Journal

Notes from running a privacy-first digital practice. Working with AI, ethical tech, digital privacy, tools, case studies, and essays on focus and rhythm.

• Claude Design's Animation Feature: Building a Night Sky in Code

  Working with AI · 27 Jun 2026 · 5 min read

  How I built an animated night sky in Claude Design's animation feature, what it can do on a client's website, and how to embed, present or deploy what you make.

• When a Cloudflare Worker Beats Zapier or Make

  Working with AI · 16 Jun 2026 · 6 min read

  A client's learner progress lived in Thinkific, the operational records in Airtable, and keeping them in step was a manual job. Zapier or Make would be most people's answer. Here is why a small Cloudflare Worker was the better tool for this particular job, and how a non-developer can build one.

• When the Built-In Airtable Dashboard Can't Answer the Question

  Working with AI · 11 Jun 2026 · 5 min read

  Airtable's route to letting a wider group see a base is the Portals add-on, billed every year. This client did not pay it. I built a read-only dashboard on Cloudflare instead, for a hosting bill that rounds to nothing, and it answers the questions Airtable's own dashboard could not.

• Leaving Zapier Without Leaving the EU

  Ethical Tech · 31 May 2026 · 6 min read

  Zapier is American, and in 2026 that is more than a GDPR question. Putting this much of a practice in US hands has started to look unwise, whatever the compliance paperwork says. Here is what the European alternatives offer, and the catch that decides whether switching changes anything.

• What Owning a Website Used to Mean, and What It Could Mean Again

  Essays · 26 May 2026 · 5 min read

  For about fifteen years, owning a website has meant renting one. The trade was reasonable when the alternative was hard. Two things have changed, and the question worth asking now, as your next annual renewal comes around, is whether the trade still is.

• The Best GDPR-Compliant Form Builders for 2026: An Ethical Tech Review

  Ethical Tech · 23 May 2026 · 13 min read

  I went looking for a form builder I could trust with GDPR-sensitive Cyber Essentials data. Six contenders, one clear winner (Tally), one near-miss disqualified after a US acquisition, and several almost-rans. Here is the sovereignty-first review.

• A One-Page Website Built in an Afternoon, Hosted for Free

  Case Studies · 20 May 2026 · 7 min read

  A retiring client didn't want to keep paying for Squarespace on a site he'd update twice a year. I built him a one-page site with Claude Design in an afternoon. It now lives on Cloudflare for free. This is the case for asking what the platform subscription is actually doing for you.

• SeaTable: An Ethical, GDPR-Native Alternative to Airtable for Small Teams

  Ethical Tech · 19 May 2026 · 11 min read

  Why I moved Sophie's Bureau's CRM and project tracking off Airtable onto SeaTable, a German-built no-code database with EU data residency by default. With a side-by-side comparison and a serious look at why the free plan is enough for most solo operators.

• Building an EU-Residency AI Stack for a Small Consultancy

  Ethical Tech · 15 May 2026 · 12 min read

  The companion to the AI Act guide: where do you actually send your client data if you would rather not send it through US infrastructure? A practical look at the EU and Swiss AI tools a small consultancy can run in 2026, with the trade-offs visible.

• The EU AI Act for Small Consultancies: A Plain-Language Guide to the August Deadline

  Ethical Tech · 14 May 2026 · 12 min read

  The next major EU AI Act deadline lands on 2 August 2026. Most coverage is written for enterprise compliance teams. The rules also apply to solo consultants, coaches, and small values-led businesses, even when nobody seems to be writing for that audience. Here's what's actually in scope, what isn't, and what to do about it before summer.

• Brave Flagged My Colour Picker as Malware. So I Rebuilt My Browser Extensions With Claude

  Digital Privacy · 6 May 2026 · 9 min read

  The Chrome Web Store has a supply chain problem. After Brave disabled my colour picker as malware, I replaced the extensions I rely on by writing my own with Claude, with code I can read line by line.

• Two Days, One Website (and Three More Days Cleaning Up)

  Working with AI · 3 May 2026 · 10 min read

  I rebuilt this site with Claude Design in two days and spent another three days untangling the deployment with Claude Opus. The breathless version of the story leaves the second part out — so this is the fuller account, with all the dead ends and what they taught me about where AI ends and the human starts.

• Why I Switched to Simple Analytics (And Removed Google Analytics From My Sites)

  Digital Privacy · 20 Apr 2026 · 5 min read

  Google Analytics was sitting on my websites while I wrote about data sovereignty. That gap bothered me greatly so I switched. This is the account of moving first to Fathom, then to Simple Analytics.

• Cloudflare Workers Changed How I Think About Protecting Digital Products

  Case Studies · 4 Apr 2026 · 7 min read

  I needed to protect a paid web app from link sharing without building a login system or paying for a platform. Cloudflare Workers and KV gave me unique, revocable access links for each buyer, automated delivery through Zapier, and usage monitoring. Total running cost: zero.

