Write things.
Build things.
Notice things.

// Keith O'Brien

I make complicated knowledge work in public. Operator-ghostwriter, former editor-in-chief of PRWeek, and founder of Total Emphasis, building the systems the work runs on. Brooklyn.

This is the hub: the bylines archive (400+ published pieces), the side projects I run, the essays I publish, and how to reach me.

Explore

Total Emphasis →

B2B ghostwriting practice

Bylines →

400+ published pieces across 30+ outlets

Writing →

Essays under my own name

Projects →

What I build and run on the side

Collect →

Music, film, and TV year-based rankings

About →

Who I am, how to reach me

01
Writing

Why Is This Interesting? · Jun 30, 2026

The Multi-Player World Cup Ad Edition

Read it →
all writing →

02
Building

Screenshot of the 141 Miles homepage, a town-by-town Jersey Shore guide

141 Miles

Next.js · Drizzle · Newsletter

Jersey Shore events site with an AI-written newsletter and town-level publishing engine.

Live →
Screenshot of Workflow Desk, the desktop tool for managing Total Emphasis client work

Workflow Desk

Tauri · TypeScript · Workflow

Desktop command center for managing client projects, stages, and deliverables across the ghostwriting practice.

all projects →

03
Keeping

Radiohead — OK Computer cover art

01 Radiohead
OK Computer

Wire — 154 cover art

02 Wire
154

Low — Things We Lost in the Fire cover art

03 Low
Things We Lost in the Fire

Portishead — Dummy cover art

04 Portishead
Dummy

Music, film, and TV, ranked by year.

20265 films

The 2026 list is in progress — follow along on Spotify →

all years →

Theseus' Playlist

Named for the ship that stayed itself while every plank got replaced. Tracks rotate in and out below; the playlist doesn't.

  • +Hallogallo · NEU!Sep 7
  • −Going Shopping · The StrokesSep 7
  • +Hammond Song · Wolf AliceAug 24
  • +Lips Like Sugar · Echo & the BunnymenAug 24
open in Spotify →full changelog →

Recently
shipped

#SHIPWHEN
01Bylines archiveSelf-hosted archive of 400+ published pieces across PRWeek, IBM, Realeyes, UST, DMN, Econsultancy, and others. Wayback-recovered where original URLs 404.2026-06
02Disambiguation press kitDedicated press kit at /about/keith-obrien with ProfilePage + FAQPage schema and a 13-question voice-search FAQ. Solves the wrong-Keith problem in LLM retrieval.2026-06
03Rich entity schemaPerson schema with disambiguatingDescription, alumniOf, hasOccupation, 25 knowsAbout topics, and a sameAs chain spanning every major external profile. Every list page is a CollectionPage.2026-06
04AI-readable surfaceShipped llms.txt and llms-full.txt so answer engines and AI agents can cite the work accurately. robots.txt explicitly allows 20 LLM crawlers.2026-06
05Personal hub rebuildRewrote keithrobrien.com in the Total Emphasis design system on Next.js 16.2026-06