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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · 6d

Thinks: I can go one more week without a haircut.

Finally sits in barber’s chair: What the hell was I thinking?!

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · 7d

Very cool! The Nook team have built a referral system, allowing one #communityenergy network to receive referrals from Birmingham healthcare orgs *and then push* cases into the relevant partner groups’ CRM.

Mind. Blown. 🤯

Project writeup coming! #civicrm #fuelpoverty

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · 9d

Our next online NookCRM community meetup is this Wednesday! Come talk about #communityenergy case management, find out about this whacky CRM stuff and more! Energy advisor, manager, developer - all are welcome at casa Nook this Wednesday 😉 🥳

#fuelpoverty

Nook CRM Community Hour

Monthly online sessions for existing Nook users, developers, and potential users, to connect, ask questions, and share insights.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · 11d

Like all businesses #coops need good financial planning to survive. I’m really happy to come across this super simple method of illustrating your business’s financial health for your team: the £1 model.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=IwoU...

The £1 Model Explained w/ Ai Van Kok

YouTube video by workerscoop

m.youtube.com

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · 12d

I’m dying! 🤣

Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 13d

Doing 5Live in a minute on ID cards and I'm wracking my brain as to why anyone would need an ID card to report a pothole? Could people get some kind of gold star for reporting more than 10 potholes? Penalised for reporting too many? WHAT IS THE USE CASE?

The public back a “super-digital identity card” to report potholes and missed bin collections, a report by Tony Blair’s institute has suggested.

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · 16d

This week the NookCRM team are bopping about to the news of: welcoming our 12th #communityenergy org to our CRM pilot AND our becoming a member of @commenergyengland.bsky.social 🥳🎉🥳

A map of England overlaid with the text “I’m a member Community Energy England”

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · 16d

Hi Josef! I did yes. Great minds think alike! They reached out a while back and they also came to one of our NookCRM community hour sessions. Hopefully this is the start of some fruitful connection 😇

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Aug 28

This

Clara Greo @claragt.bsky.social · Aug 28

Friends, using gen AI to create user personas is a *really* awful idea.

🚩☹️🚩

This suggestion comes from the AI Knowledge Hub prompt library on GOV .uk. Here's the problem:

AI is designed to give you back only what you already know. It will generate what it thinks you want to hear.

a section of an HTML page showing the text:

Persona-Based User Stories
Develops user stories tailored to different personas based on their goals and challenges

User Research - Stakeholder Engagement - Project Planning
Usage notes
This prompt is intended to support early thinking and ideation. Use it as a companion to spark discussions. It is not a substitute for user research. Always validate insights through real engagement with users.
The prompt
Copy prompt
Project Overview: [BRIEF, 1-2 SENTENCE SUMMARY OF YOUR PROJECT]

Personas: [PROVIDE PERSONAS]

Instructions: Using the provided personas, create a set of user stories that will guide the development of this project.

User Story Format: As a <type of user>, I want to <feature/function> so that <reason/benefit>.

INVEST Criteria:

Independent: User stories should be independent of each other.
Negotiable: The specific details of a user story can be negotiated.

12 equity and justice questions about AI

These questions help teams think through and talk about the consequences of using AI.

This will help mitigate possible harms, consider hidden effects and check in against organisational values.

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Aug 26

Brilliant idea! Thank you - we'll get on it :)

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Aug 20

Levant hawkmoth. Just hanging out. 🦋

A very large brown moth in the corner of a dusty window frame.

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Aug 19

Working in tech is weird and wobbly right now. So this month I joined a tech union. Maybe you should too?

#uxdesign #techjobs #holdsteady

Designer? Now is the right time to join a tech union | Open UX Design

Now is the time to claim and exercise what power you have as a designer, before it’s too late. The tech jobs market is changing. For devs and designers this is especially true, and we see it ourselve...

community.openux.design

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Aug 19

Yes good point! We'll have a think about that and maybe give it a tweak ;)

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Aug 19

Now this is a lovely development. We're starting a regular community of practice for NookCRM users + #communityenergy groups to talk approaches, opine about case management and to generally swap notes. Come join!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nook-crm-c...

Nook CRM Community Hour

Monthly online sessions for existing Nook users, developers, and potential users, to connect, ask questions, and share insights.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Aug 19

It took me a while to write this, so excuse me bumping it again! #systemsthinking #uxdesign

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Jul 14

As a designer, you have more levers than you think at your disposal: societal, communal, commercial. Do more with them! www.richardedwards.me/pushing-agai...