• Parental Controls After Thirteen

  Digital Privacy · 2 Apr 2026 · 12 min read

  My child removed Google Family Link the day she turned thirteen. Here's what I found when I went looking for what comes next, including the operator-level controls already built into European mobile contracts.

• How a Free Tool Became a Paid Product (And Why It Took AI and a Human to Build It)

  Case Studies · 1 Apr 2026 · 9 min read

  A free binaural beats generator became a paid skincare product. This is how it happened, what AI made possible, and what it couldn't do without me.

• The Attention Economy Wants Your Creativity Next

  Essays · 28 Mar 2026 · 5 min read

  Social media hollowed out our attention. Now AI is arriving into what's left. This piece explores what the attention economy has taken from us, why creativity requires conditions that technology consistently dismantles, and why using AI with intention is critical.

• When the World Feels Too Heavy to Change

  Essays · 26 Mar 2026 · 7 min read

  The freeze you feel when the news gets too much is rational. Specific, concrete steps for moving out of it, when the scale of the problem feels crushing.

• The 45 Minutes Before I Open My Laptop

  Essays · 22 Mar 2026 · 22 min read

  Every morning, before I touch my laptop, I sit with headphones on for 45 minutes. No email. No notifications. Just sound. Why, what the research says, and how.

• How to Leave Meta: Get Your Data Off Facebook and Instagram

  Ethical Tech · 15 Mar 2026 · 14 min read

  Before you delete Facebook or Instagram, you need to export your photos, check which apps use Facebook login, and understand what Meta keeps even after you're gone. This guide walks through the whole process in the right order.

• When We Stop Trusting Humans, Who Do We Hand the Power To?

  Essays · 14 Mar 2026 · 21 min read

  Gaza. A war on Iran. The Epstein files. When trust in human institutions collapses, who fills the vacuum? Algorithms are already making decisions about lives.

• Ditching Perplexity & Comet: A Guide to Ethical AI Alternatives

  Ethical Tech · 11 Mar 2026 · 20 min read

  A scored guide to ethical AI alternatives after leaving Perplexity and Comet. 14 research and in-browser tools ranked by ethics, capability, and real-world use.

• Why I Left WhatsApp: The Best Private Messaging Alternatives in 2026

  Digital Privacy · 8 Mar 2026 · 18 min read

  I did not leave WhatsApp because of a single incident. The private messaging apps worth using in 2026, the ones to watch, and the one to avoid.

• Why I Cancelled ChatGPT

  Ethical Tech · 1 Mar 2026 · 7 min read

  In February 2026 I cancelled my paid ChatGPT subscription after OpenAI’s Pentagon deal. This is why Claude became my primary AI, and how I moved my work across.

• Leaving Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for Mastodon and Pixelfed

  Ethical Tech · 21 Feb 2026 · 11 min read

  I'm moving away from Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn towards ethical social media. Here's why, what I chose instead, and what happened when I posted my first message on Mastodon.

• How Claude Built a Custom MailerLite Newsletter Header and Footer

  Case Studies · 10 Feb 2026 · 10 min read

  MailerLite's drag-and-drop editor is fine for newsletter content. Your header and footer deserve more. How I built custom HTML bookends with Claude, no code.

• How Claude Created a Branded PowerPoint Slide from My Data (in One Session)

  Case Studies · 7 Feb 2026 · 13 min read

  I asked Claude to take raw data, run the analysis, and produce a presentation-ready PowerPoint slide with charts, branding, and accurate calculations. Here is what happened and why I think this changes the way I work.

• Why Time Management Fails When You're Overcommitted

  Essays · 1 Feb 2026 · 4 min read

  Overcommitment isn't a time problem. It's a timing problem. Learn why capacity planning works when time management doesn't, especially if you're a people pleaser who keeps saying yes.

• Professional Email Signature Design Using Claude AI (Step‑by‑Step Guide)

  Tools & Tutorials · 29 Jan 2026 · 3 min read

  Professional email signature design doesn’t need a subscription or a bloated tool. This post shows how you can use Claude as a coding partner to design a clean, reliable email signature that works across multiple email clients.

• My 2026 AI Stack: AI Tools for Calm, Human-Led Digital Operations

  Working with AI · 14 Jan 2026 · 12 min read

  The AI tools I use in my digital operations business, organised by thinking, making, and running. Assessments of Claude, Mistral, Leonardo AI, Make, Zapier, and more.

• How I Made a 90-Second AI Animated Reel Using 9 Tools (and What I Learned)

  Case Studies · 4 Jan 2026 · 9 min read

  A reflection on creating the "Timing, Not Time" animated reel using 9 AI tools. What worked, what didn't, and what I learned about creative collaboration with AI.

