Barnaby Robson – The digital scribbles, notes and scrapbooks of Barnaby

So… what are you looking at?

This site began as a photo scrapbook.

It has since evolved into an online journal where I share my writing – publishing helps sharpen my thinking.

It’s also a place for resources I want close at hand, including:

notes from books and podcasts that I find especially insightful

my coffee log (70 coffees from 20 roasters and counting)

visualised mental models for better decision-making

lessons from adventures in design (and photography)

Articles I’ve had published

cocktail and food recipes

reviews of things I enjoy

…and anything else I become oddly passionate about

As you’ll see, I’ve developed quite the collection of unusual interests.

Thanks for visiting my corner of the web.

Popular Essays

On Trump’s Tariffs
Economists and Businessmen invoke Ricardo – trade should flow where it’s cheapest. But look closer, and most countries don’t play by the free trade rules they advocate.
The Electricity Economy
Why Electricity is the New Battleground for Global Competitiveness
The Future of Progress
Thoughts on how to navigate the future with the Tech vs. Global Shift model: Embrace accelerating technology (Vertical Progress) while adapting to deglobalization (Horizontal Regression) to unlock growth opportunities.
Strategies and tools for coping in the information age
Taming the Info Tsunami: Strategies, Tools, and AI-Powered Hacks I use to Conquer Overload and Spark Insights

Recent essays

The Multi‑Trillion Dollar AI Compute Bet
Big tech are making a huge bet on AI Compute. Whether this pays off is the key investment question of 2025.
On Trump’s Tariffs
Economists and Businessmen invoke Ricardo – trade should flow where it’s cheapest. But look closer, and most countries don’t play by the free trade rules they advocate.
The Three Grid Concept
An outline of Micky Malka’s Three Grid Concept, with implications and visuals
The Electricity Economy
Why Electricity is the New Battleground for Global Competitiveness
Business Breakdown: Fiverr – a 2 sided freelance marketplace
Analysis of Fiverr’s financial, commercial and operating model.
Nailing brand colours in Midjourney (a follow-up post)
Walk through on how to generate specific colours (using srefs) in Midjourney – an AI image generating app.