perpetual beta 2020

For 16 years my primary sensemaking medium has been this blog. This is where half-baked thoughts get tested, changed, and recombined. They reflect my interactions on social media, experiences through professional engagements, and conversations with colleagues around the world. The final part of my Seek > Sense > Share PKM practice is to put it all together. This too is in perpetual beta because once I do so, I begin on the next iteration.

After 3,300 blog posts, the latest instalment in the Perpetual Beta Series [now updated to Perpetual Beta 2022] is now available — Perpetual Beta 2020

I wrote the original perpetual beta series as four standalone digital volumes between 2014 and 2017. The changing nature of work, and our evolving perspectives on learning and knowledge were the core themes. I wrote Seeking Perpetual Beta first, in order to create a coherent narrative after ten years of blogging.

Subsequent volumes focused on leadership, personal knowledge mastery, and working models. The next volume, Life in Perpetual Beta, combined the best of the first four books in late 2017, with a new edition in December 2018. An updated edition comprises the first eleven chapters of this e-book.

Original Perpetual Beta Series

The final nine chapters are based on observations and ideas generated through 2019 and 2020. They build on the first eleven chapters, from a 2020 perspective. The first part of this e-book provides examples of how to work and learn smarter in a network society, the second part examines what our new normal may look like and why we should start working on ways to build a more positive future now.

So here are over 160 pages encapsulating 16 years of sensemaking, writing, and interacting with an international audience, in a searchable DRM-free format PDF. Let’s continue the quest to understand what our common humanity should strive for to address our global challenges.

The 21st century — and many things we have been expecting for the near future — suddenly hit us with a vengeance in 2020. Now we need to connect, adapt, and find our new normal. Perpetual Beta 2020 is another beginning.

More on the Perpetual Beta Series

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Table of Contents — Perpetual Beta 2020