• The Inbox Irony: How I Reclaimed 42 Hours Without Adding Another Task

  Tools & Tutorials · 1 Jan 2026 · 2 min read

  I help clients stay organised for a living. My own inbox became the neglected corner. Here's the tool that quietly fixed that, saving me 42 hours in 2025.

• Plants Are Part of Your Work Setup, Not Decoration

  Essays · 18 Nov 2025 · 4 min read

  Discover how plants in your workspace support clearer thinking, reduce mental fatigue, and make your working day feel more manageable.

• When the Sun Has a Bad Day (And So Do You)

  Essays · 15 Nov 2025 · 6 min read

  Explore how solar storms can sap your energy and focus, and discover practical ways to plan, adapt and work more kindly with your biology.

• Brave Browser for Business: Why Privacy-First Browsing Matters (and What to Use Instead of Chrome)

  Digital Privacy · 5 Nov 2025 · 3 min read

  Privacy-first browsing protects your business from data collection and security risks. Discover why security-conscious teams are making the switch to Brave.

• What Five Rounds of Correction Taught Me About Briefing AI

  Working with AI · 30 Oct 2025 · 5 min read

  A composite case study from a workflow simulation, and what changed about how I brief AI tasks now. The basic checks AI does not run unless you tell it to.

• The Complete Squarespace Blog SEO Pack: A Free Prompt Template

  Tools & Tutorials · 27 Oct 2025 · 8 min read

  Squarespace blog SEO takes 30–45 minutes per post done right. This free prompt generates every metadata field you need in under 5 minutes. Copy, paste, publish.

• Protecting Your Business in 2025: AI Prompt Injection Risks and Why No AI Browser Is Fully Safe

  Digital Privacy · 24 Oct 2025 · 5 min read

  Recent headline breaches reveal that AI agents face significant security threats, particularly prompt injection attacks. Discover how browser-based AI tools like Comet offer superior protection.

• 10 Practical, In‑Browser Comet AI Use Cases You Can Try Today

  Working with AI · 20 Oct 2025 · 7 min read

  Ten in-browser Comet AI tips to tidy your day: inbox clean-up, triage, meeting prep, Squarespace QA, quick research, web-to-CSV, competitor checks and travel plans.

• Tiny AI and Edge AI for Small Businesses

  Working with AI · 17 Oct 2025 · 8 min read

  Fast, private AI on your own computer: what Tiny AI and Edge AI mean, when to use them, the easiest tools to install, and a starter workflow anyone can run.

• Little Wins, Big Calm: Effortlessly Float Your Lightbox Form Button in Squarespace

  Tools & Tutorials · 11 Oct 2025 · 2 min read

  Effortlessly boost enquiries and bookings on your Squarespace site with this simple floating button trick that keeps your call-to-action always visible and easy to click.

• Comet AI Browser Review: Fast, Focused, and Flawed

  Working with AI · 8 Oct 2025 · 7 min read

  I tested Comet in late 2025 and recommended it for creative work alongside Brave for sensitive tasks. Six months later, I dropped Comet entirely. What I found, and why I changed my mind.

• How to Remove Duplicate Google Business Profiles (and Protect Your SEO & Privacy)

  Tools & Tutorials · 5 Sept 2025 · 4 min read

  Duplicate Google Business Profiles can hurt your SEO and expose your home address. Here’s how to remove them and protect your privacy in 2025.

• 🔐 BYOD Cyber Security Check-In Toolkit

  Digital Privacy · 30 Aug 2025 · 2 min read

  A simple check-in tool to keep personal devices secure and compliant in your BYOD organisation.

• Why AI Still Needs a Human Digital Operations Partner (Like Me)

  Working with AI · 1 Aug 2025 · 6 min read

  Six months in, the tools are sharper and more wrong, and the human part of the work has grown more, not less, valuable. How I use (and check) AI in real client work.

• From LetGoIQ to Triage: rebuilding a delegation tool, a year on

  Case Studies · 27 Jun 2025 · 5 min read

  A year after LetGoIQ launched, I rebuilt it as Triage. Same decision logic, three structural changes, and a real address of its own. What I changed, what stayed, and why it left the Claude artifact behind.

• Supporting a Client’s Cyber Essentials Journey as a Digital Operations Partner

  Case Studies · 2 Jun 2025 · 2 min read

  How a technical deep dive into Cyber Essentials helped a consultancy client get organised, secure, and surprisingly empowered.

• AI Strengths & Weaknesses Assessment

  Working with AI · 23 Apr 2025 · 2 min read

  A free prompt that asks an AI to identify specific repeated patterns in how you work, with quoted examples. Pattern recognition, not horoscope.

• Interview with an AI: Inside Sophie’s Bureau, Updated for 2026

  Case Studies · 17 Apr 2025 · 6 min read

  In 2025 I interviewed ChatGPT about my practice. In 2026 I asked Claude the same questions. Here is what an AI partner I actually use has to say.