Phil Simon
Phil Simon
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I write about AI, the future of work, low-code/no-code, collaboration, communication, technology, and other topics. I pepper my posts with humor and pop-culture references. Oh, and I freakin’ despise jargon and weak writing. Since 2008, I’ve penned thousands of posts, more than 1,400 of which live on this site.

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How AI Helps Me Understand My Author Royalty Statements
AI
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How AI Helps Me Understand My Author Royalty Statements

Thanks to today's tools, it's never been easier to derive insights from long, complicated PDFs and other unstructured data.
Superbloom
Book Reviews
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Superbloom

A belated look at Nicholas Carr's timely new book.
How Not to Write Marketing Copy
Jargon
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How Not to Write Marketing Copy

Revisiting the source of surprisingly toxic tech jargon and the perils of the single, bloated sentence.
Equal-Opportunity Hallucinator
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Equal-Opportunity Hallucinator

Deloitte's irresponsible use of AI serves as a valuable and embarrassing reminder of its limitations.
A Case Study in No-Code Failure
Citizen Development
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A Case Study in No-Code Failure

Tried-and-true organizational and human factors often cause new creations to falter.
On Employee Expenses, Lazy Managers, and AI Agents
AI
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On Employee Expenses, Lazy Managers, and AI Agents

Today's tech would have prevented a nasty dustup with my boss in 2000.
The AI Slop Paradox
AI
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The AI Slop Paradox

Drivel is everywhere today, and the problem will only intensify. AI is both a cause and a solution.
AI Book Settlement Tracker
AI
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AI Book Settlement Tracker

This new Notion template lets authors track key information about their pirated works.
Maslow Revisited
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Maslow Revisited

Launching new AI features is all fine and dandy, but companies would do well to remember the basics.
Vibe Coding With Opal
AI
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Vibe Coding With Opal

Experiments with Google's new no-code app creator and why AI deniers are in for a wake-up call.
The Year's Laziest Marketing Email
Communication
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The Year's Laziest Marketing Email

If you're going to engage with potential customers, offer something other than a transparent, pathetic reminder that you exist.
Adiós, Algorithms. Hello, Email. Remember Me?
Email
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Adiós, Algorithms. Hello, Email. Remember Me?

My custom system for consuming information wasn't ideal. I solved the problem by reevaluating my relationship with my longtime foe.
The Flip Side of Forced System Migrations
Enterprise Systems
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The Flip Side of Forced System Migrations

A sanguine post on the upside of tech change.
AI as an English-to-English Translator
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AI as an English-to-English Translator

Claude helped me solve a longstanding problem.
How I Use Notion
Notion
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How I Use Notion

The popular tool serves many simple purposes. Trust me, though. You're probably missing out on some less obvious ones.
Citation Sloths
Communication
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Citation Sloths

Quoting a stat in a post or video? Great. Respect your audience by bringing your receipts.
Battle of the LLMs
AI
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Battle of the LLMs

To answer a simple basketball question, I pitted Claude and ChatGPT-5 against each other. Let's see which tool won and what we can learn from the exercise.
ChatGPT-5 Still Makes Egregious Errors
AI
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ChatGPT-5 Still Makes Egregious Errors

OpenAI's new model is supposed to represent an improvement over its predecessor. Maybe it is, but it's nowhere near perfect.