Brian Branagan
@bbranagan.bsky.social
Retired software test engineer still exploring the systems we live in.
“The end of illusion is the beginning of enlightenment.”
- Gerald Weinberg, author of Becoming a Technical Leader
“The end of illusion is the beginning of enlightenment.”
- Gerald Weinberg, author of Becoming a Technical Leader
Reposted by Brian Branagan
This is awesome: a "WKRP in Cincinnati" fan created a three-hour Johnny Fever radio block, by using clips from the TV show and dropping in the full songs on his intros and outros, plus commercials and Les Nessman news breaks.
WKRP: Johnny Fever
www.awphooey.com
August 14, 2025 at 11:02 PM
This is awesome: a "WKRP in Cincinnati" fan created a three-hour Johnny Fever radio block, by using clips from the TV show and dropping in the full songs on his intros and outros, plus commercials and Les Nessman news breaks.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Social media supercharged our disagreements. Could AI help us resolve them? buff.ly/P5zHGcU #ai #polarization #disagreement #ConversationalLeadership #socialmedia
Social media supercharged our disagreements. Could AI help us resolve them?
Duke sociologist Dr. Christopher Bail on the tech’s potential to foster empathy in an age of division.
bigthink.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Social media supercharged our disagreements. Could AI help us resolve them? buff.ly/P5zHGcU #ai #polarization #disagreement #ConversationalLeadership #socialmedia
Reposted by Brian Branagan
RIP Czech writer Milan Kundera, died this day 2023.
“In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.”
“There is no perfection only life”
“A single metaphor can give birth to love.”
“In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.”
“There is no perfection only life”
“A single metaphor can give birth to love.”
July 11, 2025 at 12:19 PM
RIP Czech writer Milan Kundera, died this day 2023.
“In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.”
“There is no perfection only life”
“A single metaphor can give birth to love.”
“In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.”
“There is no perfection only life”
“A single metaphor can give birth to love.”
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Small gestures such as eye contact or a smile, even from a stranger, can foster feelings of connection by signaling that our existence matters.
Republished by @greatergoodedu.bsky.social:
Republished by @greatergoodedu.bsky.social:
How to Connect With Strangers in Public Spaces
If we all gave each other a little more of our attention in public, we might feel less lonely and more connected.
buff.ly
June 29, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Small gestures such as eye contact or a smile, even from a stranger, can foster feelings of connection by signaling that our existence matters.
Republished by @greatergoodedu.bsky.social:
Republished by @greatergoodedu.bsky.social:
Reposted by Brian Branagan
While this is from the Covid era, it is still relevant.
April 12, 2025 at 2:07 PM
While this is from the Covid era, it is still relevant.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
“The study shows that putting the smartphone away may not be sufficient to reduce disruption and procrastination, or increase focus. The problem is not rooted within the device itself, but in the habits and routines that we have developed with our devices.”
Why Simply Putting Away Your Phone Won’t Help You Focus - Neuroscience News
A new study reveals that placing your smartphone out of reach doesn’t significantly reduce distraction or boost productivity.
neurosciencenews.com
March 30, 2025 at 4:37 AM
“The study shows that putting the smartphone away may not be sufficient to reduce disruption and procrastination, or increase focus. The problem is not rooted within the device itself, but in the habits and routines that we have developed with our devices.”
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Read @livgar.bsky.social’s report, “Doing the Work: Therapeutic Labor, Teletherapy, and the Platformization of Mental Health Care.” datasociety.net/library/doin...
Doing the Work: Therapeutic Labor, Teletherapy, and the Platformization of Mental Health Care
While platforms provide a new way for professionals to find patients, diminish administrative load, and earn additional income, providers have also increasingly been recruited into labor arrangements ...
datasociety.net
March 27, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Read @livgar.bsky.social’s report, “Doing the Work: Therapeutic Labor, Teletherapy, and the Platformization of Mental Health Care.” datasociety.net/library/doin...
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Ivan Sigal writes that many of us, caught in the amnesia of our endless scrolling, seem to have forgotten that we control our attention. But if enough of us act, he says, we will create the demand signal that builders of technologies that privilege human agency need to validate their work.
