream online or download to my Phone / Media Player (Audio and Videos) to listen to when I am on journeys in the car or other transportation methods or out walking the dog. Daily walks with the dog provide a good time to listen to these.
The amount of online learning available today is huge from free MOOC’s (Massive Open Online Courses) to paid for course such as Udemy and LinkedIn. Lots of vendors now provide a good level of free training for their products and solutions. This category also covers courses that I can take through work.
Feedly
Feedly provides an aggregation tool which I use to collect the stories from blogs and web sites. This provides a list of stories that can be scanned tin a few minutes on a single screen without going via multiple sites. Clicking on a story will bring up a snippet from the source site and provide the link to read the source article if required. Using a series of key strokes you can read the headlines, then move down the articles at a reasonable speed, stopping and opening when needed.
Sources can be categorised to allow an all view or just whats new in a category.
Thinking Time
Thinking Time covers the time that I spend absorbing the PKMS information coming in from the different sources and then also process and apply in different ways. It is also good to spend time reflecting on what I have learnt and think of different and new way to use the information and learnings.
Note Taking
I use two tools now for note taking, OneNote and Obsidian. I favour obsidian as it uses markdown which I use a lot in GitHub for documentation, and its ability to structure data in a logical way and allows you to query data in an interactive graph.
Blogging and Being Social
Following my Thinking Time I gather my thoughts and research and write these down through my blogs and podcasts and publish these on Social Media, WordPress and GitHub.
AI
I have not yet introduced any AI to my PKMS, but hopefully in 2024 I will find the right tool to help automate and filter the information I am consuming and keep me on top of my learning.
Further Reading
If you are looking for inspiration in creating your own PKMS, Reddit has a great list of PKMS tools that is worth a look and a discussion board on setting up a PKMS.
Today’s world is rapidly changing, driven in part by technology, which has become a driving force behind virtually every industry. Technological advancements are reshaping the way we live and work in both work and home life. For professionals across various fields, the journey through their careers is now marked by witnessing paradigm shifts brought about by these tech evolutions.
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
George Bernard Shaw
What is a Paradigm Shift
Paradigm Shifts were first wrote about by Thomas Kuhn in his influential work “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.” Khun used the term in relation to natural sciences, however the concept has also been used in non-scientific contexts such as in business and technology. A paradigm shift refers to a fundamental change in the way something is understood, interpreted, or approached. In the context of science and technology, a paradigm shift occurs when the dominant and accepted way of thinking, problem-solving, or conducting activities in a particular field is replaced by a new and often revolutionary perspective.
Paradigm shifts can be both disruptive and challenging as they can challenge existing ways of thinking, norms, practices and beliefs. Paradigm shifts go beyond just change as they can change the underlying assumptions and methodologies. They can often lead to on one hand ambiguity and on the other innovations and changes that can reshape. It is better to embrace these paradigm shifts and changes although they may be unsettling, and remove the ambiguity through research, questioning and expanding upon the area covered, embracing the unknown.
In the context of technology, paradigm shifts occur when new breakthroughs or innovations redefine the normal of an industry, often rendering old methods or tools obsolete. There have been many examples of this through time from the Industrial Revolution to semiconductors and communications. Consider how many shifts have happened to the industries involved for the device your reading this blog on.
How can you navigate Paradigm Shifts
There are several steps you can take to help navigate these paradigm shifts:
Continuous Learning and Upskilling: Keeping up to date and staying relevant is an important factor to adapt and work with new paradigm shifts as they happen. Using an IDP (Individual Development Plan) to map out your training needs provides a good way of ensuring you are looking at the right areas to develop yourself in. Recording learning in a CPD record allows you to reflect on what you have learnt and allow for and direction changes in your IDP. There are lots of good ways to learn from course to webinars and blogs.
Adopting a Growth Mindset: Having a Growth Mindset in which you are comfortable with the amount of change and the rapid paradigm shifts that are happening is about growing yourself through being curiosity and a willingness to fail fast and learn from your mistakes. The term Growth Mindset comes from the study and theory of Dr Carol Dweck that intelligence can be developed. This can be applied to every person young and old to reach higher levels of achievement.
Researchand Insights: Building a PKMS (Personal Knowledge Management System) is a good way of gaining information, research and insights into new and emerging paradigm shifts. These can help with learning and upskilling.
Networking and Collaboration: Building a strong professional network can provide you with insights into emerging trends and technologies. Using channels such as LinkedIn can provide access to thought leadership posts, research and data from others that will help with navigating paradigm shifts. Collaborating with colleagues, attending industry events, and engaging in online communities can expose you to diverse perspectives and help you identify potential areas for growth.
Flexibility and Adaptability: Professionals who can adapt quickly to change and deal with ambiguity are better positioned to thrive. Being flexible in your approach to these paradigm shifts, work and open to new ways of doing things can set you apart with the rapidly changing world.
Embracing Interdisciplinary Knowledge: Many of today’s technological breakthroughs occur at the intersection of different disciplines, however it is important to consider the intersection of technology and ethics and the impact that this can have with any paradigm shift. Having a basic understanding of related fields can provide you with a broader perspective and enable you to contribute innovative solutions.
