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.
Applebot-Extended Visibility: The Mirage Behind Most Site Invisibility
Despite Apple launching Applebot-Extended visibility in late 2023, over 80% of tested sites remain unseen in Apple Search results as of June 2024.
Read →
Core Web Vitals in 2026: Google’s Overhyped Metric Nobody Actually Measures Right
Since its 2021 rollout, Core Web Vitals have morphed into SEO’s biggest distraction despite 73% of sites misreporting metrics in Google’s own data.
Read →
OpenAI’s Consent-First Ad Gambit in the EU: A Privacy Theater or a Real Shift?
OpenAI’s new consent-first pixel signals upcoming ChatGPT ads in Europe, but don’t mistake compliance theater for true privacy respect.
Read →
Marketers Ignoring CTOs and Specsavers’ Cringe Tagline Tweak Prove the Industry Still Doesn’t Get It
Marketers ignoring CTOs and Specsavers’ weak tagline change reveal a marketing industry stuck in shallow tactics and tech ignorance.
Read →
Authenticity in Creator Campaigns Is a Myth Until You Nail Prep, Not Just The Shoot
Authenticity in creator-led campaigns isn’t born on shoot day. It starts in the ugly, overlooked prep work that most brands and agencies skip.
Read →
The Brutal Truth About Growing a CPG Challenger Brand: Why Grit Beats Gloss Every Time
Launching a challenger brand in CPG isn’t about grit and storytelling alone—it’s a brutal fight over distribution, margins, and real consumer access.
Read →
AI Is Not Magic — It’s the Retail Media Wake-Up Call Brands Desperately Needed
AI isn’t a magic wand for retail media — it’s a brutal efficiency tool forcing brands to finally link ad spend with real sales. CVS Media Exchange shows how lazy legacy models get disrupted.
Read →
The Marketing CEO Myth: Why Leadership Isn’t About Branding — It’s About Not Being a Clueless Suit
The marketing CEO fad is just lazy leadership wrapped in buzzwords. True brand stewardship demands ruthless clarity, data-driven decisions, and ditching the agency grift.
Read →
CNN’s NewsNight Erupts as Scott Jennings and Adam Mockler Trade Barbs — Meanwhile, Newsmax Tries to Buy Credibility with Greta Van Susteren Podcast
Scott Jennings and Adam Mockler’s heated CNN segment was less debate, more spectacle, while Newsmax bets on Greta Van Susteren’s podcast to boost its credibility. Both moves highlight the media’s ongoing descent into partisan theater.
Read →
YouTube’s Creator Data Gambit: A Half-Baked Gift Wrapped as a Game-Changer
YouTube’s new creator data access is being hailed as a breakthrough, but it’s really a half-measure designed to keep marketers locked in, not truly empowered.
Read →
The AI Visibility Tool Circus: Why Marketers Are Waking Up to Overpriced Snake Oil
Marketers are dumping cash into AI visibility tools that promise clarity in a zero-click world, but inconsistent data and lack of standards expose them as costly gimmicks.
Read →
Baller League Exposes the Myth That Reach Equals Real Fandom — Here’s What Marketers Are Getting Wrong
Baller League’s growth method debunks the lazy marketing myth that reach equals fandom, proving that authentic communities sell franchises—not just clicks.
Read →
Marketers’ Tech Myopia: Why Ignoring Your CTO Is Marketing’s Dumbest Move in 2024
Only 4.6% of marketers value their relationship with the CTO, exposing a massive blind spot in marketing’s tech strategy amid the AI revolution.
Read →
Lucky Yatra: How Indian Railways Turned Ticket Fraud Into a Marketing Masterstroke
Indian Railways’ Lucky Yatra lottery proves gamification crushes fare evasion where heavy-handed enforcement fails. It’s time marketing stopped punishing and started rewarding.
Read →
Specsavers Finally Ditches Its Stale 22-Year-Old Tagline—But Did Anyone Ask For This?
Specsavers has tweaked its iconic 22-year-old tagline to reflect a broader range of services, but this rebrand barely scratches the surface of what the brand really needs.
Read →
Pinterest’s New CMO Bets on Storytelling to Mask Mission Drift and Drive Offline Usage
Pinterest’s new CMO, Claudine Cheever, leans hard on storytelling to promote a mission of offline living — but this feels more like a marketing smokescreen than a strategy.
Read →
Chess.com Hits 250 Million Users and Tries to Pawn Off More Ads Without Killing Subscriptions
Chess.com just hit 250 million users and is trying to boost ad revenue without annoying its paying subscribers. This isn’t your typical lazy ad play.
Read →
Possible 2026 Unmasked: Why the Industry’s Favorite Buzzwords Are Still Mostly Hot Air
Possible 2026 trotted out the usual suspects — outcomes-based pricing, agent orchestration, AI discoverability — but beneath the buzzwords, it’s the same tired industry grift. Here’s what really matters.
Read →