The Trail: Activity #2
Notebook LM: Your Wise Uncle with a People-First Perspective
Hey there! Jon Cline here. Welcome to the second stop on The Trail! After exploring AI transcription tools in our first module, I’m excited to walk you through Notebook LM—a powerful tool that can become your “wise uncle” of knowledge while still preserving your people-first power.
What We’re Doing Here
Look, AI tools that organize information are everywhere now, right? Notebook LM is Google’s answer to this—a grounded data library that promises to help you organize, access, and learn from your collected information. And that’s great! I use this tool myself and find it incredibly helpful.
But here’s the thing—and this is crucial—there’s a massive difference between what Notebook LM captures and what you bring to the table as a human being. While it can process your information, its real value emerges when combined with your uniquely human ability to connect, interpret, and apply that knowledge with empathy and wisdom.
In this module, we’re going to get hands-on with Notebook LM, but with a twist. I’ll show you how to use it while protecting and strengthening your people-first skills. As I like to say, “AI should be a cape on your back, not an escape from your life.”
What's in it for you? You'll walk away knowing:
Exactly how to set up and use Notebook LM as your "wise uncle" of knowledge
Techniques for becoming the information curator everyone wants on their team
The real strengths and limitations of this tool (beyond the marketing)
How to convert passive information into active knowledge that benefits your relationships
A system for using Notebook LM without becoming dependent on it
Practical solutions for common Notebook LM challenges
What You’ll Need
Nothing fancy required here:
Tools
A Google account to access Notebook LM (free version is fine to start)
Materials:
Any documents, training materials, articles, transcripts, or videos you want to organize
Optional:
Headphones for listening to the podcast feature
Time:
About 30 minutes to set up your first notebook and explore the features
That’s it! No coding, no special hardware, just your brain and some documents you want to make more accessible.
The Steps to acquiring a wise uncle
Step 1: Understanding What’s At Stake
First, let me tell you why this matters so much.
When we rely too heavily on AI tools like…