Rod McLaren
@rodm.bsky.social
Writing words for climate and digital, for orgs like Sport England, FF, ustwo, Public Digital, [redacted] and you. Ex Co-op, Mobbu, ECK.L, F365. Was @rod in the other place.
closed 689 browser tabs, is that bad
November 8, 2025 at 6:05 PM
closed 689 browser tabs, is that bad
Is your system accountable to Newton, Darwin or Octavia Butler? www.holdfastprojects.com/accountable-...
Is your system accountable to Newton, Darwin or Octavia Butler? - Rod McLaren: Words that work
1 September 2025 Woodrow Wilson, 1908: “government is not a machine, but a living thing. It falls, not under the theory of the universe, but under
www.holdfastprojects.com
September 5, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Is your system accountable to Newton, Darwin or Octavia Butler? www.holdfastprojects.com/accountable-...
Great list of working in the open examples by @gilestur.bsky.social . Challenge for product and comms teams: in an quanty era of metrics, how do we *prove* the value to orgs of working in the open?
I’m often asked for examples of good ‘working in the open’ - so I’ve made a list of some of my favourites, and I’ll do my best to keep it updated as I hear about new ones. It’s called “Doing open”
gilest.org/doingopen/
gilest.org/doingopen/
July 25, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Great list of working in the open examples by @gilestur.bsky.social . Challenge for product and comms teams: in an quanty era of metrics, how do we *prove* the value to orgs of working in the open?
Recommended: Estimating digital carbon emissions workshop www.holdfastprojects.com/greenweb - by @mrchrisadams.bsky.social and Katrin Fritsch of Green Web Foundation - helpful on measuring emissions of digital services, and energising!
Recommended: Estimating digital carbon emissions workshop - Rod McLaren: Words that work
17 June 2025 I joined a really good workshop on Estimating digital carbon emissions by Chris Adams and Katrin Fritsch of the Green Web Foundation
www.holdfastprojects.com
June 17, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Recommended: Estimating digital carbon emissions workshop www.holdfastprojects.com/greenweb - by @mrchrisadams.bsky.social and Katrin Fritsch of Green Web Foundation - helpful on measuring emissions of digital services, and energising!
Animals! Thoughtful discussion! This will be good
Yo I'm doing starting a new thing. Slow reading! Online! Animals!
Open to anyone, with no prior reading or experience needed to join other than an interest in animals and reading with others.
soniaturcotte.com/animali/
Open to anyone, with no prior reading or experience needed to join other than an interest in animals and reading with others.
soniaturcotte.com/animali/
May 12, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Animals! Thoughtful discussion! This will be good
the AIs don't know what their carbon emissions are www.holdfastprojects.com/chat-carbon-... , so does the first AI co to publish its emissions get a reputational boost?
Do the AIs know their carbon emissions? No. - Rod McLaren: Words that work
8 May 2025 Can the big AIs tell you what their carbon emissions are? On the whole, not really because no-one discloses emissions, so while some AIs
www.holdfastprojects.com
May 12, 2025 at 8:24 AM
the AIs don't know what their carbon emissions are www.holdfastprojects.com/chat-carbon-... , so does the first AI co to publish its emissions get a reputational boost?
Reposted by Rod McLaren
If you're a UK-based technologist who's had enough of extractive platform capitalism and wants to act in solidarity to build something better, please fill in this survey and share with others www.careful.industries/blog/2025-4-...
Survey: Society for Hopeful Technologists — Careful Industries
Are you a UK-based technologist interested in joining a body that acts in solidarity against the excesses of extractive platform capitalism? Complete this survey to help shape the Society for Hopef...
www.careful.industries
April 26, 2025 at 7:55 AM
If you're a UK-based technologist who's had enough of extractive platform capitalism and wants to act in solidarity to build something better, please fill in this survey and share with others www.careful.industries/blog/2025-4-...
find yourself a confident team like this and let it rip (I still chuckle too!)
I still chuckle at this report cover sometimes. Grateful to work with a team who are confident enough to inject personality and wit into the work. What's the point otherwise?
cc @soniaturcotte.bsky.social @rodm.bsky.social @eliotf.bsky.social
cc @soniaturcotte.bsky.social @rodm.bsky.social @eliotf.bsky.social
April 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
find yourself a confident team like this and let it rip (I still chuckle too!)
You can put a carbon.txt file on your website so your org's sustainability disclosures are discoverable, says carbontxt.org. Er I think mine works www.holdfastprojects.com/carbon-text
carbon.txt makes sustainability data easier to discover and use on the web. Carbon.txt is a single, discoverable location on any web domain for public, machine-readable, sustainability data relating to that company.
carbontxt.org
April 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
You can put a carbon.txt file on your website so your org's sustainability disclosures are discoverable, says carbontxt.org. Er I think mine works www.holdfastprojects.com/carbon-text
Reposted by Rod McLaren
This work from FF studio 👏
Any org who provides grants/gives away money, take a look Applicable EVERYWHERE
Supportive for users, good for orgs
www.ff.studio/projects/gra...
