Doug Turnbull
@softwaredoug.bsky.social
Search at Reddit, formerly Shopify and OpenSource Connections. Helped write Relevant Search / AI Powered Search
http://softwaredoug.com
http://softwaredoug.com
Tomorrow Tuesday Trey and I host Piotr Kobziakowski who will be discussing personalization with sparse vector retrieval and visual language models
maven.com/p/b5ee84/per...
maven.com/p/b5ee84/per...
Personalized Relevance with VLMs and Sparse Vectors
In today's data explosion, delivering personalized search results at scale is crucial. This talk introduces sparse tensors for compact representations, shows how VLMs mimic human visual processing to ...
maven.com
February 16, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Tomorrow Tuesday Trey and I host Piotr Kobziakowski who will be discussing personalization with sparse vector retrieval and visual language models
maven.com/p/b5ee84/per...
maven.com/p/b5ee84/per...
First class starts today, then prices go up to $1600 for late entrants at 12:30 PM ET
maven.com/softwaredoug...
maven.com/softwaredoug...
Cheat at Search with Agents by Doug Turnbull on Maven
Rethink search to put tireless agents at work for human users
maven.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:46 PM
First class starts today, then prices go up to $1600 for late entrants at 12:30 PM ET
maven.com/softwaredoug...
maven.com/softwaredoug...
Thursday I'm hosting Ewan Nisbet who will share his learnings using LiteLLM to control costs
maven.com/p/e28c57/avo...
maven.com/p/e28c57/avo...
Avoiding expensive AI surprises with LiteLLM
LLMs have lowered the barrier to experimentation, but raised the risk of silent, unbounded cost. For individual engineers and small teams, the gap between “enterprise best practices” and day-to-day re...
maven.com
February 3, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Thursday I'm hosting Ewan Nisbet who will share his learnings using LiteLLM to control costs
maven.com/p/e28c57/avo...
maven.com/p/e28c57/avo...
Reposted by Doug Turnbull
Reposted by Doug Turnbull
I'm up for naming and shaming companies/orgs. with ample $$$$$ who have created a safety hazard w/ untouched sidewalks
* The Flats on West Main
* Bank of America on the Corner
* UVa, who mostly did great, for RBB btwn Grove & King Sts. still untouched
Who/where else?
* The Flats on West Main
* Bank of America on the Corner
* UVa, who mostly did great, for RBB btwn Grove & King Sts. still untouched
Who/where else?
January 30, 2026 at 11:13 AM
I'm up for naming and shaming companies/orgs. with ample $$$$$ who have created a safety hazard w/ untouched sidewalks
* The Flats on West Main
* Bank of America on the Corner
* UVa, who mostly did great, for RBB btwn Grove & King Sts. still untouched
Who/where else?
* The Flats on West Main
* Bank of America on the Corner
* UVa, who mostly did great, for RBB btwn Grove & King Sts. still untouched
Who/where else?
Reposted by Doug Turnbull
I started submitting snow removal violations on the My Cville app this morning for the first time this week. If kids are going to go to school on Monday we need all these sidewalks cleared.
I'm up for naming and shaming companies/orgs. with ample $$$$$ who have created a safety hazard w/ untouched sidewalks
* The Flats on West Main
* Bank of America on the Corner
* UVa, who mostly did great, for RBB btwn Grove & King Sts. still untouched
Who/where else?
* The Flats on West Main
* Bank of America on the Corner
* UVa, who mostly did great, for RBB btwn Grove & King Sts. still untouched
Who/where else?
January 30, 2026 at 12:48 PM
I started submitting snow removal violations on the My Cville app this morning for the first time this week. If kids are going to go to school on Monday we need all these sidewalks cleared.
A parenting lesson I forget/relearn over and over:. When I spend time outdoors, my kids (on average) spend more time outdoors.
We need free range parents to have free range kids.
We need free range parents to have free range kids.
February 1, 2026 at 10:30 PM
A parenting lesson I forget/relearn over and over:. When I spend time outdoors, my kids (on average) spend more time outdoors.
We need free range parents to have free range kids.
We need free range parents to have free range kids.
Cheat at Search with Agents starts NEXT WEEK. Prices go up Monday
January 30, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Cheat at Search with Agents starts NEXT WEEK. Prices go up Monday
Will agents replace search teams? (a discussion)
YouTube video by Doug Turnbull
www.youtube.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:14 PM
I love models implemented in spreadsheets. Fun things coming on the newsletter
January 28, 2026 at 7:18 PM
I love models implemented in spreadsheets. Fun things coming on the newsletter
What happens when housing is cheap in red states, but blue states restrict it
January 28, 2026 at 5:58 PM
What happens when housing is cheap in red states, but blue states restrict it
Coding becomes like writing.
It's a skill. But its accessible to everyone. Very few people do it directly as a job, but everyone does it as part of their job.
Learn about a specific market / problem space and make coding (and writing) a part of your job.
It's a skill. But its accessible to everyone. Very few people do it directly as a job, but everyone does it as part of their job.
Learn about a specific market / problem space and make coding (and writing) a part of your job.
January 28, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Coding becomes like writing.
It's a skill. But its accessible to everyone. Very few people do it directly as a job, but everyone does it as part of their job.
Learn about a specific market / problem space and make coding (and writing) a part of your job.
It's a skill. But its accessible to everyone. Very few people do it directly as a job, but everyone does it as part of their job.
Learn about a specific market / problem space and make coding (and writing) a part of your job.
I'm trying to wrap my head around agents impact on search. Join me as we explore together.
Feb 2nd, prices go up. Feb 9th last day to signup
maven.com/softwaredoug...
