January in the MacSparky Labs

The first month of the MacSparky Labs went swimmingly. I spent a lot of time working on the back end of things as I added features and figured out friction points. But I still got a lot shipped to the members. Here’s a list of content that got released in January.

  • January 27 – I released a video sharing the tech gear I bring with me on trips with the Backstage and Early Access members..
  • January 26 – I did a zoom call with Early Access members sharing how I’m using calendars these days. (It’s kind of nuts.)
  • January 25 – I released a screencast demonstrating how to capture ideas on the iPhone with shortcuts.
  • January 22 – I released the journaling webinar video to early access members …well … early.
  • January 21 – I released a walkthrough of me building a shortcut from scratch to manage scheduling new podcast episodes to the Backstage and Early Access members using Shortcuts, Obsidian, Mail, and Calendar for Backstage and Early Access members..
  • January 19 – I made of a video of myself building the slide deck for the Journaling webinar and narrated it with some of my favorite Keynote techniques for the Early Access subscribers.
  • January 18 – I made and released a screencast about how to capture ideas on the Mac using Keyboard Maestro and Obsidian.
  • January 17 – I released my video interview with Kourosh Dini to Backstage and Early Access members where we talked about DEVONthink, Obsidian, top-level task management, and music.
  • January 14 – We had the first MacSparky labs virtual meetup on Zoom for Backstage and Early Access members.
  • January 12 – I released of video of me setting up and testing vibration and leak sensors in my home. I also shared an unsuccessful experiment to rig up my mailbox with a vibration sensor. (I haven’t given up on that one yet.
  • January 10 – I shared a video update and an example of how I block schedule.
  • January 7 – I did my quarterly planning with a Zoom room full of Early Access subscribers.
  • January 5 – I made a video answering some of the most often asked qustions following my big announcemnt.
  • January 3 – I released my first video to the MacSparky Labs members

Turning Off the Tracking Pixel on the MacSparky Newsletter

I’m pleased to announce that today I was able to turn off the tracking pixel on the MacSparky Newsletter. Going forward, my newsletter subscribers will be sending me no data back. I’ve wanted to do this for some time, but just not had the ability. When ConvertKit (my newsletter service) announced their new beta “privacy-first” program, I jumped on it. So with the MacSparky Newsletter, the creepy switch is permanently set to “off”.

The MacSparky Mailing List

For years I’ve been getting emails from readers asking me to put together a regular newsletter. I’ve decided to commit and start making a monthly newsletter. The newsletter will have some original content and point at other content that I hope is interesting. I’ll be publishing the first such newsletter this week so if that’s your thing, go sign up.