Reposted by Tom Steeldxw @dxw.com · 27/08/2026We're hiring for a number of roles here at dxw, including: - Developer - Senior Developer - Lead Technologist - Product Manager/Senior Product Manager Find all the info on the roles and how to apply here 👉 www.dxw.com/careers/#ope... 123
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 06/08/2026“If you don’t make your service easier to use today, the machines will come tomorrow, and they’ll chew through your friction and cause you much, much, much bigger problems.” blog.tomsteel.co.uk/2026/08/04/f...blog.tomsteel.co.ukFriction is dead. Deal with it. – Tom blogs 220
Reposted by Tom SteelTom Loosemore @tomski.com · 04/08/2026I've written a long blog post about AI Agents and the need for those running services to prepare - technically, operationally, commercially, strategically, legally and in terms of policy. AI Agents could be a properly huge deal. There. I wrote it. loosemore.com/2026/08/04/k...loosemore.comKnow Your Agent: Why you should act now, to avoid playing catch-up laterBack in March, I was beaten by the bins. I’d spent a happy few evenings (and a great many tokens) trying to build a simple web app: share any UK address, find out which bins to put out, and w… 96119
Reposted by Tom SteelTom Loosemore @tomski.com · 24/07/2026Termsync.co.uk is most excellent, not least it's running on an open weight LLM hosted under the maker's desk.termsync.co.ukTermSync — School term dates, nailedSubscribe to your child's school term dates. Terms, half-terms, INSET days and holidays land in your calendar and stay up to date on their own. 0103
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 06/07/2026Worth a read: the Digital Poverty Alliance’s latest report examines accessibility across UK government services, highlighting where barriers remain and opportunities to improve digital inclusion. digitalpovertyalliance.org/wp-content/u...digitalpovertyalliance.org 000
Reposted by Tom SteelAllen Holub @allenholub.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Regarding the speed of an AI and the volume of code it can create: None of that matters. 24411
Reposted by Tom SteelJames East @jameseast.online · 24/05/2026I was responsible for this (it was literally my idea while I was Product Manager for Media Playout at the BBC) and it is still my proudest achievement ever 261422271
Reposted by Tom SteelKriszta Satori @fulelo.bsky.social · 15/05/2026#BBCNews - 'Millions' of pounds saved by replacing Palantir tech in refugee system www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukUK saves 'millions' of pounds by ditching Palantir for refugee systemThe government said its in-house IT system was 011967
Reposted by Tom SteelDuille @duille.com · 12/05/2026Design legend Margaret Calvert is 90 today. Look at that cake! If you've ever admired a road, rail or metro sign in Britain it's likely she had something to do with it. One of Britain's design heroes - happy birthday to her. Photo by: @oshgallerylondon (IG) Cake by: mybaker.co 201695475
Reposted by Tom SteelThe School of Good Services @theschoolofgood.bsky.social · 08/04/2026We’ve got a new podcast! Bad Services is out on the 20th of May, but if you can't wait to get stuck in, we’ve just launched a podcast so you can dive into the book early, and listen along as we talk about each chapter over the next few months. good.services/badservicesp... 1105
Reposted by Tom SteelGuy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 18/03/2026VICTORY! Government to open up the Land Registry - bringing to an end a thousand years of secrecy shrouding who owns England. I’ve been campaigning for this for ten years: the new Land Use Framework, published later today, makes it government policy. 1/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...theguardian.comGovernment to lift paywall from large parts of the Land RegistryExclusive: finding out who owns land will become simpler under plans to make the best use of green spaces and hit net zero targets 11738801169
Reposted by Tom SteelTom Loosemore @tomski.com · 17/03/2026Brilliant analysis of what went wrong with the expensive redesign of Australia's version of the met office app. leisareichelt.substack.com/p/what-went-...leisareichelt.substack.comWhat went wrong with the BoM Redesign?A Post-Mortem on Judgement, Usability, and Redesign at Scale 0158