Pushing against the system - designing for real change

Take a second to consider this design challenge, which was used in a local government design activity I recently took part in. 👇 Household waste is rife. So how might we tackle it? How might we help ...

www.richardedwards.me

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Aug 8

Fully restored from holidays and it’s time to get back into UX! Come UX with me & the Open UX Design community this September 💃🏻🧑‍💻🥳

community.openux.design/c/events/ope...

#uxdesign #uxui

Open UX Design #19 - Come UX with us | Open UX Design

Come, do your UX work with us. You'll be amazed at how productive you can be. 1. Turn up with some work you want to focus on 2. Tell us what you want to do 3. Get to work 4. And after an hour, tell us...

community.openux.design

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Jul 17

More happy tidings! Nook, our CRM for #communityenergy groups, has secured a second batch of funding from the Energy Redress Scheme to develop improved reporting features for orgs working against #fuelpoverty and for #WarmHomes 🥳

nookcrm.com

Nook CRM

The open source client and case management tool for community energy groups.

nookcrm.com

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Jul 16

I'm reeaally excited by these forthcoming workshops from the ex-Innovation Lead at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park 🤩🤩🤩 Technology readiness targets ✔️, evidence frameworks ✔️, it's got it all!
#innovation #startups #socialimpact

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/designing-...

Designing and Running an Impactful Pilot Project: Laying the Groundwork

Develop a Theory of Change, define scope, duration, and SMART KPIs to guide your success.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Richard Edwards

CarolineJMolloy @carolinejmolloy.bsky.social · Jul 15

So much more that could be said about this.

The other day I heard about a previously independent older lady who no longer drives to her social group (or anywhere much) because… she finds the endless parking apps impossible.

Just one more tiny exclusion in the name of “tech efficiency”.

East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · Jul 15

We're building a world that's easy to use…if you're young, sighted, able-bodied and tech-savvy.

But what happens when you're not?

Digital Exclusion is real. And it’s growing.

Kate Moore reports. #AccessibilityMatters

Stay young – the online world isn’t designed for the old

Technology should empower, not exclude. For many, ageing means lost independence in a digital online world built without them in mind

eastangliabylines.co.uk

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Jul 14

As a designer, you have more levers than you think at your disposal: societal, communal, commercial. Do more with them! www.richardedwards.me/pushing-agai...

Pushing against the system - designing for real change

Take a second to consider this design challenge, which was used in a local government design activity I recently took part in. 👇 Household waste is rife. So how might we tackle it? How might we help ...

www.richardedwards.me

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Jul 10

And that fungus is the cutely named King Alfred’s Cakes 🧁🔥😂

Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Jul 10

Yesterday we held a fantastic event for #LondonDataWeek, gathering urban ecology data, talking about citizen science, and connecting with lovely people!

A man speaks to a group of people in the street about infrastructure to increase ecological stability.

A photo of a black ball like fungi on a tree called King Alfred’s Cakes

A photo of a wild barley growing amongst leaves.

A group of people in a room sitting around three tables, talking. A slideshow is visible presented on screen in the background

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Reposted by Richard Edwards

Brighton & Hove Energy Service Co-op @bhesco.bsky.social · Jul 9

Earlier this year, the UK Govt held a Select Committee which examined how to unlock the potential of #CommunityEnergy.

Here were the findings from Session 2

bhesco.co.uk/blog/unlocki...
#CEF2025

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Reposted by Richard Edwards

Vica @vicarogers.bsky.social · Jul 4

Good to see #TechSovreignity front and centre at #CoopCongress. The #coop movement needs to be bolder and braver in controlling its own tech. We have the resources. We just need to channel them appropriately.

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Jul 4

I’m off to #CoopCongress today in the incredible Rochdale Town Hall. I mean, just look at it!

I’m hoping to build some solid connections & opportunities for the coop tech sector 🥳 #coops

A photo of the interior of Rochdale Town Hall, with high arched ceilings and stained glass windows reminiscent of a grand church but actually depicting scenes of trade and history.

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Richard Edwards @richardedwards.me · Jul 3

Today I got a cold call from someone selling business financing. On asking, they said they’d got my personal phone number from Lusha - an AI powered prospecting tool.

“But don’t worry it’s all okay with GDPR”

We said most #AI would be used for marketing. Welcome to the enshittification. 😂

A screenshot of Lusha.com. It promises:

Al Recommended Lists
Get an Al-powered personalized recommendations lists of companies and decision makers you should talk to, based on your ICP without manually

A screenshot of Lusha.com. It promises:

Al Prospect Playlists
Turn any prospect list you've created into a live list with a never-ending stream of new leads—tailored to you. Set the frequency, choose how many, and get fresh prospects added automatically.

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