Feb 2nd, prices go up. Feb 9th last day to signup
maven.com/softwaredoug...
Cheat at Search with Agents by Doug Turnbull on Maven
Rethink search to put tireless agents at work for human users
maven.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:53 PM
I'm trying to wrap my head around agents impact on search. Join me as we explore together.
Feb 2nd, prices go up. Feb 9th last day to signup
maven.com/softwaredoug...
Feb 2nd, prices go up. Feb 9th last day to signup
maven.com/softwaredoug...
Friday Daniel Tunkenlang and I will host a discussion with an intentionally hyperbolic title
Hope to see you there!
maven.com/p/66212a/wil...
Hope to see you there!
maven.com/p/66212a/wil...
Will agents replace search teams? A discussion
Exhilarating and terrifying - that's AIs potential on the search industry. We all feel it. Can we plan for it? For our career? For our teams?
Depending who you ask either nothing or everything is cha...
maven.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Friday Daniel Tunkenlang and I will host a discussion with an intentionally hyperbolic title
Hope to see you there!
maven.com/p/66212a/wil...
Hope to see you there!
maven.com/p/66212a/wil...
Reposted by Doug Turnbull
There were very few search rerankers specifically for e-commerce queries.
Until now, that is.
RexRerankers by Walmart Tech MLEs is a suite of 5 SOTA rerankers ranging from 17M to 0.6B parameters.
Details in 🧵:
Until now, that is.
RexRerankers by Walmart Tech MLEs is a suite of 5 SOTA rerankers ranging from 17M to 0.6B parameters.
Details in 🧵:
January 26, 2026 at 9:20 AM
There were very few search rerankers specifically for e-commerce queries.
Until now, that is.
RexRerankers by Walmart Tech MLEs is a suite of 5 SOTA rerankers ranging from 17M to 0.6B parameters.
Details in 🧵:
Until now, that is.
RexRerankers by Walmart Tech MLEs is a suite of 5 SOTA rerankers ranging from 17M to 0.6B parameters.
Details in 🧵:
Reminder I do daily search tips via email
January 24, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Reminder I do daily search tips via email
Hey in ~1.5 hrs, @jnbrymn.bsky.social will talk about why RAG is not a vector search problem
maven.com/p/93a8f0/rag...
maven.com/p/93a8f0/rag...
RAG isn't a vector search problem
RAG is often framed as a vector search problem, turning it into a black box of embeddings and magic. This lesson shows how RAG doesn’t have to be opaque – starting from traditional search, you can inc...
maven.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Hey in ~1.5 hrs, @jnbrymn.bsky.social will talk about why RAG is not a vector search problem
maven.com/p/93a8f0/rag...
maven.com/p/93a8f0/rag...
I have coded since 4th grade and I’ve never had more of an emotional rollercoaster about my identity as a “programmer” as in the last year given how good AI has gotten. I think antirezs post gives me the most hope
antirez.com/news/158
antirez.com/news/158
Don't fall into the anti-AI hype - <antirez>
antirez.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:10 PM
I have coded since 4th grade and I’ve never had more of an emotional rollercoaster about my identity as a “programmer” as in the last year given how good AI has gotten. I think antirezs post gives me the most hope
antirez.com/news/158
antirez.com/news/158
A reminder my Cheat at Search Essentials course returns a week from Tuesday
softwaredoug.com/blog/2025/12...
softwaredoug.com/blog/2025/12...
Free course: Cheat at Search Essentials
A free introductory search course for anyone who wants better search without all the hard work
softwaredoug.com
January 11, 2026 at 6:54 PM
A reminder my Cheat at Search Essentials course returns a week from Tuesday
softwaredoug.com/blog/2025/12...
softwaredoug.com/blog/2025/12...
"Semantic search" doesn't always mean embeddings. There are many ways of representing similarity spaces that have different pros and cons.
LLMs actually make many non-embedding approaches easier
softwaredoug.com/blog/2026/01...
LLMs actually make many non-embedding approaches easier
softwaredoug.com/blog/2026/01...
Semantic Search Without Embeddings
Pay attention to the other ways to model similarity and filter search results
softwaredoug.com
January 8, 2026 at 7:58 PM
"Semantic search" doesn't always mean embeddings. There are many ways of representing similarity spaces that have different pros and cons.
LLMs actually make many non-embedding approaches easier
softwaredoug.com/blog/2026/01...
LLMs actually make many non-embedding approaches easier
softwaredoug.com/blog/2026/01...
Friday! We'll hear from @dep4b.bsky.social who will teach us about using agents to tune OpenSearch Relevance
maven.com/p/012bcb/tun...
maven.com/p/012bcb/tun...
Tuning the Tuners-Can agents automate OpenSearchs relevance?
We all know coding can be semi-automated. But can search relevance tuning?
Using the Strands SDK, Eric recently finished a project to build a multi-agent system to tune this incredibly complex system...
maven.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Friday! We'll hear from @dep4b.bsky.social who will teach us about using agents to tune OpenSearch Relevance
maven.com/p/012bcb/tun...
maven.com/p/012bcb/tun...
I had no idea how bad fashion is for the environment. I was right to be mad at all the needless clothes for Christmas
earth.org/fast-fashion...
earth.org/fast-fashion...
Fast Fashion and Emissions: What’s the Link? | Earth.Org
Aside from polluting waterways, fabric proction is one of the primary causes of greenhouse gas emissions in the fast fashion industry.
earth.org
January 5, 2026 at 2:25 PM
I had no idea how bad fashion is for the environment. I was right to be mad at all the needless clothes for Christmas
earth.org/fast-fashion...
earth.org/fast-fashion...