Reading Marketing Dive’s piece today on “How rising retail brands use influencers to combat digital overload” gave me that familiar “we’ve done this before” feeling. The article frames creator relationships as the adaptive layer brands need when platforms keep shifting formats, algorithms, and attention, and most of all, it points to growing consumer fatigue with … Read more
We’re witnessing the end of an era and perhaps the beginning of another. The traditional sports telecast, once the hallowed perch where voices like Vin Scully and Harry Kalas painted summers in living color, is being unseated. Not by better microphones or smarter analysts, but by the app icon on your phone. Two seismic stories … Read more
Wine bars aren’t restaurants pretending to care about wine. They’re the inverse: wines that happen to have a kitchen attached. I’ve spent decades hunting them across continents, not because I’m chasing Michelin stars or Instagram moments, but because wine bars are where the conversation between terroir and table gets honest. No sommelier theater. No $300 … Read more
There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about The Jetsons, the 1960s animated sitcom that gave us a peek into “the future” as imagined from the space age. Orbit City’s flying cars, robot maids, and meals in pills still evoke laughter and awe. But take a closer look, and you’ll find that many of those fanciful ideas aren’t … Read more
A Lesson from Mary Jane’s Last Dance– “Well, I don’t know, but I’ve been toldYou never slow down, you never grow old.” That opening line from Mary Jane’s Last Dance is one of those lyrics that feels tossed off casually, but lands with weight. It’s observational, almost conversational, yet it says something most of us don’t fully … Read more
Every year, as early January approaches, tech media and headlines start to orbit around one event: CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics show. Platforms, newsletters, podcasts, and social feeds fill with predictions about the latest screens, AI gadgets, robots, and “game-changing” innovations. And with CES 2026 already underway in headlines, one story has exploded to … Read more
As 2025 comes to a close, it is worth reflecting on a year that did not explode with revolutionary breakthroughs but rather revealed a steady convergence of long-developing trends. This was not a year marked by disruption for disruption’s sake. Instead, it was one in which previously experimental ideas matured and earned their place in … Read more
For more than two decades, I have watched social media evolve—from the early days of blogging to launching the Nokia Blogger Relations Program, and through the rise of every platform that promised to democratize influence. Throughout it all, one principle has remained true to me: it is not how many followers you have, but who … Read more
Virgin Wines is betting that “taste” can be modeled. And doing that will make wine buying feel less like wandering an endless aisle and more like having a trusted merchant who already knows your palate. The company is partnering with Preferabli and its “sensorial AI” to break down wines into sensory attributes (acid, sweetness, tannin, … Read more
I’ve been watching the tech industry’s latest obsession with a mix of fascination and skepticism. The narrative that AI agents will completely replace our beloved apps has been gaining momentum. You’ve probably seen those dramatic headlines declaring “The End of Apps” or “AI Agents Are Coming for Your Home Screen.” But as with most technological … Read more
