Guides Portals Major Update

Last week we made several major updates to guides, but one of them was immediately noticed by over 25,000 people. And that's our branded Guides portal product.

Why Guides Portal

When most people hear "knowledge management" they immediately think of a giant document library.

The problem is that nobody wants to read a giant document library.

Organizations use Guides because they have knowledge that needs to be applied, not just stored.

Sometimes that's training.

Sometimes it's operational procedures.

Sometimes it's onboarding.

Sometimes it's certification programs.

Sometimes it's simply making sure people can find answers without hunting through folders, PDFs, and emails.

The goal isn't documentation.

The goal is helping people do things.

Every Organization Is Different

One of the things I love about Guides is seeing how differently people use it.

This week we launched new portals for organizations ranging from industry associations to fitness businesses.

One portal serves contractors and renovators across Canada with building science, insulation, and air sealing training.

Another helps personal trainers learn sales processes, daily operations, team development, and franchise procedures.

Same platform.

Completely different knowledge systems.

What they have in common is a desire to make expertise accessible and usable.

More Than A Library

The new portals provide organizations with a dedicated home for their knowledge.

Training programs, guides, procedures, resources, channels, and AI-powered search can all be organized into a single experience.

Instead of asking:

> "Where is that document again?"

People can simply find what they need.

Or increasingly, ask.

The Bigger Opportunity

I've spent much of my career helping organizations capture and share expertise.

What excites me most today isn't just documentation.

It's the combination of structured knowledge and AI.

Organizations already possess incredible knowledge.

The challenge is making it available to the right person at the right time.

We're getting closer.

And it's fun to see these portals becoming the foundation for that next chapter.

---

Get involved

Want to learn more about what we're working on, or about Guides specifically?:

• Check out Guides or send us an email at hello@guides.co
• Join the Commonet coalition
• Follow updates for weekly signals

Public infrastructure should be built in public. This post is one step in that direction.