May 2021 Digest & Recording

Hey friends, happy Friday!

Welcome to another digest… a collection of highlights from May 2021 that you shouldn’t miss. This is designed to save you time and allow you to catch up on the whole month. Then you can dive deeper wherever you’d like.

Enjoy.

1—Member Gathering Recording on AI

Here’s the recording from this week’s Member Gathering. This was a fun rapid-fire session! As Scott G. said:

Just got a master's degree in AI in one hour!

My top 3 takeaways:

1. “There are several different types of AI. So we (non-AI experts in the controls industry) need to stop with this "my AI is better than yours" or "your AI is not AI" comments.” Keith nailed it there.
2. Buyer confusion is huge and I think we can help it by grounding the discussion in real use cases, framing it in terms of how it improves upon the status quo, and of course, using the Nexus Framework to demystify.
3. “AI is like an e-bike”. I like that simplification from Cory Mosiman.

---

2—Deep Dives from May

In case you missed it, members received one deeper dive this month:

• Defining and exploring the Independent Data Layer

This was a follow-up to recent newsletters Where are the API-first companies? and The API-first Data Layer. It unpacks this concept further by defining the independent data layer, unpacking the nuances and unanswered questions, and updating the Nexus Vendor Landscape with this new category.

This concept has some skeptics, as shown in this thread on LinkedIn. What do you think? Discuss on Connect.

---

3—Member Conversations

This month, there have also been some fascinating LinkedIn and Connect conversations, in case you missed any of them:

• A layer of the smart building stack that's perfect for an API-first approach
• Follow up discussion from April’s member gathering on IAQ
• May New Member Welcome!

---

4—My top podcast moments this month

• Aaron Lapsley's 6 things preventing innovation in the built environment
• Rachel Kennedy and I unpacked the importance of the "smart building champion" role and how we can all play the role no matter where we sit in the industry.
• Why’d Shaun Cooley start Mapped?
• WiredScore on the solid foundation that underpins all of "smart"

---

5—SME Workshops featuring… you!

Next week we’ll host our first Nexus Pro SME workshop! Joe Gaspardone will present what we all need to understand about how real estate finances work. Details here.

Do you have a topic that you’d like to teach to the wider Nexus community? Hit reply and let me know.

Thanks for reading and thanks for being a Nexus Pro member. As always, I’d love if you hit reply and let me know how I can improve your membership.

—James

P.S. for all of you new members, here are some handy links:

• Anonymous member feedback form (constructive criticism is always appreciated!)
• Modify your account (E.g. change your email address, modify your plan from monthly to annual, etc)
• Submit your podcast interview idea
• Submit your friendly rant podcast idea
• Add your personal Nexus Pro podcast feed to the player of your choice (so your phone automatically downloads members-only podcasts)
• The Nexus Vendor Landscape
• The Archive (all posts with a 🔒 are for members only)
• Add your project to the Nexus Labs consulting waitlist