Big up Debs Durojaiye @abscond.org who worked on it
Supported by @annagoss.co @eliotf.bsky.social
@rodm.bsky.social
Any org who provides grants/gives away money, take a look Applicable EVERYWHERE
Supportive for users, good for orgs
www.ff.studio/projects/gra...
Big up Debs Durojaiye @abscond.org who worked on it
Supported by @annagoss.co @eliotf.bsky.social
@rodm.bsky.social
FF Studio - Why public sector grantmaking needs better tools
FF Studio - Don’t take grants for granted: why public sector funding needs better tools
www.ff.studio
April 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
This work from FF studio 👏
Any org who provides grants/gives away money, take a look Applicable EVERYWHERE
Supportive for users, good for orgs
www.ff.studio/projects/gra...
Big up Debs Durojaiye @abscond.org who worked on it
Supported by @annagoss.co @eliotf.bsky.social
@rodm.bsky.social
Any org who provides grants/gives away money, take a look Applicable EVERYWHERE
Supportive for users, good for orgs
www.ff.studio/projects/gra...
Big up Debs Durojaiye @abscond.org who worked on it
Supported by @annagoss.co @eliotf.bsky.social
@rodm.bsky.social
Reposted by Rod McLaren
we've written up some work exploring what grants might look like if power between grantseeker:grantmaker got slightly reshuffled, and if the technology UK gov used to give out £46bn of grants was an enabler rather than a constraint. grab a brew, enjoy
www.ff.studio/projects/gra...
www.ff.studio/projects/gra...
FF Studio - Why public sector grantmaking needs better tools
FF Studio - Don’t take grants for granted: why public sector funding needs better tools
www.ff.studio
April 22, 2025 at 1:52 PM
we've written up some work exploring what grants might look like if power between grantseeker:grantmaker got slightly reshuffled, and if the technology UK gov used to give out £46bn of grants was an enabler rather than a constraint. grab a brew, enjoy
www.ff.studio/projects/gra...
www.ff.studio/projects/gra...
last working day to top up ISAs and SIPPs this tax year, and several bonuses available for top ups and transfers
last working day of the tax year! if you've got some money sitting around not in an ISA (or a SIPP, always be pensioning), it might be a good day to move it into one. some platforms will even give you a cashmoney incentive to do so. we have researched which ones here.
2025.checksies.com
2025.checksies.com
Checksies - ISA and SIPP deals 2025
2025.checksies.com
April 4, 2025 at 12:02 PM
last working day to top up ISAs and SIPPs this tax year, and several bonuses available for top ups and transfers
Enforcing standards, better coordination and some market shaping can break vendor lock-in and improve local gov case management (social care, fostering etc) - a hard problem but necessary
Hi everyone, I wrote about the state of case management software in social care and local authorities.
In short; it is a hard nut to crack and one that can be cracked with commitment, coordination and central goverment involvement.
words.ff.studio/localgov-soc...
In short; it is a hard nut to crack and one that can be cracked with commitment, coordination and central goverment involvement.
words.ff.studio/localgov-soc...
Local gov care case management - a perfect storm of cost, coordination and vendor lock-in - FF Studio
Social care is the beating heart of how adults and children across the UK receive essential health and well-being support every day. But without
words.ff.studio
April 1, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Enforcing standards, better coordination and some market shaping can break vendor lock-in and improve local gov case management (social care, fostering etc) - a hard problem but necessary
Change is hard. But possible.
✅ Web traffic nearly doubled to the page
✅ Record applications for a two week period
✅ Record success rate for assessing those applications
✅ Fewer calls to our investment support helpline
Rarely have I been so proud
(Of course it could yet be a statistical anomaly)
✅ Record applications for a two week period
✅ Record success rate for assessing those applications
✅ Fewer calls to our investment support helpline
Rarely have I been so proud
(Of course it could yet be a statistical anomaly)
I'm working at Sport England on the Movement Fund
We give up to £15k to local projects to get people active. Especially people usually excluded from physical activity
We've just put out new guidance on how to apply:
www.sportengland.org/movementfund
I bet you know someone who should apply :)
We give up to £15k to local projects to get people active. Especially people usually excluded from physical activity
We've just put out new guidance on how to apply:
www.sportengland.org/movementfund
I bet you know someone who should apply :)
March 25, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Change is hard. But possible.
Reposted by Rod McLaren
decided to share my essay on The Fugitive since St. Patrick's Day aka Dr. Richard Kimble Day is nigh www.patreon.com/posts/fugiti...
March 11, 2025 at 3:21 AM
decided to share my essay on The Fugitive since St. Patrick's Day aka Dr. Richard Kimble Day is nigh www.patreon.com/posts/fugiti...
