September 2026 marks one year since I launched Data on Wheels ~ ALS! It has been a busy twelve months as created, updated, and expanded the website, newsletters, and social media presence. I never thought the website would grow into so much more.

How it all began  

After my tracheostomy hospital stay in early 2025 and the following months of recovery, I was ready to get back to work. But what was I going to do?

I was inspired by my daughter Kristyna who had rebuilt our Data on Wheels data and analytics blog that same summer. Between her work and the difficulty my wife Sheila had sharing all the locations to find our story online, I was inspired to create a hub to make it easier to find our story. That led me to create this website.

Milestone accomplishments

Over the past twelve months, I have learned a lot about building and managing a website. Here are some of the milestone accomplishments over that time.

• ALS Toolbox. I would say this was the most impactful change. I implemented an ecommerce platform to create an Amazon-like experience for the tools I have used in my ALS journey. This change helped me meet my primary goals for content: discoverability and shareability. Sheila and I have been able to easily share these tools. I also kicked off a media campaign called “ALS TOOLBOX TOOL OF THE WEEK.”
• Theme change. To support the ecommerce platform, I needed to change the theme I was using. I had to make many changes to the website. This included rebuilding pieces of every page and some posts.
• Plugin reduction. Plugins are third-party applications that are used to add functionality to WordPress sites. I started researching best practices on Reddit. I learned of the performance and security of risks of too many plugins. Also, I learned about vendors with bad reputations. I used that information to consolidate and reduce my dependence on plugins.
• Amazon affiliation created. Running the website is not free. Many of the tools in the ALS Toolbox are available online at Amazon. This affiliation allows me to use the commission to help offset about 10% of website costs.
• Sticker Mule store opened. I wanted to make stickers, t-shirts, and other stuff easily available for everyone. The driving item is the Data on Wheels Walk to Defeat ALS t-shirt. With free shipping for individual t-shirts, it is a huge win for our team.

These are only the highlights of the many changes that drove the maturity of the website to its current state. It has definitely been fun work with much learned along the way.

Beyond the website

Over the same period of time, I expanded beyond the website. These applications and services have extended my reach and capabilities. Here are the tools and how they fit into Data on Wheels ~ ALS.

• Brevo CRM and marketing. I use Brevo to send newsletters, manage mailing lists, send emails, and send notifications. It has made reaching out to subscribers much easier.
• Publer social media planner and publisher. Publer lets me schedule social media posts. I can also reuse posts.
• Canva design platform. I use Canva to create most of the graphics for my website, social media, stickers, and videos. I usually start with Canva before using AI.
• Notion project management. Notion was a great find! I started using OneNote task lists, but they quickly became hard to track. I use Notion’s projects, tasks, and sprints to organize and track my work. If you subscribe to the Weekly Whatnot newsletter, you have seen the result of this organization.
• YouTube channel. I continue to use the Data on Wheels YouTube channel to share video content. The Video library surfaces ALS videos on the website.
• Clipchamp video editing. I use Clipchamp to create and edit my video content.
• OBS Studio video production. With OBS Studio, I can create screenshares I can use in my videos. I can also record a video with me presenting, but that would be pretty boring these days.

Every tool in the list helps me create and manage content I share with the world. It took some trial and error to finalize this list. I currently only pay for Publer which is well worth it. Everything else is free for how I use it today. The other unique thing is that only OBS Studio is installed on my PC. The other tools are online. Keep in mind that I use all of these with eye gaze.

Leveraging AI

I have also used various AI platforms for various reasons including assisting with website design and development. I have used AI for limited content creation. My latest endeavor is to create skills to help automate repetitive tasks including creating tasks in Notion. Here’s the list of AI services I use.

• Copilot Pro. I use Copilot to create images and instructions.
• Claude. Claude is used to design and develop the website. I have project with supporting documentation and connections to my website and Notion. Claude has been integral to building out the website you see today.
• ElevenLabs. I use my voice clone for video voice overs.
• Kling AI. Kling is the new AI tool in my arsenal. I use it for animation.

I wrote two blog posts about my AI use – How I use AI for my daily work and life and Building an AI research partner, personalized for you. You can find more details there.

As you can see, there are many things that make Data on Wheels ~ ALS work. I commonly refer to it as a website. I really need to come up with a more all-inclusive name. Vote in the survey at the end of this post to give me some feedback.

What’s next

So, I’m not stopping. I plan to continue and expand content creation and website improvements. Here are a few of the projects I have planned.

• Updated Resource directory. I’m not happy with the current Resource directory. While it is easy to search, it’s not possible to share individual resources. My plan is to create a directory similar to the ALS Toolbox.
• Video series on Communicator 5. This is planned as a how-to series. I will make videos to share how I use and modify Communicator 5 which is my primary AAC software.
• Video series on the technology used for Data on Wheels ~ ALS. I plan to create a technical series like the Fabric 5 series. The goal is to share the technology and architecture used to create the website and related components. I’m not sure if it will help anyone, but it will be fun for me.

I’m sure I will stay busy!

Data on Wheels ~ ALS is work that keeps me busy and serves others. I am so thankful and glad God motivated me to take this on. As always, it is hands free!

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