iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 23/09/2026

I saw this screenshot shared round on how Noah Kagan believing that "Notion is cooked", all because Claude now has the ability create and edit interactive documents. He's not really making a detailed reason. Only saying that it's a waste of money to use Notion (and any tools like it) anymore.

Tweet by Noah Kagan: Notion is cooked. Claude quietly launched interactive docs. Tables, adding collaborators, charts, etc. Not sure why people would keep paying extra for Notion AI. Still using Notion? What's keeping you there?

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 03/09/2026

Most operational messes do not start as messes. They start as a sensible shortcut. Personal bank account, because opening a business one felt like admin. Passwords saved in the browser, because it was quicker. Invoices in Word, because it worked at the time. Processes kept in your head

Headline: 8 operational habits costing small businesses time
1. Personal bank account doing business work
2. Client emails going to a Gmail inbox
3. The same password, reused everywhere
4. Subscriptions nobody opens
5. Invoices written out by hand
6. Processes that live only in your head
7. Accounts you do not actually own
8. No shared view of what is live or due

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 31/08/2026

I'm not one to watch TV series, but I've recently been winding down by watching the medical drama, The Pitt. One episode has a relatable scene about how a new doctor trying to encourage the use of AI within the ER to make things more efficient.

Two doctors from The Pitt TV series are standing outside the Emergency Room, facing each other, and having a conversation. Photo from Warner Bros. Discovery/Official Website.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 21/08/2026

I've learnt this the hard way: busy ≠ productivity. Like when you are jumping from one tab to another, frantically ticking checkboxes on the to-do list, sending emails...it's work, but is it productive? 1/2

Busy is not a business model. A quote by Untangli.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 10/08/2026

I can never understand what's going on in the background that takes more than 48 hours to unsubscribe from newsletters. For such a simple process, it should be instant and automatic. But when they say "it takes x amount of time", something is off with that tech. 1/3

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 05/08/2026

Received: one email. Followed by a chat message to say an email had been sent. Followed by a comment on the document, in case the chat didn't land. Followed by a text message, from the same person, about the same brief.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 24/07/2025

I've noticed Goodreads has launched a new logo. Normally a rebrand sparks lots of discussion and pushback from loyal fans and design pros. I’m neither, but I do have thoughts on two claims from their blog. Let’s break it down. 🧵

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 04/07/2025

Case in point is in the image attached: in one episode, Phil tries to pronounce a German word but totally butchers it. Instead of just writing [attempting to speak German], the caption reads [speaks German-flavored gibberish]. It’s a small detail, but it made me laugh but also appreciate it.

A still in an episode of 'Somebody Feed Phil' where Phil Rosenthal is making a facial expression that implies he is trying. The caption reads "Not so much [speaks German-flavored gibberish] in the pronounciation, right?

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 24/06/2025

anyone else in the tech industry to make a positive impact within the community and the wider world. I still had my challenges where it's so noisy, I wasn't able to keep up with conversations or attend as much talks as I wanted to. But when I did, it was a blessing.

Ahmed on stage speaking to an audience, wearing green shirt, patterned brown trousers and yellow shoes. He is standing in front of the screen.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 24/06/2025

It's not often I speak at an event where there is a sense of belonging amongst the attendees. That's what happened when I spoke at a recent Muslim Tech Fest. You can see and feel it, when people are comfortable with each other, knowing that we are all in it together.

Selfie of Ahmed who is smiling, mic'd up and standing in front of the Muslim Tech Fest stage.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 14/06/2025

5/5: As such, "human review remains essential for meeting accessibility standards". Otherwise, it can get ugly...very ugly, as I will demonstrate at the #MTF2025 event. 🫣 You can get your ticket here: muslimtechfest.com/tickets/ And I hope to see you there.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 14/06/2025

One week (on 21st June 2025) today is Muslim Tech Fest , and if you haven't gotten your ticket, you can get one now using the following discount code: Ahmed Oh, how is my first name used as a discount code? 🧵

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 10/06/2025

Guess what happens when you've been a customer of a software company for a decade? You get to deliver a talk about accessibility. So of course, I had to bring my A-game for FreeAgent.

A closeup of Ahmed holding up an orange frame that is outlined with FreeAgent and LearnFest with animated clouds and icons. Also in that same orange frame is another man wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a white makeup on his face with a black star over one eye.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 01/05/2025

I first noticed the Muslim Tech Fest community last year and was really impressed by their sense of unity, drive and ambitions. Now, I have the honour of speaking at their event in London on 21st June 2025 about digital accessibility. [1/4]

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 13/04/2025

I read multiple books at the same time (currently five). But on my hand is the fascinating book @peterfrankopan.bsky.social A brilliantly researched book on the history of the world we live in.