Leadership and Initiative: Being active and engage/embracing new technologies and paradigm shifts can become leaders in your field. Taking the above steps can help you to explore, learn and experiment with emerging technologies, trends and paradigm shifts as they occur. This can open the opportunity for you to position yourself as an early adopter, influencer and go-to leader for your peers.
A new article on the BBC website caught my attention this morning “Warning firms may use brain data to watch workers“. Research and development into the ability to use brain waves and patterns to control things and help people interact with the real world has been going on for some years. Timely as I picked up a copy of 1984 by George Orwell at a jumble sale last month to reread again and am part way through the novel at the moment.
“Brain waves were first discovered in animals in 1875. Hans Berger was the first to record them in humans in 1925. He was so surprised by the results that he did not publish them until 1929 and was met with skepticism for some time. But by the 1950s, EEGs became widespread in its use for detecting brain activity. ”
Fast forward to modern times and Elon Musk is capturing the news with his Neuralink brain chip research into developing a chip that can be placed inside a human head to interface with things. Musk isn’t the only company developing this type of technology and the patents for different techs are being created and filed.
Regulatory bodies and governments are moving at pace to ensure that a good level of legislation, governance and regulation sits across the fast moving technology breakthroughs. There has already been legislation, guidance and strategies published by many countries on emerging technologies such as AI and Quantum Computing.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK have previously released insight on Biometrics and is not looking into Neurotechnology.
Are we heading into the world of cyborgs. Most probably yes. There are already products available to hack your body with from magnets to NFC and RFID chips to open doors and make payments which can be implanted into your hand.
Back to the news article I opened this blog with and a number of questions immediately jump out, will companies / governments be able to read our thoughts in the future? Will Thinkpol become a reality? What does this type of technology do to GDPR and other regulations? What is the intersection between AI and Neurotechnology and what is the impact? There are lots of questions like this which are aimed to be looked at in the ICO’s insight into Neurotechnology and other reports and investigations being carried out.
The benefits though to medicine and helping people is huge and all points of view should be considered and well balanced when looking at the pros, cons and regulation of this emerging technology.
Its too early to answer any of these yet however it is an interesting area of technology that is developing rapidly and one to watch.
The competition was open to all primary and secondary schools in the UK and this is its 10th year of running.
Judging the entries was a great experience, taking part in three of the panels in the North West. It was interesting to see the unconstrained thinking of the Young People and as the entry levels grew in ages, the more constraints that could be seen and number of entries.
There were some excellent entries looking at innovative solutions to real world problems, but I cant mention any due to the competition rules.
Its great that these types of competitions exist and would encourage schools to get involved with Primary Engineer and their competitions.
In today’s digital age, it’s more important than ever to cultivate the skills and mindset necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Technology is advancing at a rapid rate – The Digital Era is enabling “A Growth Mindset in the Age of Abundance”’ – keeping up can be a challenge.
Being a 21st century human means being adaptable, flexible, and technologically literate.
So what can you do to become a 21st century human?
1. Embrace Lifelong Learning
One of the most important things you can do to become a 21st century human is to embrace lifelong learning. This means being curious and constantly seeking new knowledge and skills, whether it’s through formal education or informal learning opportunities. In the digital age, new technologies and tools are constantly emerging, and staying up-to-date on the latest trends and developments is essential for staying relevant. Online learning is bringing new opportunities to learn new skills rapidly and through the growth of the internet you can find information quickly.
2. Develop Digital Literacy
Another key aspect of being a 21st century human is developing digital literacy. This means having a basic understanding of how digital technologies work, as well as the ability to use them effectively. Some key digital literacy skills include:
Basic computer skills, such as typing, using a mouse, and navigating software programs
Online communication skills, such as email etiquette, video conferencing, and instant messaging
Social media skills, such as creating and managing profiles, sharing content, and engaging with others
Cybersecurity awareness, such as understanding the risks of online behavior and how to protect your personal information
Another Digital Literacy skill you may wish to undertake is to learn a programming language. Not necessarily to become a programmer, but to understand how code works and how to read code. There are plenty of resources online and videos on learning and picking up these skills.
3. Cultivate Soft Skills
While technical skills are important, being a 21st century human also requires cultivating soft skills such as communication, collaboration, and problem-solving. These skills are essential for working effectively in a team, managing conflicts, and adapting to change. Some ways to develop these skills include:
Volunteering or participating in community activities
Joining a club or organization related to your interests
Taking courses or workshops on communication and leadership
To be successful in the 21st century, it’s important to stay current with industry trends and developments. This means keeping up with news and developments in your field, attending conferences and networking events, and staying connected with colleagues and industry experts. Some ways to stay informed include:
Finally, being a 21st century human means being adaptable and resilient in the face of change. This means being willing to learn new skills, take on new challenges, and embrace new technologies and tools. It also means being able to bounce back from setbacks and failures, and to persevere in the face of obstacles.
Becoming a 21st century human isn’t something that happens overnight, it takes time to develop yourself and change your mindset, but through taking regular steps you can change your habits to be a 21st century human.
