Alexander Arvidsson

I make data matter, as only data that matters can inspire change.

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Hey there and welcome! I am Alexander.
The intersection of people and information shapes everything.

I work as a consultant helping organizations make their data matter, and I enjoy sharing my thoughts and knowledge at conferences, in blog posts, and in my podcast Knee-Deep in Tech. Microsoft has recognized these contributions with the MVP award in the Data Platform category since 2018.

Recent

Resurrecting the Untruthful Art

4 November 2025·916 words·5 mins

‘The Untruthful Art’ is back for 2025, completely revamped for our AI-driven misinformation era. With 59% of shared links never clicked and AI presenting statistical hallucinations as facts, data literacy has never been more critical. I’m updating with modern examples: AI benchmarks, social media dynamics, election polling, and climate data manipulation.

Stop Opening Presentations with Your Credentials

28 October 2025·659 words·4 mins

The ‘30-second rule’ for presentations is based on a misunderstood study, but the principle of starting strong still matters. Learn why leading with credentials fails, how to open with value instead, and why I memorize every word of my first five minutes.

Resurrecting the Blog

21 October 2025·229 words·2 mins

It is time to resurrect the blog, almost exactly 10 years after its inception.

Focus on what is relevant

30 December 2022·297 words·2 mins

Southwest Airlines’ December scheduling collapse exposed the dangers of deprioritizing both people and technical debt, as 90s-era systems designed for 300 daily operations failed under 20,000+ operations following a leadership shift from operational focus to profit-driven management.

Fightning with .NET - 'unable to resolve' nuGet package errors

28 December 2022·168 words·1 min

Encountered cryptic NuGet package errors while setting up a .NET test environment. The fix: remind NuGet where to find packages by re-adding the source with dotnet nuget add source. A simple solution to a confusing problem.

Retiring a session

29 September 2022·529 words·3 mins

Retiring my most successful session after 20 presentations. Not because it failed, but because it exploded beyond what one session can hold. Splitting the original ‘The Untruthful Art’ into multiple new talks, with the final bow at DataMinds Connect in October.

Conference equals party! - or does it?

20 March 2022·1721 words·9 mins

Conferences aren’t the party most people think they are. The hidden reality: spending 10-100 hours preparing a single session, the mental exhaustion of networking, and why professional conferences are about career growth, not celebration.

Speaking at the Global Power BI Summit and SQLBits

2 March 2022·312 words·2 mins

One virtual session at Global Power BI Summit, then straight to the airport for SQLBits in London. Two talks, three countries, five days. The European data conference scene doesn’t stop, and neither do I this week!

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