What we are thinking about.
Notes from running 8 publications and building tools for them. Restaurant SEO, local marketing, the boring parts that move the needle.
AI Content Detectors in 2026: The Grift That Won't Die at OpenAI and Beyond
In 2026, AI content detectors still fail spectacularly, with OpenAI's classifier accuracy plunging below 30% on real-world content.
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Applebot-Extended Visibility: The Under-Used SEO Weapon Agencies Ignore
Applebot’s extended crawl footprint remains an overlooked opportunity despite Apple driving over 25% of US web traffic on iOS devices.
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Google Search Console’s Discover Metrics Are a Garbage Fire—Stop Trusting Them
Google’s Discover metrics in Search Console routinely overstate impressions by up to 300%, making them one of the least reliable data points in SEO today.
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Yoast's AI SEO Tools: Cargo Cult Coding Dressed as Innovation
Yoast launched its AI SEO tools in 2024 promising smarter optimizations, but the code relies on boilerplate prompts and outdated heuristics, not genuine AI breakthroughs.
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Stop Pretending ROI Is Some Magic Number: What CMOs Actually Need to Measure
CMOs need to ditch the ROI fairy tales and embrace ruthless accountability. Stop chasing vanity metrics and demand real revenue impact, or get stuck in the marketing swamp.
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TikTok’s MCP Server: Another AI Hype Machine or Real Campaign Automation?
TikTok’s new MCP server promises AI-driven campaign automation, but it’s more corporate lock-in than genuine innovation. Advertisers beware the latest automation hype.
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Agentic Advertising Is the Next Big Grift — Here’s Why You Should Be Skeptical
Agentic advertising is the latest overhyped tactic in media, promising autonomous AI-driven optimization but delivering little beyond repackaged programmatic with inflated costs. Here’s why the industry’s hype machine needs to be called out.
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Cancer Research UK Crushes Short-Form Noise With Brutally Effective Long-Form Storytelling
Cancer Research UK’s long-form documentary series on Channel 4 shattered short-form complacency, driving donations and brand trust where quick hits fall flat.
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TikTok Ditches Ads — Chromebook Gets the Boot: The Week's Tech Shake-Up You Didn’t Ask For
TikTok’s pivot to an ad-free experience is less about user benefit and more about dodging regulatory fire, while Google quietly shelves the Chromebook experiment. Both moves reveal deep cracks in tech’s shiny façade.
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Biscoff’s 15-Year Creator Trust Play Shows How Brands Should Actually Partner, Not Puppet
Biscoff’s long-term creator relationships prove that handing over real creative control beats the cookie-cutter influencer grift every time.
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Marketing’s Endless Excuse: Why ‘Company Narrative’ Is Just Another Lazy Grift for Investment
Marketing Week judges push the tired ‘company narrative’ line to justify spend, but it’s just another excuse for agencies to dodge real ROI accountability.
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ADWEEK’s Innovator 50 Opens 2026 Nominations — Another Round of Hype or Real Tech Impact?
ADWEEK’s Innovator 50 nominations for 2026 are open — but watch out for the usual buzzword circus. Real innovation demands real impact, not just marketing fluff.
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YouTube’s TV Facade: The Creator Show Grift Advertisers Should Fear
YouTube’s push to recast itself as a TV network with "creator shows" is less innovation and more a slick grift aimed at advertisers desperate for brand-safe media.
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Amazon Pulls Back on API Fees After Tech Industry Pushback — A Rare Win Against Corporate Greed
Amazon’s scrapped API fees after heavy pushback show how vulnerable tech firms are to platform greed. This is a wake-up call to build independence.
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YouTube’s Talent Exodus Ends: Why It’s Betting on Being a Creator Home, Not Just a Launchpad
YouTube is done being just a launchpad for creators fleeing to rivals. It’s pivoting hard to become a real home, investing in retention and community to keep stars from leaving.
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Stratacache Pulls the Plug on UK Digital Retail Screens—Another Sign of Retail Tech Overhype
Stratacache’s decision to liquidate its UK business reveals the retail advertising tech sector’s overhyped promises and failed digital signage strategies.
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Target Dumps Its Clunky Creator Program for Two Sharper, More Realistic Initiatives
Target ditched its clunky creator program and launched two new ones—Club Target and Target Ambassadors—aimed at real engagement, not influencer grift.
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MrBeast’s Creator Platform: The Quiet Coup for a Programmatic Creator Economy
MrBeast is flipping the script on the creator economy with a new platform that ditches lazy agencies and grift for programmatic infrastructure.
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