npilk // Notes
Hi, I'm Nathan Pilkenton. I'm currently based in Nashville, TN, and I create business strategies at IA Collaborative. These are my notes.
https://notes.npilk.com/feed.xml
2025-10-08T20:45:00Z
© 2025 Nathan Pilkenton
Experiments with AI adblock
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2025-10-08T20:45:00Z
2025-10-08T20:45:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
What happens when AI models that can interpret text, audio, and video just like humans do can review content and filter out any undesirable messages?
Ten thousand agents
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2025-08-01T17:25:00Z
2025-08-01T17:25:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
I believe the future of AI won't be one godlike superintelligent model, but thousands of nearly-free micro-agents constantly meeting hyper-specific needs.
ChatGPT is my static site generator
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2025-06-16T21:05:00Z
2025-06-16T21:05:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
Instead of using a static site generator, I just copy and paste a new post and an example of an old post into ChatGPT. It's super easy and extremely flexible, with no setup required.
We don't notice slow improvement
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2025-04-24T22:45:00Z
2025-04-24T22:45:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
Technologies take off before they're perfected, and we anchor to those early versions. But over time, they are quietly optimized until one day, they just work - and we hardly notice.
A color for every day
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2024-12-15T21:15:00Z
2024-12-15T21:15:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
To make daily updates feel different from one day to the next, I generated a unique color combination for every day of the year.
If you have to optimize, it isn't good enough
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2024-08-03T19:00:00Z
2024-08-03T19:00:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
Success is determined by your initial conditions, not whatever improvements you can make on the margin.
Personal data is everywhere in public
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2024-02-14T00:10:00Z
2024-02-14T00:10:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
I accidentally 'doxxed' a stranger on a plane today.
Monthly resolutions
tag:notes.npilk.com,2023:/linked//1.11
2023-12-31T15:45:00Z
2024-08-03T18:55:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
A few years ago, instead of a New Year's resolution, I experimented with setting twelve: one for each month of the year. I liked it much more than setting traditional resolutions, and I'm planning to try it again this year.
Writing for Others
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2023-07-17T13:25:00Z
2023-07-17T13:25:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
I've written a short guide to more effective business writing, with a focus on how keeping the reader in mind can help you better communicate your ideas. Read on for the introduction, which gives a brief overview of my perspective and the book's content. You can also download the entire (short) book for free as an epub or PDF.
The personal big screen
tag:notes.npilk.com,2023:/linked//1.9
2023-05-31T01:10:00Z
2023-05-31T01:10:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
I believe the near future of AR is simply a 'personal big screen' for viewing content streamed from other devices, and that this future is much closer than many think.
Customizing web search with LLMs
tag:notes.npilk.com,2023:/linked//1.8
2023-05-21T15:20:00Z
2023-05-21T15:20:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
Updating my custom search system to route some queries to GPT-3.5-turbo using the OpenAI API, while still routing others to different search engines.
Unearthing lessons from 2008: My first Mac apps
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2023-04-02T15:10:00Z
2023-04-02T15:10:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
I reminisce about the first software I ever shipped - a pair of Mac apps created when I was in high school. Despite their simplicity and flaws, these apps gained surprising popularity, leading me to reflect on the lessons I can learn from their success and apply to my current projects.
How to get better at everything
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2023-01-07T22:45:00Z
2023-01-07T22:45:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
I believe that learning to read and write faster can improve the quality of your work beyond what most people would expect.
Radically user-centered design
tag:notes.npilk.com,2022:/linked//1.5
2022-12-05T23:00:00Z
2022-12-05T23:00:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
Most product teams have a mandate to put the user first. Based on the state of the web, that seems more like empty lip service than a serious design principle. But I believe truly user-centric digital product design is possible.
Building on email
tag:notes.npilk.com,2022:/linked//1.4
2022-07-04T23:00:00Z
2022-07-04T23:00:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
I believe services that extend email have great benefits for users compared to web- or app-first solutions.
Taking the internet off the hook
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2022-04-04T23:00:00Z
2022-04-04T23:00:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
Using a Raspberry Pi and a cheap door sensor to restrict my internet access when I take an old landline phone off the hook.
Customizing web search
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2022-01-03T23:00:00Z
2022-01-03T23:00:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
I use a simple Cloudflare Worker script to automatically redirect my search queries based on keywords I've chosen.
Seamless web analytics without Javascript
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2021-08-02T23:00:00Z
2021-08-02T23:00:00Z
Nathan Pilkenton
https://www.npilk.com
Using GoAccess and shell scripts for easy, Javascript-free, and privacy-respecting site analytics.