“TECH STACK”

(example list of Hardware and Software One Uses)

Productivity & Collaboration

  • Google Workspace Business Plus ($$$): Email, calendar, cloud storage, and collaboration tools.

  • MS Office (2019): MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Word

  • Google Calendar (with scheduling: https://calendar.app.google/C39dx5irfPnpxHLe9)

  • Zoom workplace pro ($$)

  • Ancestry.com international version ($$)

  • QR Code generator ($)

Website & E-commerce

AI Tools

  • ChatGPT Plus ($$): AI content generation and productivity assistance.

  • Claude Pro ($$): Large-scale document and data analysis.

  • Others: NotebookLM.google.com, perplexity.ai, aistudio.google.com/live, gemini.google.com, earth.google.com/studio/

Creative Tools

  • Adobe Creative Cloud ($$$): Proficient in Illustrator and Photoshop for graphic design and image editing (Premiere Pro novice level: for video editing)

  • MidJourney ($$$): AI-based visual content creation.

Social Media

  • Facebook Personal joelmackall

  • Facebook Groups: Hidden History of Black Boston/New England, d.BOBO, Ankobia6

  • Youtube Premium ($$)

  • LinkedIn (paid) https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidren/

  • Instagram: @reidren, 

  • X: @reidren

  • Threads: @reidren

  • Pinterest: reidren

  • TBD?: Discord, Clubhouse, Reddit, WhatsApp, TikTok 

Automation

  • Zapier ($$):Workflow automation across apps and platforms.

  • App.BLAZE.ai ($$) personalized sites

  • IFTTT cross-platform automations

  • Feedly ($): aggregator

Finance & Payment Systems

  • Wave: Invoicing/Payment software.

  • Payment accounts: PayPal, Cash App, Google Pay, Zelle, Venmo.

  • TaxAct ($): Accounting software

  • Amazon Prime ($$): Supply chain needs.

Hardware Setup

  • Dell XPS 15 Laptop: Windows 10 Pro & dual monitor connections (buying Alienware m16, windows 11 pro, Office 365)

  • Samsung SSD External HDs (multiple)

  • HP DesignJet T630 24-inch Plotter/Printer

  • Canon EOS M50 Mark II Mirrorless Camera & gimbal

  • Google Pixel 7 Cellphone

  • NFC 215 Round cards

“INFLUENCER STACK”

(List of good folks to follow in Tech, Biz, Social Media)

Black Generative Learning Systems was launched in 2022 with the purchase of www.askagoodquestion.com domain. We have instagram, facebook, youtube and twitter bookmarks of some of the most important thought leaders in emerging machine learning. Here are some of the most transparent and regular worth following as of early 2025:

  1. Joel Mackall www.facebook.com/groups/blackgen @reidren (History, Genealogy & Technology for Black Folks)

  2. Sabrina Ramonov https://www.youtube.com/@sabrina_ramonov (AI learning

  3. Natalie Choprasert https://futureailab.com/  @brand.nat (AI learning)

  4. Dr. Erin Jacques https://www.instagram.com/dr.erinjacques/ @dr.erinjacques

  5. Angelica ‘herbrightself’ https://www.threads.com/@herbrightself @herbrightself (Authentic Personal Branding)

  6. Mahdi Woodard https://100kcampaign.com @mahdiwoodard (Business/AI leader strategies)

  7. Chris Do @chrisdo https://thefutur.com/people/chris-do (Business startup for creatives/designers A-Z)

  8. Marques Brownlee https://www.youtube.com/@mkbhd @mkbhd (Tech reviewer)

  9. Wode Maya https://www.youtube.com/@WODEMAYA @wodemaya (freelance African vlogger)

  10. Smash Rockwell https://www.youtube.com/@smashrockwell @smashrockwell (history learning using media/research tools and streaming)

  11. Nicolas Nuvan https://www.youtube.com/c/NicolasNuvan @nicolasnuvan (global food influencer) 

  12. Calvin Grindz https://www.instagram.com/calvingrindz/?hl=en @calvingrindz (gentle prankster in grocery stores)

  13. Anthony Lee https://aiplusautomation.com/ @aimarketerguy (Workflow improvement)

  14. Diana Gladney https://www.youtube.com/@DianaGladney (Video Specialist)

  15. Karlton Dennis https://www.youtube.com/@karltondennis @karltondennis (Business Taxes)

  16. Lisandra Everret https://www.youtube.com/@HomeBizTaxLady @HomeBizTaxLady (Business Taxes)

  17. Justin Fineberg https://www.cassidyai.com @justinfineberg  (Workflow improvement)

  18. Ryan Spenner https://www.instagram.com/ryanspenner.tv/ @ryanspenner.tv (Content Marketing + Social Media Consultant)

  19. Chris Heidorn https://www.youtube.com/@TokenizedAI @chrisheidorn AI image creation tools (midjourney)

  20. Matty McTech https://www.youtube.com/@SetupSpawn.  #setupspawn Daily #tech and #pc tips

AI Companies List

Who runs the AI models / LLMs (large language models)

US BIG TECH (Frontier Models)

ChatGPT (OpenAI) chat.openai.com Most accessible — great for writing, coding, teaching, creative use

Claude (Anthropic) claude.ai Reads long texts well — gentle, reflective tone for learning contexts

Gemini (Google) gemini.google.com Strong on search + visual prompts — good for Android/Google users

Notebook LM (Google) notebooklm.google.com AI reading assistant — excellent for uploading notes & making sense of files

SMALLER LABS

Perplexity (PerplexityAI) perplexity.ai Search + citations — best for quick answers with links

II.inc (Intelligent Internet) ii.inc/web AI ethics at the design core, democratized vision

Copilot (Microsoft) microsoft.com/copilot Works inside Word/Excel — ideal for resumes, business documents

Midjourney (MidjourneyInc.) midjourney.com High-quality image generation: art, mood boards, remixing visuals

OPEN LLM LABS (ASIA)

DeepSeek (DeepSeek) deepseek.com Open model — excellent for math, logic, coding lessons

Qwen (Alibaba) qwen.Alibaba.com Multilingual — supports diaspora & Afro-global language needs

Manus (Manus) manus.im Up-and-coming — science and research potential

PLATFORM INTEGRATED LLMS

MetaAI (Meta) meta.ai Casual use inside FB/IG — light responses, easy for new users (see: LLaMA (Meta) Parent model behind Meta AI — base for many open-source projects

Siri/Apple Intelligence (Apple) apple.com/siri Cautious but coming — expected deep ecosystem integration across Apple devices

Alexa+ (Amazon) well-positioned to expand & will depend on its ability to deliver reliable, context-aware interactions

Grok (xAI-Musk) x.ai Edgy, meme-fluent - operated by Apartheid Clyde