Reposted by Tom SteelLou Downe @loudowne.bsky.social · 17/03/2026Good Services came out 6 years ago and I am SO excited to finally announce that the Sequel - Bad Services - will be out in late May! 54012
Reposted by Tom SteelTerence Eden @edent.tel · 01/03/2026We've hit FORTY-THOUSAND entries on openbenches.org 🥰 All contributed by people like you. Thank you to all our wonderful supporters, brilliant photographers, and open source coders. 03111
Reposted by Tom SteelRichard Pope @richardpope.org · 24/02/2026In September, I was asked to give some thoughts about the NHS 10-year plan based on some of the principles in Platformland. Here are the slides and speaker notes: www.rpp.works/ways-of-d… 096
Reposted by Tom SteelAllen Holub @allenholub.bsky.social · 22/10/2025"Fail fast" is not a viable approach to software construction. There's no benefit in constant failure. What we want to do is succeed fast. Do that with small batches and frequent corrections based on feedback. That's not "failure," it's just part of the process. 1/2 2241
Reposted by Tom SteelMatt Burgess (WIRED) @mattburgess1.bsky.social · 15/10/2025“There are few things more dehumanizing than being told by a machine that you’re not real because of your face" For the last month, I've been speaking to people living with facial differences and disfigurements about how face verification tech is failing them. Spoiler: things aren't going wellwired.comWhen Face Recognition Doesn’t Know Your Face Is a FaceAn estimated 100 million people live with facial differences. As face recognition tech becomes widespread, some say they’re getting blocked from accessing essential systems and services. 217549
Reposted by Tom SteelThe Register @theregister.com · 24/09/2025Europe's largest city council delays fix to disastrous Oracle system once moredlvr.itEurope's largest city council delays fix to disastrous Oracle system once moreSystem meant to go live in 2021 costing £20M awaits reimplementation with new £170M price tag Europe's largest local authority has delayed the introduction of a vital income management system (IMS) amid confirmation that total spending on a disastrous Oracle implementation could hit £170 million (c $230 million).… 157
Reposted by Tom SteelThe Register @theregister.com · 25/08/2025The air is hissing out of the overinflated AI balloondlvr.itThe air is hissing out of the overinflated AI balloonAre tech giants getting nervous? They should be Opinion There tend to be three AI camps. 1) AI is the greatest thing since sliced bread and will transform the world. 2) AI is the spawn of the Devil and will destroy civilization as we know it. And 3) "Write an A-Level paper on the themes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet."… 43513
Reposted by Tom SteelJohn Cutler @johncutle.fish · 17/08/2025Trust Day 1/30 sharing my favorite doodles and drawings. 36110
Reposted by Tom SteelThe Leyton Orientear @leytonorientear.com · 28/07/2025GREATNESS IS SERVING Read the full story of a very special evening at Leyton's Coach & Horses, where some very special guests helped us tell the full story behind the fantastic new #LOFC mural - and all in a very deserving cause...theleytonorientear.substack.comGreatness Is Servingthe real story behind Orient's newest mural: a picture of compassion, loyalty and gratitude 4134
Reposted by Tom SteelThe Register @theregister.com · 25/07/2025Microsoft admits it 'cannot guarantee' data sovereigntydlvr.itMicrosoft admits it 'cannot guarantee' data sovereigntyUnder oath in French Senate, exec says it would be compelled – however unlikely – to pass local customer info to US admin Microsoft says it "cannot guarantee" data sovereignty to customers in France – and by implication the wider European Union – should the Trump administration demand access to customer information held on its servers.… 2108
Reposted by Tom SteelAnon Opin @anonopin.bsky.social · 01/07/2025Conspiracy theorists should be required to do work experience in government departments so they can see firsthand the impossibility of any vast secret government conspiracies. 1332446
Reposted by Tom SteelRandall Munroe @xkcd.com · 19/06/2025David R. Hagen just solved a small mystery that I mentioned 13 years ago in the mouseover text of a comic drhagen.com/blog/the-mis...drhagen.comThe Missing 11th of the Month - David R HagenPersonal website of David R Hagen, scientific software engineer 603182601
