What I’m thinking about the future of Threatologist
I’m planning some major changes. Hit reply and let me know what you think of them!
Big change #1: Launching a new Russian security resource hub.
At some point in the new year, I plan to launch a resource hub for professionals working on Russian security issues, and specifically those working on the topics I focus on: terrorism & insurgency, the North Caucasus, private military companies, and state-linked security services.
The working name of the hub is The Russian Security Brain, and I’m envisioning something like a built-for-you, Tiago Forte-style second brain.
Imagine, for example, that you want to find the latest media reporting or access a curated reading list of scholarship on a given topic. These will be in different sections of the hub’s library.
Or perhaps you want to find details of a particular security service unit and who is in charge (or maybe just tell the difference between the nine billion different “Akhmats” that are out there!). There will be a searchable database of organisations and key personnel, as well as visualisations, to help you.
Or perhaps you want to get an idea of levels of violence in the North Caucasus, and be able to put the latest incident in context. There’ll be an incident database that will make that super easy.
The overarching aim of the hub is to provide access to time-saving, high-quality resources that will make it much easier for people like you to access information on key topics.
There will, of course, be a price to this: it costs a lot of time and money to create and maintain a hub like this and, you know, capitalism, rent, etc. Threatologist needs to be financially sustainable if I want to keep providing resources that I hope you find useful. But I want the price to be low enough that, in terms of the time it will save people working on these issues, it’ll be a no-brainer in terms of value for money.
I’ve done a lot of work on the data side already, but health issues have disrupted my progress a little. Working on the interface is the main hurdle I've got to overcome. I’m hoping for a late January launch, but before that I’ll put out a call for a few beta testers (who will get a substantial discount on the hub as a reward).
Big change #2: Delivering news and developments as a separate newsletter
This change is much simpler, but it’s directly linked to #1. Instead of a single newsletter containing an in-depth analytic article plus a roundup of news and developments, I’m thinking of splitting the newsletter in two.
One part (probably called Threat Monitor or something similar) would comprise news and developments. It would remain free to subscribers, and would continue to be developed on its current weekly tempo.
The other part (which would keep the Threat Dissection name) would be more in-depth analysis. This would be more ad hoc, as circumstances require, and would be exclusively for hub subscribers.
I could implement this change at any time, perhaps as soon as this week (any ad hoc analysis will be free until the hub launches if the two don't coincide).
The reason for the change lies with…
Big change # 3: In-depth analytic reports for hub subscribers
Basically, I want to carve out space for more in-depth, enduring analytic pieces that add genuine value.
That’s quite difficult to do alongside routine monitoring, creating and maintaining the hub, and, of course, client work. I don’t want to produce stuff for the sake of it, but on a weekly schedule, I feel I often only have time to scratch the surface of some really interesting stuff.
So what I’m thinking is to produce an in-depth investigation of a new topic, more or less each month (up to ten a year). The first one, for example, would be an examination of trends and patterns in terrorist and insurgent violence in the North Caucasus in 2024. After that, it could be whatever seems most compelling and interesting — be it a guide to the landscape of Russian PMCs, an in-depth investigation of an understudied or important actor, or a profile of operations in a particular country (ideas for what you would like to see are welcome!). But the goal would be to add genuine value and original data to a particular conversation.
These reports would only be available to hub subscribers, so they’d offer another reason to join!
This idea would be for the new year.
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All of these ideas are provisional at the moment. But, of course, the whole point of the hub is to be useful to you — so let me know what you think and if you have ideas for the types of things you would like to see!