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.
Universal Ads Wants Your Pizza Budget—But Can’t Deliver a Slice That Sells
Universal Ads is piling on features, but unless it can make the phone ring for small businesses, it won’t steal ad dollars from social platforms any time soon.
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CBS News Radio Fades Out Quietly—While CBS Mornings Ignores Colbert’s Last Bow
CBS News Radio bows out after nearly a century, while CBS Mornings pretends Stephen Colbert’s Late Show finale never happened. The message: legacy means nothing.
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Sharyn Alfonsi Shown the Door at 60 Minutes: The Bari Weiss Saga Was the Final Straw
Sharyn Alfonsi’s ouster from 60 Minutes is the latest fallout from her headline clash with Bari Weiss over a controversial story. The lesson? In 2026, digital firepower always beats corporate risk aversion.
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Vox Media and BuzzFeed: The Fire Sale That Proves the Digital Media Revolution Was Mostly Hype
Vox Media and BuzzFeed didn’t just get sold—they got put out of their misery. The digital media hype machine has finally run out of gas.
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HR Bots Are Gutting the AI Talent Pool Before Interviews Even Start
Right now, the best AI talent is being algorithmically ghosted before ever reaching a human. Blame lazy HR, not the machines.
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Ben & Jerry’s Ben Cohen: ‘Selling Your Business Is a Shitty Goal’—And He’s Right
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen just torched founders who build businesses just to sell. If you’re chasing exits, you’re missing the whole point.
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OpenAI’s Latest Hire: ServiceNow’s Colin Fleming, Because ‘AI Marketing’ Is Code for Selling Hype to Suits
OpenAI just hired ServiceNow’s Colin Fleming to translate AI hype into safe, enterprise-friendly sales pitches. Don’t confuse this for innovation.
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Blueland’s Retail Glow-Up: Packaging That Finally Stopped Whispering in a Walmart Aisle
Blueland ditched its pastel navel-gazing for a retail-ready look that finally says, 'Buy me.' The rest of sustainable CPG should take notes and stop hiding.
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GPT-5 Turbo Arrives, But Surfer SEO Still Chokes on Simple Sitemaps
OpenAI unveiled GPT-5 Turbo on June 18, 2024, promising 'next-gen' AI usability. Meanwhile, top 'AI SEO tools' can't properly ingest a basic XML sitemap.
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Google's AI Search Panel in May 2026: The Traffic Extinction Nobody at Google Cares About
On May 14, 2026, Google's AI Search Panel rolled out globally. 40% of publisher traffic evaporated overnight, and Google execs pretended it was evolution.
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The NBA Just Let a YouTuber Rewrite Its Playbook—And Every Other League Should Be Nervous
The NBA didn’t just sign a YouTuber—they handed Kenny Beecham the keys, exposing how far behind every other league truly is. Panic move or blueprint?
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Consumer Confidence Bumps Up—But Don’t Pop the Champagne Yet, Marketers
Consumer confidence ticked up this month, but the only thing rising faster is marketing delusion. Spend smart, or get ready for a summer of hard lessons.
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Microsoft’s AI Hysteria Claims Another Veteran: Yusuf Mehdi Bails After 35 Years
Microsoft’s AI transformation is leaving longtime execs like Yusuf Mehdi in the dust. If you’re not ready to rewrite your playbook, you’re next.
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OpenAI Wants to Sell You Ads—And They're Hiring a Hype Chief to Do It
OpenAI is no longer pretending to be above the ad game. They're hiring a marketing exec to make sure their LLMs sell you everything—including more ads.
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Colbert’s Late Show Exit Destroys Ratings—But Don’t Pretend TV Isn’t Circling the Drain
Colbert’s Late Show finale just hauled in 6.7 million viewers, but don’t let CBS fool you—TV’s not making a comeback. This is a nostalgia high, not a trend.
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Nike’s World Cup Marketing Blitz: Hype Over Substance or a Glimpse of the Future?
Nike just torched the old playbook with a 12-week World Cup influencer blitz. If you’re still betting on a single big ad, you’re already obsolete.
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Google's May 2026 AI Rewrite: Search Results Just Became a Massive Black Box
On May 14, 2026, Google enabled AI Overviews for 88% of English queries. Expect to lose 30-60% of your organic clicks—overnight.
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Nike’s World Cup Circus: Marketing Gimmicks Dressed as 'Collabs' and the Cult of Surprise
Nike’s 'surprise' World Cup cast isn’t a marketing revolution. It’s another round of influencer-driven noise, dressed up as innovation and risk-taking.
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