There's a deadline coming up for state pension top ups: 5th April 2025 buttondown.com/checksies/ar... - @annagoss.co and i wrote about the deadlines to fill national insurance gaps that are older than 6 years. Could be useful for freelancers.
✅ You've got a month to check your state pension
✅ Checksies Money things to read, money things to do. 7 March 2025 Hi, long time. This is Checksies. You signed up for it ages ago to get occasional money...
buttondown.com
March 10, 2025 at 10:43 AM
There's a deadline coming up for state pension top ups: 5th April 2025 buttondown.com/checksies/ar... - @annagoss.co and i wrote about the deadlines to fill national insurance gaps that are older than 6 years. Could be useful for freelancers.
Yes, wind farms sometimes make less energy during big storms www.holdfastprojects.com/feather_curt... (and even so we should still decarbonise our energy)
Yes, wind farms sometimes make less energy during big storms - Rod McLaren: Words that work
27 January 2025 More wind means more energy, except when the wind farm equipment must be protected or the grid balanced. Generators manage turbines
www.holdfastprojects.com
January 28, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Yes, wind farms sometimes make less energy during big storms www.holdfastprojects.com/feather_curt... (and even so we should still decarbonise our energy)
Weird, that $500bn stargate ai infra project www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24... is being built in a town that lent its name to a collective fallacy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abilene...
OpenAI and Softbank are starting a $500 billion AI data center company
Nvidia, Microsoft, and Arm are among the technology partners.
www.theverge.com
January 23, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Weird, that $500bn stargate ai infra project www.theverge.com/2025/1/21/24... is being built in a town that lent its name to a collective fallacy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abilene...
"all simian strolls in parker jackets" - good line
December 24, 2024 at 12:23 PM
"all simian strolls in parker jackets" - good line
great piece by @abscond.org on making Co-op membership matter more. In the same 2017ish era my take was: detach membership from Co-op-customer transactions and federate it www.holdfastprojects.com/radical-co-o...
December 11, 2024 at 2:49 PM
great piece by @abscond.org on making Co-op membership matter more. In the same 2017ish era my take was: detach membership from Co-op-customer transactions and federate it www.holdfastprojects.com/radical-co-o...
Nick Sprinz's latest newsletter is about designing optimistic infrastructure mailchi.mp/ustwo/optimi... - featuring brilliant ideas from @debcha.bsky.social @sarahtgold.bsky.social tgold.bsky.social @soniaturcotte.bsky.social @rangetherapy.bsky.social @amymcnichol.bsky.social
Optimistic infrastructure
mailchi.mp
November 29, 2024 at 1:42 PM
Nick Sprinz's latest newsletter is about designing optimistic infrastructure mailchi.mp/ustwo/optimi... - featuring brilliant ideas from @debcha.bsky.social @sarahtgold.bsky.social tgold.bsky.social @soniaturcotte.bsky.social @rangetherapy.bsky.social @amymcnichol.bsky.social
Great writeup of a fund for Sport England by great designer-researcher @soniaturcotte.bsky.social - it was a privilege to work with such a good team and I learned a lot
November 26, 2024 at 10:31 AM
Great writeup of a fund for Sport England by great designer-researcher @soniaturcotte.bsky.social - it was a privilege to work with such a good team and I learned a lot
3 reasons to start by rewriting the words www.holdfastprojects.com/start-with-w... , feat @tomski.com @benunsworth.bsky.social @escmum.bsky.social
Start with words - Rod McLaren: Words that work
Organisations know they want to change, but they often assume that the only way to change is to do a big technology project. They call in some big
www.holdfastprojects.com
November 12, 2024 at 1:15 PM
3 reasons to start by rewriting the words www.holdfastprojects.com/start-with-w... , feat @tomski.com @benunsworth.bsky.social @escmum.bsky.social
Reposted by Rod McLaren
You can now pre-order the I Thought About That A Lot book! ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
It includes 23 essays that we’ve published on ithoughtaboutthatalot.com between 2020 and 2023. As well as 3 that will be part of this year's advent calendar.
It includes 23 essays that we’ve published on ithoughtaboutthatalot.com between 2020 and 2023. As well as 3 that will be part of this year's advent calendar.
Shop – I thought about that a lot
A new anonymous essay published every day in December in the countdown to Christmas.
www.ithoughtaboutthatalot.com
November 12, 2024 at 10:40 AM
You can now pre-order the I Thought About That A Lot book! ithoughtaboutthatalot.com/shop
It includes 23 essays that we’ve published on ithoughtaboutthatalot.com between 2020 and 2023. As well as 3 that will be part of this year's advent calendar.
It includes 23 essays that we’ve published on ithoughtaboutthatalot.com between 2020 and 2023. As well as 3 that will be part of this year's advent calendar.