Book cover of ‘The Earth Transformed - An Untold History’ by Peter Frankopan. At the top, it reads “The Times History Book of the Year”. At the bottom, it reads “The Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Silk Roads”.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 10/04/2025

Some of my most happiest place in the world is to be in the middle of nowhere, high up a big hill or mountain, on my gravel bike. Bonus if there's sunshine and blue sky...and yes, that can happen in Scotland. A huge benefit of living in this country is the number of places that fits this criteria.

Ahmed's point of view while sitting down, hand on one knee, on a grass beside a gravel path on high altitude. The sky is blue and the Edinburgh skyline is on the horizon. Directly opposite him is his gravel bike and a bottle of water.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 12/12/2024

This comic strip by Chris Ruden perfectly captures the essence of accessibility and how it can benefit everyone. This is generally called "the curb cut effect". It is a phenomenon where solutions designed to help people with disabilities end up benefiting everyone.

A 4-box comic strip where the scene is set in a snowy setting. A man is shovelling snow off the stairs, which has a ramp beside it that is also covered in snow. A group of children are waiting for him to finish.

Scene 1: Wheelchair using child said "could you please shovel the ramp?"
Scene 2: The main, looking annoyed, replied "All these other kids are waiting to use the stairs. When I get through shovelling them off, then I will clear the ramp for you".
Scene 3: Wheelchair-using child then said "But if you shovel the ramp first, we can all get in".
Scene 4: The man stopped shovelling and said "...I never thought about it like that".

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 06/12/2024

It doesn’t matter why you are designing what you are designing, there will always be a human on the other side. So design for real people, not perfect scenarios.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 05/12/2024

'tis the season where brands go over the top with their Christmas-themed content by making them so inaccessible. You don't have to be blind to realise that the text in the image is not readable, not just because of the colour contrast, but the heavy snow patterns in the background too.

The top half is a Christmas-themed banner where there is a heavy snow in the background and white text on front of it. The text (barely) reads “Cheers to a Dairy Merry Christmas 🎅🏻 Can you believe the time?! Neither can we. In any case, let's talk Crimbo deliveries. Our team work hard all year round to get some of the countries freshest milk from our dairy to your doorstep- and we want to ensure they have some time to rest and recharge with friends and family. With that in mind, your deliveries will be changing over the holidays. Click here to see when to expect your deliveries over Christmas & New Year.”

The bottom half of the image is the browser's web developer tool showing the HTML and how the title is in H4, and the CSS on the right is displaying how a background image has been used.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 21/11/2024

Accessible design signals to your customers that you care about everyone. 💜 When your website works for everyone, it speaks louder than any mission statement.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 18/11/2024

The simple things in life that I absolutely love. Good book + good coffee.

Top down view at a cafe of a cup of flat white, a cinnamon and cardamom bun, and a book Driving Forwards by Sophie L Morgan.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 18/11/2024

I underestimated how hard it is to throw an axe effectively. Vikings make it look so easy: at least, that's what the video games are portraying. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Still, excellent service at @boombattlebar.bsky.social in Edinburgh.

Ahmed standing in an axe-throwing cage, holding an axe over his head with two hands, as if he's getting read to throw it. There are purple lighting around the cage and a board with a target at the end of the cage.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 12/11/2024

VD: Ahmed inspecting a wheelchair-friendly merry-go-round on an, surrounded by orange leaves, wearing casual outdoor clothing." #ThinkAccessibility

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 07/11/2024

Some people can paint pictures with a brush. But we can all paint pictures with words. Alt text is like poetry: every word matters, and the best ones paint a picture.

Brush strokes and paint splashes surround the quote "alt text is like poetry: every word matters, and the best ones paint a picture."

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 05/11/2024

It doesn't matter who you are serving: Everyone deserves a 1st class experience on your website regardless of how they access it. Even if it's little by little, we should all do our bit to make our digital products a better and more accessible experience.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 04/11/2024

There's nothing beneficial about having ineligible text on top of a patterned background on your website. It may seem cute at first, but it's making it difficult to read, even if you are not blind or have low vision, which highlights the importance of how accessibility can benefit everyone.

Footer of the 'My Little Coco' website where the background image is a close-up of a beige threaded fabric. On top of it are typical footer links in four columns typed in thin sans serif dark red font, such as products, about us, account details and terms & conditions. The combination is making it very difficult to read.

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 02/11/2024

Most businesses don't realise that their websites are preventing people from accessing them. This is the equivalent of not allowing everyone into your store. Don't you want your business to be accessible to as many people as possible? #WebAccessibility #a11y

Your website is your digital storefront. Make sure everyone can come in. By PurpleByte

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Ahmed Khalifa @iamahmedkhalifa.com · 28/10/2024

My background may have been in digital marketing, but web accessibility is in my heart. So I've decided to make make more of an effort: introducing PurpleByte, a place to make the internet more accessible one byte at a time, starting with your site ➡️ purplebyte.io/ #Accessibility #a11y

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