Whether you’re just starting out in your career or looking to make a change, cultivating these skills and qualities can help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of the 21st century. (2020 – The Age of Ambiguity)
Technology has always brought ethical dilemmas throughout the ages from the rise of machinery in cotton mills to facial recognition today. With the rise of technology in modern society, this has also led to the increase of various ethical dilemmas, challenging us to navigate the intersection of technology and ethics.
Our ability to report and consume information has made a lot of these dilemmas more visible to everyone and allowed society to debate them as these can have significant implications on individuals, society, and the environment. As technology evolves it is important to consider the ethical implications and ensure they align with human values and benefits humanity.
Here are some of the ethical considerations of technology to consider;
Privacy: The collection, storage, and use of personal data are among the most significant ethical concerns in technology. Laws such as GDPR exist to help with this and help guide on what is and is not acceptable/possible.
Bias: The development and use of technology can perpetuate biases, such as gender or racial bias, and lead to discrimination. AI is a good example of this it is essential to ensure that algorithms and technologies are developed and tested to prevent biases and align with ethical principles. Also to ensure fairness in the algorithms decision’s
Impact on Jobs: Will AI take peoples jobs? This is a topic I have blogged about before “I lost my job to a robot“. The increasing use of artificial intelligence and automation raises questions about the impact on jobs and the workforce.
Cybersecurity: The more we store and use technology the more we can be vulnerable to cyber-attacks and data breaches, posing risks to individuals’ privacy and security. Good cybersecurity and good end user practices are key to the success of any technology.
Environmental impact: The production and disposal of technology can have significant environmental impacts, including pollution and waste. It’s crucial to prioritize sustainable practices, such as using eco-friendly materials and implementing recycling programs.
Access and Inequality: Technology can perpetuate existing social and economic inequalities by limiting access to technology and excluding marginalised groups. The digital divide between those that can readily access and those that can’t is a big problem for society today.
As technology develops it is important that we look to continually monitor the impacts and make adjustments to ensure that it aligns with ethical principles. Ultimately, technology is best placed to improve the human experience while considering the impact on society, the environment, and future generations.
From prehistoric time painting the number of mammoth killed of food, to the first weather forecast recorded and in present times the number of followers and posts someone has made, humanity is obsessed with data, and its growing exponentially. At the same time we seem to be afraid of pressing delete and put our minds to working out new ways to record, analyse and report on things.
Through data we are able to find new ways of doing things, fixing things and developing new things across multiple fields and disciplines. Datafication is a term that was introduced in 2013 and covers how we are turning data in to useful things today.
Our smartphones, fitness trackers, and even our cars are collecting data about us and the world around us.
In the age of information, data is everywhere. From the time we wake up in the morning to the moment we fall asleep at night, we are surrounded by data.
What is Datafication?
Datafication is a technological trend turning many aspects of our life into data which is subsequently transferred into information realised as a new form of value.
Datafication is the process of turning everything into data. It involves collecting, storing, analysing, and using data to make decisions and predictions. Datafication has become increasingly popular in recent years due to the rapid advancement of technology and the rise of big data. With the advent of the internet and the proliferation of connected devices, we are generating more data than ever before.
The amount of data generated each day varies and is difficult to precisely measure since it depends on multiple factors such as the sources of data and the definition of what constitutes “data.” However, it’s estimated that around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created each day.
This number is constantly increasing as more devices and systems become connected to the internet and generate data, and as technology advances to enable the creation of more data types, such as videos, images, and sensor data. Additionally, with the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence, there is an increasing need for vast amounts of data to train these algorithms, further driving the growth of data creation
Why is Datafication Important?
Datafication has become an important aspect of modern society because it has the potential to improve the way we live, work, and play. By analysing data, using tools, methods and AI we can gain insights into everything from consumer behavior to traffic patterns to the spread of diseases. This information can be used to make better decisions, optimise processes, and solve problems.
One area where datafication has had a significant impact is healthcare. With the help of wearable devices and electronic health records, healthcare providers can collect and analyse data to monitor patient health and identify potential health risks. This has the potential to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.
Datafication has also had a significant impact on business. By collecting and analysing data on customer behavior, businesses can gain insights into what their customers want and need. This information can be used to improve products and services, optimise pricing strategies, and target marketing efforts.
The Risks of Datafication
While datafication has many benefits, it also comes with risks. One of the biggest risks is the potential for data breaches and privacy violations. As more and more data is collected and stored, the risk of a data breach increases. This can result in the theft of personal information, financial data, and other sensitive information.
Another risk of datafication is the potential for bias. When data is collected and analysed, it is important to ensure that the data is representative and unbiased. If the data is biased, it can lead to inaccurate conclusions and decisions.
The Future of Datafication
Datafication has given the opportunities for new roles in data analysis to become commonplace and help drive businesses through new ways of looking at data.
Conclusion
Datafication is a powerful tool that has the potential to improve the way we live, work, and play. As data continues to play an increasingly important role in our lives, it is important to ensure that we use it responsibly and ethically.
Max Hemingway 