There’s an evolving paradigm shift in the content world. Here I look at examples of what’s good, wayward, and interesting.
THE GOOD SHIFT 😎
The Last Invention, podcast by Gregory Warner and Andy Mills Are you getting more comfortable working with AI? After some initial hesitancy and mistrust, are you feeling good about how you can use it—and how it’s affecting your life? Well, The Last Invention will eviscerate any sense of comfort you’re feeling.
Four episodes in, I’ve gone from AI optimist to “doomer” — a term for people worried the rapid arrival of AGI and, eventually, ASI (artificial superintelligence) will unseat humans as rulers of the world — and soon.
But don’t cancel your ChatGPT subscription just yet (especially because I think it’s watching me type this). That’s ANI (artificial narrow intelligence), which doesn’t pose the same existential threat.
From a journalism perspective, Warner and Mills deliver captivating, compelling storytelling and deeply reported insights. If you want a crash course in how AI got here, where it’s heading, and expert commentary that will scare the crap out of you — this one’s for you. Happy Halloween.
The survey, conducted with Environics Research, revealed some eye-opening stats about how Canadian employees and employers perceive extreme weather’s impact on health. Seventy-seven percent of employees have dealt with extreme weather in the past three years; 59% say it affected their physical health; and 54% say it affected their mental health. Powerful stuff.
But while the report cites the World Health Organization and the Mental Health Commission of Canada, not a single medical or mental health expert or organization appears to have been consulted. No medical professional was quoted — directly or indirectly — to interpret or contextualize the findings.
Instead, ample space was given to explaining how Sun Life’s group benefits can help address these climate-related health risks. I get that — I’ve drawn that connection too — but here, it feels like the report’s main purpose was selling solutions, not building brand authority through credible expert perspectives.
This one made me second-guess whether I was in the right simulation.
Shwake at Shopify crafted some enlightening content from Shopify’s BFCM (Black Friday Cyber Monday) data. They analyzed five years of BFCM results to uncover what shoppers reach for “when consumer urgency, desire, and value converge” in the weeks before Christmas.
She highlights the trending categories for each year (by YOY growth), from 2020 — 1. Fashion face masks, 2. Sauté pans, 3. Hair clippers and trimmers — to 2024 — 1. Compact digital cameras, 2. Embossing stamps, 3. Pilates reformers.
Let’s set aside that I left my last compact digital camera in 2005. What really blew my mind were the “Consistent Top Sellers” across all five years, which included “Camera instant film” and “Film photo/film digitization services.”
Shwake observes, “The tension between instant film and digitization services reflects a deeper consumer duality: a desire to preserve and streamline memories through digital convenience, and a counter-desire to stay grounded in the physical world.”
Many years ago, I spent hours developing film in a darkroom, inhaled the chemicals — I don’t miss it. But this blog post was both fun and informative.
– 30 –
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Content ‘shift list’: Oct ’25
BY GREGORY BISCH, FOUNDER AND HEAD OF STRATEGY
There’s an evolving paradigm shift in the content world. Here I look at examples of what’s good, wayward, and interesting.
THE GOOD SHIFT 😎
The Last Invention, podcast by Gregory Warner and Andy Mills
Are you getting more comfortable working with AI? After some initial hesitancy and mistrust, are you feeling good about how you can use it—and how it’s affecting your life? Well, The Last Invention will eviscerate any sense of comfort you’re feeling.
Four episodes in, I’ve gone from AI optimist to “doomer” — a term for people worried the rapid arrival of AGI and, eventually, ASI (artificial superintelligence) will unseat humans as rulers of the world — and soon.
But don’t cancel your ChatGPT subscription just yet (especially because I think it’s watching me type this). That’s ANI (artificial narrow intelligence), which doesn’t pose the same existential threat.
From a journalism perspective, Warner and Mills deliver captivating, compelling storytelling and deeply reported insights. If you want a crash course in how AI got here, where it’s heading, and expert commentary that will scare the crap out of you — this one’s for you. Happy Halloween.
THE WAYWARD SHIFT 😕
How Climate and Extreme Weather are Impacting Workplace Health in Canada, report by Sun Life
With solid research come great opportunities. Unfortunately, this report missed an important one to build Sun’s brand credibility.
The survey, conducted with Environics Research, revealed some eye-opening stats about how Canadian employees and employers perceive extreme weather’s impact on health. Seventy-seven percent of employees have dealt with extreme weather in the past three years; 59% say it affected their physical health; and 54% say it affected their mental health. Powerful stuff.
But while the report cites the World Health Organization and the Mental Health Commission of Canada, not a single medical or mental health expert or organization appears to have been consulted. No medical professional was quoted — directly or indirectly — to interpret or contextualize the findings.
Instead, ample space was given to explaining how Sun Life’s group benefits can help address these climate-related health risks. I get that — I’ve drawn that connection too — but here, it feels like the report’s main purpose was selling solutions, not building brand authority through credible expert perspectives.
THE WHOA SHIFT 🤯
5 Years of Black Friday Cyber Monday Data Reveal What Consumers Really Want, by Emily Shwake, Shopify Blog
This one made me second-guess whether I was in the right simulation.
Shwake at Shopify crafted some enlightening content from Shopify’s BFCM (Black Friday Cyber Monday) data. They analyzed five years of BFCM results to uncover what shoppers reach for “when consumer urgency, desire, and value converge” in the weeks before Christmas.
She highlights the trending categories for each year (by YOY growth), from 2020 — 1. Fashion face masks, 2. Sauté pans, 3. Hair clippers and trimmers — to 2024 — 1. Compact digital cameras, 2. Embossing stamps, 3. Pilates reformers.
Let’s set aside that I left my last compact digital camera in 2005. What really blew my mind were the “Consistent Top Sellers” across all five years, which included “Camera instant film” and “Film photo/film digitization services.”
Shwake observes, “The tension between instant film and digitization services reflects a deeper consumer duality: a desire to preserve and streamline memories through digital convenience, and a counter-desire to stay grounded in the physical world.”
Many years ago, I spent hours developing film in a darkroom, inhaled the chemicals — I don’t miss it. But this blog post was both fun and informative.
– 30 –
Sign up for a free 8-Step Content Marketing Strategy Kit
The kit features a free 4-Week Email Mini-Course designed by award-winning content strategist Gregory Bisch.
Gregory Bisch