Reposted by Tom Steelsteve @visitmy.website · 12/06/2025Here’s some of the background on Extract, which the Prime Minister announced on Monday, plus the detail on how we incubated the proof-of-concept. There’s boatloads more discovery and alpha work to do. Went full techno-realist with the open para. mhclgdigital.blog.gov.uk/2025/06/12/e...mhclgdigital.blog.gov.ukExtract: Using AI to unlock historic planning dataThis week, the Prime Minister officially launched Extract, the AI tool which the Digital Planning programme in MHCLG and the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence are developing to transform decades o... 1103
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 29/05/2025How the OS is bringing Slopey Roofs to homes near you “… and combines it with findings from the Met Office, including information on the sun’s position at specific times and dates, to provide users with the Slopey Roofs tool for assessing the efficiency of roofs for solar panel installation.”techmonitor.aiHow the OS is bringing slopey roofs to homes near youThe UK’s emissions targets are ambitious. The Ordnance Survey's new Slopey Roofs project may see them being met faster than suspected. 020
Reposted by Tom SteelThe Secret Barrister @barristersecret.bsky.social · 01/05/2025The 99p offer is also available via Kobo, for people looking for a different ebook supplier: www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/...kobo.comThe Secret Barrister ebook by The Secret Barrister - Rakuten KoboRead "The Secret Barrister Stories of the Law and How It's Broken" by The Secret Barrister available from Rakuten Kobo. **Writing as S. J. Fleet, The Secret Barrister's first novel, The Cut Throat Tri... 6395
Reposted by Tom SteelMet Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 28/04/2025Would you like to use our new-look weather app? 📲 We’re doing a major upgrade of our Met Office weather app. And we’d love you to try it out, and tell us what you think. Sign-up to get the test version ⤵️ response.questback.com/isa/qbv.dll/... 23413
Reposted by Tom SteelJamie Smart @jamiesmart.bsky.social · 18/03/2025There’s a great interview with Nick Park about Wallace And Gromit in last month’s Empire, and this bit in particular stood out. It sums up what artists have been trying to say about AI. The mistakes and the learning aren’t things to be bypassed, but a vital part of the process 🤟 2943641408
Reposted by Tom SteelDaniel Storey @danielstorey85.bsky.social · 06/03/2025I think that one of the best clubs in the country to support at the moment might be...Leyton Orient. It's not just the redemption and the potential, but the human story here. For that, you need to speak to Martin Ling. inews.co.uk/sport/footba...inews.co.ukThe hidden recovery story at the heart of Leyton Orient's own resurgenceDirector of football Martin Ling took over a 'football bomb site' and it turned it into one of the EFL's best clubs to support - he speaks to Daniel Storey 44511
Reposted by Tom SteelKnow Your Meme @knowyourmeme.com · 09/01/2025On this day 12 years ago, @kcg.bsky.social posted the “This is Fine” comic. 101112244282
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 08/01/2025@da.vebrig.gs your LinkedIn post about a standards regime; how do you score LAs in meeting users needs, when they’re the only people who have the info to know what their needs are? Generic testing (like SOCITM or GDS Accessibility) will have limited value, but some ranking is better than nothing?gov.ukAccessibility monitoring of public sector websites and mobile apps from 2022 to 2024 120
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 29/12/2024“You know, while you’re out on your walk, go some place where you might feel a little child-like wonder and look around — look at the small things and look at the big things and just follow that sense of mystery and wonder.’ That’s all we asked them to do.” www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/awe-wo...huffingtonpost.co.ukScientists Asked People To Do 1 Thing Differently While Taking A Walk. The Results Were Astounding.“It [creates] an amazing cascade of physiology that we can find almost any day and is very good for you,” 010
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 06/12/2024A new Local Gov weeknote for you to follow; Angie Forson, new at Southwark, is sharing her experience as web and digital programme lead. Hear about Ping Pong, the Open Digital Cooperative and what’s on her reading list. One to watch! angieforson.medium.comangieforson.medium.comAngie Forson – MediumRead writing from Angie Forson on Medium. I love to travel, learn new things, and ensure that products and content I create, focuses on the needs of the end user. 010
