I’ve been away from work for a while on parental leave. That time gave me the space to ask a question I hadn’t properly stopped to answer: what do I actually want from having a website and running social media?
My doctorate was completed earlier this year. It looked at developing digital literacy in academics. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made to keep that work inside academia. Everyone needs these skills, so why not support everybody?
That’s the idea behind The Digital Academic, and it’s why I’m rebranding. I’ve gone for a bright neon, slightly retro look. I like it. I’m not sure everyone will, but it’s mine.
What to expect
Over the last few months I’ve been working on my own digital sovereignty and digital literacy. That’s included moving across to Linux and experimenting with different AI models to see which work best and how to get the most out of them. Now I want to share what I’ve found and what I’ve learned.
I’ve set up a few places to do that:
- YouTube for videos
- Substack for writing
- Buy Me a Coffee for anyone who’d like to support the work
On money
I’m not expecting to become a millionaire, and I’m not aiming to make money from this at the moment. If people do want to support what I’m doing, it means I can put something back into the channel, such as equipment and resources. For example, I’d love to test things like USB cables, but I’d need a testing kit first. Even at around £40, that’s a real cost, and I’d like to keep the channel going and see how it develops.
Longer term, it would be lovely to become fully self-employed so I can be at home with my little one. We can all dream. And AI can’t take that away from us. Hopefully.
Why a blog?
I know not many people read blogs any more. I’m going to post the same content here and on Substack and see how each one goes.
So, here goes. Again.
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