Summary: This article explores five strategies for designing a compelling book cover, including trusting personal instincts, seeking input from friends, consulting experts, mimicking similar covers, and testing different designs. It emphasizes the importance of audience expectations, brand consistency, and the book title. I’m finishing up a short book on customer data platforms. It’ll be available…
Summary: AI agents will revolutionize the entire content industry by allowing users to customize and access content in their preferred format — whether text, audio, or video. AI will also manage complex licensing agreements, which means that publishers must adapt to protect and monetize their content in this new landscape. The entire process of content…
Summary: Search is following the print trajectory and will soon be replaced by AI agents. This has big implications for content creators. I love tea. I love the bitterness and the astringency. I love the aroma. I love that it has no calories. And yes, I love the caffeine, although caffeine doesn’t love me. I’ve…
Summary: This article examines common phrases used by hiring managers and questions whether they indicate underlying dysfunction in the workplace. The hiring manager has one thing in mind when using these phrases, but you might want to dig deeper and make sure they’re not a sign of some disfunction. “We want a rock star.” Are…
Summary: A lot of life involves finding the balance between extremes. This article expresses the concept as “fine lines” between two approaches to an issue. There’s a fine line between being data-driven and losing touch with the people behind the numbers. “Data-driven” is overused. It’s actually very easy to be misled by data. I’ll post…
Summary: “We’ve always done it this way” may be a sign of obstinate inflexibility, or it may be a sign of respect for the people who created the rules in the first place. They had to have their reasons. I saw a thread on LinkedIn criticizing the old “we’ve always done it this way” as…
Summary: The following is a very lightly edited conversation I had with ChatGPT. Q: What are some practical tools, methods, mindsets, activities, etc., to improve an individual’s ability to plan, focus attention, manage multiple tasks, and regulate their behavior to achieve goals? Improving executive function involves strengthening cognitive processes through practical tools, methods, activities, and…
Summary: AI is a useful tool, but, just like journalists, it has its biases. Here are some tools to get past the AI superego and get more useful information. Cold: Would AI have moderated the Trump-Harris debate better than the folks from ABC? I usually avoid political topics on this podcast, but it’s Friday the…
Summary: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results” is misleading. Repetition can be the key to success. You’ve heard it many times: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The saying is often attributed to Einstein….
Summary: People are sick of doing business with rapacious companies that put profits above people. This presents an opportunity for honest businesses. I don’t mean human vs. AI (also worth considering). I mean human vs. monster. Here are some depressing statistics about humans. Somewhere between 1-6% of us are narcissists. Machiavellianism is similar, but a…
Summary: Some people have a hard time understanding the relationship between online and offline data in a CDP. Here’s a new way to think about it. A customer data platform is a system that collects, harmonizes, and combines customer data from across your enterprise to create something like a single customer record. The CDP is…
Summary: Leigh Stein’s article “writing vs. content” explores whether Substack is a haven for serious writers or just a platform for monetizing personal musings. The debate highlights the distinction between literary writing and content creation, questioning Substack’s true value for writers. Bo Sacks distributed an article by Leigh Stein called “Writing vs. Content” in which…
Summary: You might not need a CDP if you already have the capabilities in some existing platform, you can’t justify the expense, or you could easily build or buy precisely the functionality you need. I would love to work with you on a customer data platform (CDP), but only if you really need one. You…
Summary: Digital advertising has made it harder for print magazines to simultaneously please advertisers and readers, which is crucial to the print magazine business model. You can’t please everybody, and it may be getting harder for print magazines to please the right people. Bo Sacks posted an article about the challenges facing print magazines, which…
Summary: In what cases should you seek advice about your business, and from whom should you seek such advice? You want “informed advice,” and you need to be cautious about following it. It’s smart to ask for advice, but sometimes dumb to take it. The 21 Hats Podcast had an episode called “Who’s Advice are…