Reposted by Tom SteelTom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 15/11/2024Based on your headline I'm hoping the bot was trained on Scarf Lady from Sarah and Duck sarah-and-duck.fandom.com/wiki/Scarf_L...sarah-and-duck.fandom.comScarf LadyScarf Lady is a secondary character in Sarah & Duck. Scarf Lady is an elderly lady. She is quite forgetful, often mixing up words or misinterpreting things. She loves knitting, and shows masterful ski... 001
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 15/11/2024This is one of the best uses of AI i've seen so far: uk.pcmag.com/security/155... A bot which keeps scammers busy in conversational loops of confusion.uk.pcmag.comThis 'AI Granny' Bores Scammers to TearsAfter a survey found that 71% of Brits want revenge on scammers, mobile operator O2 deploys Daisy, an AI tool that keeps fraudsters on the line to waste their time. 010
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 17/10/2024What’s your main source of news? Is it somewhere which has its own journalists (The Times, BBC, ITV, The Guardian) or do you use an aggregated site/app (Twitter, Flipboard, Apple News)? Because curiosity.media.tenor.coma black cat is peeking out from behind a cabinetAlt: A curious black cat walks up to the camera and stares down the lens in intrigue. 100
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 26/09/2024The diligent @colinstenning.bsky.social has been at it again, documenting chatbot use across Local Authorities. digitalhealthcheck.co.uk/2024/09/chat... I’m glad I don’t live near Telford & Wrekin.digitalhealthcheck.co.ukChatbots on council websites - 2024Over half of councils in the UK and Ireland with chatbots choose to place them on all web pages and under half only place them on the service pages that they relate to. Chatbot usage is probably impro... 231
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 24/09/2024You know a platform is hitting the big time when Sam Pepys arrives. 010
Reposted by Tom SteelNit Nurse With Wound @dannybirchall.bsky.social · 24/09/2024I wrote a thing about one of my favourite websites from long ago, that was called 'Flickr'. medium.com/@dannybircha...medium.comFlickr, the habits of photography, and meRemember Flickr, the photo-sharing website? It’s still there, but it now also has the Flickr Foundation, an organisation that exists to… 4169
Reposted by Tom SteelAllen Holub @allenholub.bsky.social · 23/09/2024That bogus “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses” quote was never uttered by Henry Ford. It's used by people who hold the customers in contempt—who think they're such stable geniuses that they don't need to ask. 1/8 173
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 20/09/2024There’s a rare Associate Product Manager role available at the Ministry Of Justice - perfect for any User Centred Design people who want to make the best pivot of their career! www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi...civilservicejobs.service.gov.ukAssociate Product Manager (Ref: 90749) - Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UKGOV.UKSearch and apply for jobs in the UK Civil Service 074
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 19/09/2024Following some skeets (?) yesterday, I've been thinking about Recycling Data as a thing, and wrote some words at blog.tomsteel.co.uk/2024/09/19/w... That makes four posts this year. Urgh. At least I'm not thinking about Recycling Data as a thing any more.blog.tomsteel.co.ukWhat a waste – Tom blogs 000
Tom Steel @tomsteel.co.uk · 18/09/2024This got me thinking. Is data more like the stuff we put in recycling bins? We know that most of it could be put to good use, but that takes considerable time and effort. Perhaps we shouldn’t produce so much stuff that needs recycling in the first place? 2155
Reposted by Tom SteelJames Wallis @jameswallis.bsky.social · 05/09/2024Ever wanted to design a board game but don't know where to start? I'm running the Game Design Masterclass, a high-energy crash course in the theory and practice of game design, on Tuesday 10th Sept at Badger Badger in east London. A few tickets are still available. www.gamedesignmasterclass.comgamedesignmasterclass.comGame Design Masterclass – a crash course in how to make games 13829