To Build a Better Democracy, Start by Rethinking Your Relationship to the Internet | TechPolicy.Press
Ivan Sigal writes that many of us, caught in the amnesia of our endless scrolling, seem to have forgotten that we control our attention.
buff.ly
March 27, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Ivan Sigal writes that many of us, caught in the amnesia of our endless scrolling, seem to have forgotten that we control our attention. But if enough of us act, he says, we will create the demand signal that builders of technologies that privilege human agency need to validate their work.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Really neat paper and resonates with my own experience with seniors in my life too
I just read Annette Gerstenberg & Heidi Hamilton's (2023) paper Older adults’ conversations and
the emergence of “narrative crystals”: A new approach to frequently told stories. A must for anyone with aging adults and/or with dementia in their lives! www.self-definingmemories.com/Older_adults...
the emergence of “narrative crystals”: A new approach to frequently told stories. A must for anyone with aging adults and/or with dementia in their lives! www.self-definingmemories.com/Older_adults...
www.self-definingmemories.com
March 10, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Really neat paper and resonates with my own experience with seniors in my life too
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Three ways to waste #time when working with others on a document: 1-Propose a change to a section of the document that was deleted two versions ago; 2-If you aren't very fussy or particular, pretend to be; 3-If you're very fussy or particular, act naturally.
Yet More Ways to Waste a Meeting
Experts have discovered that people have been complaining about meetings since the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BCE). Just kidding. But I'm probably right. As an aid to future archaeologists I offer this com...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
March 3, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Three ways to waste #time when working with others on a document: 1-Propose a change to a section of the document that was deleted two versions ago; 2-If you aren't very fussy or particular, pretend to be; 3-If you're very fussy or particular, act naturally.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Reposted by Brian Branagan
This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation religionnews.com/2025/02/06/t...
This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation
(The Conversation) — If you’re feeling disconnected from others, or just disenchanted with the day, you might consider trying loving-kindness meditation, writes a scholar of mindfulness.
religionnews.com
February 7, 2025 at 3:30 PM
This Valentine’s Day, try loving-kindness meditation religionnews.com/2025/02/06/t...
Reposted by Brian Branagan
The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.
— Howard Zinn
— Howard Zinn
February 6, 2025 at 3:54 AM
The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.
— Howard Zinn
— Howard Zinn
Reposted by Brian Branagan
As the social media landscape continues to fragment, @noupside.bsky.social has an excellent new piece looking at how moving from centralized to decentralized platforms could impact social cohesion and democratic consensus.
I wrote about “working the referees”, the potential shift from centralized platform empires to decentralized networks, & the trade offs it brings.
It’s unexpectedly timely given the Zuck announcement! But focuses on Bluesky extensively.
My new essay in @NoemaMag: www.noemamag.com/the-great-de...
It’s unexpectedly timely given the Zuck announcement! But focuses on Bluesky extensively.
My new essay in @NoemaMag: www.noemamag.com/the-great-de...
The Great Decentralization | NOEMA
What happens when sprawling online communities fracture into politically homogenous, self-governing communities?
https://www.noemamag.com/the-great-decentralization”
January 16, 2025 at 3:52 PM
As the social media landscape continues to fragment, @noupside.bsky.social has an excellent new piece looking at how moving from centralized to decentralized platforms could impact social cohesion and democratic consensus.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
The #PowerDistance of a team’s culture can limit its success with high-risk projects. In large power distance cultures, compensation distribution is very uneven and is biased in favor of power holders over their subordinates. Inequities are common. www.ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout...
Power Distance and Teams
One of the attributes of team cultures is something called power distance, which is a measure of the overall comfort people have with inequality in the distribution of power. Power distance can determ...
www.ChacoCanyon.com
January 14, 2025 at 7:01 PM
The #PowerDistance of a team’s culture can limit its success with high-risk projects. In large power distance cultures, compensation distribution is very uneven and is biased in favor of power holders over their subordinates. Inequities are common. www.ChacoCanyon.com/pointlookout...
Reposted by Brian Branagan
DIVE cards - guided reminiscence for ageing/dementia - using active engagement and storytelling.
Feedback on technique: the value of how sometimes other people or communities hold our memories for us. The storytelling of memories.
Feedback on technique: the value of how sometimes other people or communities hold our memories for us. The storytelling of memories.
January 9, 2025 at 12:26 PM
DIVE cards - guided reminiscence for ageing/dementia - using active engagement and storytelling.
Feedback on technique: the value of how sometimes other people or communities hold our memories for us. The storytelling of memories.
Feedback on technique: the value of how sometimes other people or communities hold our memories for us. The storytelling of memories.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
To be responsible is to be answerable or accountable for something within your power or control. Your responsibilities include all items for which you’re accountable. Authority is the power to decide issues or disputes. To be accountable is to be obliged to report, explain, or justify something.
On Delegating Accountability: I
As the saying goes,
www.ChacoCanyon.com
January 9, 2025 at 3:01 PM
To be responsible is to be answerable or accountable for something within your power or control. Your responsibilities include all items for which you’re accountable. Authority is the power to decide issues or disputes. To be accountable is to be obliged to report, explain, or justify something.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
"There can be no liberty for a community which lacks the means by which to detect lies."
