Newsletter SELECT Insights

Last updated Feb 16, 2025

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Welcome to SELECT Insights. I’m Simon, a data engineer, author, and freelance technical writer. This newsletter is my way of sharing my ongoing journey in data engineering, writing, and Learning in Public.

Every now and then, no regular schedule, only if I believe I have something worth sharing, I’ll send you updates about:

• 💡 Current projects and learnings from my freelance technical writing
• 🔍 Deep dives into data engineering concepts I’m exploring
• 📘 Progress and insights from my book « Data Engineering Design Patterns»
• 📚 Interesting books I’m reading, thoughts they’ve sparked.
• 🎨 Insights from things I’ve created or come across.

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📝 The new issues will only be sent via email, as the original intent of newsletters, and not uploaded here. So make sure to subscribe 😉

Focusing on crafted quality over quantity, hopefully, evergreen insights instead of hyped trends:

• ✦ Personal Journey: I share authentic experiences from my work in data engineering and technical writing, embracing the joy of writing and continuous learning.
• ✦ Behind the Scenes: Get exclusive updates about my book writing process, freelance journey, and my craft in general.
• ✦ Real Insights: Learn from my successes, failures, and ongoing experiments in the data engineering world, all shared with a focus on developer-centric value.

Below are summaries of our previous adventures.

Read 2025 February Edition

This edition covered my shift from traditional New Year’s goals to focusing on life principles that compound over time. I share recent achievements like becoming a full-time author and reaching many daily website views. I shared the new content, including articles on finding flow in the age of digital distractions, data engineering toolkits, and updates to my book’s chapter on data engineering trends for 2024/25. I also recap my experience at DuckCon #6 in Amsterdam, where I met amazing people. Plus, I dive into my recent reads including Matthew McConaughey’s “Greenlights” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Be Useful”, and share my ongoing journey of finding the perfect office space for focused work.

Updates on client collaborations with OSS tools, deep dives into declarative data stacks, DuckDB, and semantic layers. Plus personal reflections on the freelancing journey.

Deep dive into schema evolution, data contracts, and NoSQL approaches, exploring the convergent evolution of database change management.

Announcement of my journey into full-time freelance technical writing, focusing on data engineering content and book sponsorships.

Exploring the world of data caching, from Redis to Cube Store, and its impact on data engineering performance.

Analysis of how data warehouses, MDM, data lakes, reverse ETL, and CDPs have shaped the data landscape.

Update 2024-11-20: Newsletter Format Change

Previously, this newsletter followed a structured SQL-themed format (SELECT Topic, UPDATE Engineering, etc.). While keeping the playful SQL name, I’ve evolved to a more personal, freeform style—sharing the same quality content about data engineering, writing, and building in public, but in a more natural, conversational way.

Read: 2024 March Edition

Latest update on my hands-on real-estate project and what has changed in the last three years since I posted it. I also changed the format to more prose-focused writing, instead of a collection of text.

Read: 2023 July Edition

Discover the Open Data Stack, a versatile framework surpassing the ‘Modern Data Stack.’ We delve into tools like Dremio, the benefits of open-source solutions, and the shift towards more agile, microservices-based approaches in data engineering.

Read: 2023 June Edition

Explore the evolving landscape of Data Orchestration. We discuss the fragmentation challenges, Dagster’s growth, and Microsoft Fabric’s potential in bridging gaps within the Open Data Stack.

Read: 2023 April Newsletter.

Welcome to the first-ever newsletter – a uniquely curated blend of topics and updates.

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