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.
Why Data-Driven Audience Connections Are Still Mostly Marketing Bullshit
Marketing’s fetish with complex data to decode purchase intent is mostly a lazy narrative that confuses correlation with genuine audience connection. Here’s why.
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Incrementality Measurement Isn’t Magic — Stop Treating It Like It Is
Marketers drown in data but starve for truth on incrementality. The grift of lazy attribution models and SEO plugin hype must end — clean measurement demands rigor.
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The Myth of Unified CTV Measurement: Why Independent Metrics Are Still a Pipe Dream
The CTV measurement hype cycle is spinning out of control, but the dream of a truly independent, unified system is still a farce. Marketers deserve better.
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The AI Content Detector Scam: How Detection Tools Destroy Publisher Trust
Since late 2023, AI content detectors like OpenAI’s own classifier have shown error rates over 40%, wrecking publisher credibility and fueling misinformation.
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How Lazy Structured Data Implementations Are Killing Google AI Overview Features
Over 70% of websites with structured data fail to make Google’s AI Overview features due to sloppy JSON-LD and schema misuse.
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How Lazy Structured Data Implementations Are Killing Google AI Overview Features
Over 70% of websites with structured data fail to make Google’s AI Overview features due to sloppy JSON-LD and schema misuse.
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The AI Content Detector Scam: How Detection Tools Destroy Publisher Trust
Since late 2023, AI content detectors like OpenAI’s own classifier have shown error rates over 40%, wrecking publisher credibility and fueling misinformation.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Taboola’s AI Answer Engine: Publisher Engagement or Another Content Monetization Mirage?
Taboola’s new AI answer engine promises to boost publisher engagement but is really just another slick layer of ad-driven content monetization dressed up as innovation.
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USA Today Co.’s AI Licensing: A Rare Win Amidst Programmatic and Traffic Meltdown
USA Today Co. bucks the industry trend with AI licensing deals driving real revenue growth in Q1, even as traffic and programmatic ad sales tank.
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