-- Walter Lippmann
-- Walter Lippmann
January 8, 2025 at 4:54 PM
"There can be no liberty for a community which lacks the means by which to detect lies."
-- Walter Lippmann
-- Walter Lippmann
Reposted by Brian Branagan
"For the most part, we do not first see, and then define, we define first and then see."
-- Walter Lippmann
-- Walter Lippmann
December 31, 2024 at 4:09 PM
"For the most part, we do not first see, and then define, we define first and then see."
-- Walter Lippmann
-- Walter Lippmann
Reposted by Brian Branagan
You know why I love reading? These days it’s one of the few respites from being constantly advertised to.
December 31, 2024 at 4:54 AM
You know why I love reading? These days it’s one of the few respites from being constantly advertised to.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
If I gave you my email address to try a demo of your software three years ago, I don't need your holiday wishes.
If I gave you my email because I currently subscribe to your software, your Holiday Wishes email is a helpful reminder to cancel.
If I gave you my email because I currently subscribe to your software, your Holiday Wishes email is a helpful reminder to cancel.
December 30, 2024 at 10:32 PM
If I gave you my email address to try a demo of your software three years ago, I don't need your holiday wishes.
If I gave you my email because I currently subscribe to your software, your Holiday Wishes email is a helpful reminder to cancel.
If I gave you my email because I currently subscribe to your software, your Holiday Wishes email is a helpful reminder to cancel.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Scientific knowledge is always open to change and revision. This provisional nature of knowledge can be misunderstood as a flaw in the scientific method, leading to mistrust in scientific findings #science #scientificmethod #km #knowledge
The Provisional Nature of Scientific Knowledge | Conversational Leadership
The Scientific Method Understanding Scientific Terms Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Scientific knowledge is always open to change and revision. This provisional nature of knowledge can be…
buff.ly
December 18, 2024 at 9:05 AM
Scientific knowledge is always open to change and revision. This provisional nature of knowledge can be misunderstood as a flaw in the scientific method, leading to mistrust in scientific findings #science #scientificmethod #km #knowledge
Reposted by Brian Branagan
The House of Wisdom: Diverse cultures and disciplines converged in Baghdad’s House of Wisdom during the Islamic Golden Age, creating a unique hub for knowledge. #innovation #ConversationalLeadership #km #kmers #knowledgemanagement
The House of Wisdom | Conversational Leadership
Building 20 at MIT The Innovation Café Network Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Diverse cultures and disciplines converged in Baghdad’s House of Wisdom during the Islamic Golden Age, creating a…
buff.ly
December 16, 2024 at 2:45 PM
The House of Wisdom: Diverse cultures and disciplines converged in Baghdad’s House of Wisdom during the Islamic Golden Age, creating a unique hub for knowledge. #innovation #ConversationalLeadership #km #kmers #knowledgemanagement
Reposted by Brian Branagan
I’m going to say something historians rarely say.
We haven’t been here before.
We haven’t had a near-authoritarian takeover of our government.
Admittedly, we don’t know what comes next.
There’s a wide array of options.
But know that in the US, this is new ground. And none of this is normal.
We haven’t been here before.
We haven’t had a near-authoritarian takeover of our government.
Admittedly, we don’t know what comes next.
There’s a wide array of options.
But know that in the US, this is new ground. And none of this is normal.
November 19, 2024 at 2:48 AM
I’m going to say something historians rarely say.
We haven’t been here before.
We haven’t had a near-authoritarian takeover of our government.
Admittedly, we don’t know what comes next.
There’s a wide array of options.
But know that in the US, this is new ground. And none of this is normal.
We haven’t been here before.
We haven’t had a near-authoritarian takeover of our government.
Admittedly, we don’t know what comes next.
There’s a wide array of options.
But know that in the US, this is new ground. And none of this is normal.
Reposted by Brian Branagan
Silicon Valley and Route 128 once stood as hubs of technological innovation. Yet, their contrasting ecosystems led to different outcomes. We can understand how open networks and risk-taking cultures drive innovation by examining these differences. #km #kmers #innovation
Silicon Valley Versus Route 128 | Conversational Leadership
Introduction: Innovation The Innovation Café Network Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter Silicon Valley and Route 128 once stood as hubs of technological innovation. Yet, their contrasting…
buff.ly
November 17, 2024 at 8:54 PM
Silicon Valley and Route 128 once stood as hubs of technological innovation. Yet, their contrasting ecosystems led to different outcomes. We can understand how open networks and risk-taking cultures drive innovation by examining these differences. #km #kmers #innovation