When There Is Uncertainty You Double Down

Yes this is coming from a marketer whose business relies on businesses needing marketing, but it's true. When the economy is strange and uncertain the first inclination is tighten up the purse strings and cut costs.

Yes watching where the money goes is important, but turning off the one avenue that gets your company's message out at a regular cadence is insane and, frankly, STUPID.

But marketing is the first thing businesses cut when the going gets tough. I get it, it's hard to prove direct return-on-investment all the time with marketing, but it's easy to prove what happens when you have to shut down because no one knows you exist.

During economic bear market businesses need to focus on getting their message out just as much as when we're in a bull market.

I know, with the current administration, people are scared and not sure what's next. But controlling what you can is important. And marketing helps you do that.

Even if you hone in on what particular marketing you CAN do right now is better than cutting it all off.

Again, this is coming from a digital marketing agency owner who wants businesses to need what he's offering. But don't you think I'm looking at what I can cut? I'm a business too. The one thing I'm not doing is cutting the marketing budget.

I get it when your business relies on federal funds and funding outside your control, but when you're in the private sector, figure it out!

Am I nuts? Probably. What do you think?

The Latest From The Entrepreneur's Enigma Podcast

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Web Jawn

Oversharing online? 5 ways it makes you an easy target for cybercriminals

Here’s why scammers and other malicious actors love when you share details about your life on social media.

ZDNETLance Whitney

I can see this as a factor. Be careful what you share folks!

Does size matter? The power of micro- and mid-tier creators in podcasting

Advertisers know trust and authenticity are important, and smaller podcast creators are proof that loyal audiences and deep connections drive consumer behavior.

Ad AgeBy:Ad Age Studio 30

Authenticity is important and I'm glad to see that podcasts at any size are trusted.

Has Taylor Lorenz Lost Her Sanity and Decency?

Taylor Lorenz’s recent actions shock me—expected more from her as a journalist and a human being. What happened?

SethGoldstein.meSeth Goldstein

She's controversial and I wonder why? My take.

OpenAI is buying iPhone designer Jony Ive’s AI devices startup for $6.4 billion

OpenAI said Wednesday that it’s acquiring Jony Ive’s artificial intelligence devices startup io for about $6.4 billion.

CNBCKate Rooney,Hayden Field

Geez that's a lot of money! Would you use a ChatGPT AI physical device?

Restoring Trust while Preserving Safety

In April, @matt wrote about reflection; how, after twenty years, WordPress is still growing, not just in code and contributors, but in responsibility. The Jubilee post invited us to pause and ask w…

WordPress.org ProjectMary Hubbard

Shouldn't have happened in the first place. What a fiasco. Also the pineapple on pizza question is still on the login page of .org.

Mary Hubbard Moves to Rebuild Trust After WordPress.org Bans

In a new Make WordPress post, Executive Director Mary Hubbard suggests moderation reforms, such as an appeals process, clearer Slack guidelines, and rotating roles, following months of community uncertainty over WordPress.org bans.

The RepositoryRae Morey

Rae Morey's take on the "Restoring Trust" post from Mary Hubbard.

Second Plaintiff to Join Class Action Against Automattic, Mullenweg Over WP Engine Dispute

A proposed class action over WP Engine’s temporary blocked access to WordPress.org last year is moving forward, with lead plaintiff Ryan Keller expected to file an amended complaint next week that expands his claims and adds a second named plaintiff.

The RepositoryRae Morey

This is a story that keeps giving. Geezus.

Who’s to Blame When AI Agents Screw Up?

As Google and Microsoft push agentic AI systems, the kinks are still being worked on how agents interact with each other—and intersect with the law.

WIREDParesh Dave

Good question.

Researchers Scrape 2 Billion Discord Messages and Publish Them Online

A Brazilian team used Discord’s API to scrape 10% of its open servers.

404 MediaMatthew Gault

Granted they are anonymizing most of the personal information, still crazy story.

The 15 biggest announcements at Google I/O 2025

Catch up on what you missed.

The VergeEmma Roth

A good read through about Google I/O.

Google rolls out Project Mariner, its web-browsing AI agent | TechCrunch

Google is rolling out Project Mariner, an AI agent born out of Google DeepMind that browses and uses websites on a user’s behalf.

TechCrunchMaxwell Zeff

I'm sure many who know how to use Robots.txt will block the agent. But I can also see how it might be handy to let browse your site, especially if you're a restaurant or service-based business.

Google brings live translation to Meet, starting with Spanish

Near-real-time, live translation is available in Google Meet without the need to rely on captions.

EngadgetBilly Steele

I used to dislike Google Meet. It never seemed to work as well as Zoom. But it's gotten better and this is a neat feature.

Bluesky Is Plotting a Total Takeover of the Social Internet

All the lefties fled to Bluesky following Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. But CEO Jay Graber says the app is for everyone—and could revolutionize how people communicate online.

WIREDKate Knibbs

A worthwhile video to watch if you're trying to wrap your head around Bluesky and the social web now that Twitter/X is a dumpster fire.

Unlike Elon Musk’s X, Meta’s Threads is prioritizing links

Posting links on X hurts your posts ability to spread. Meta is going to do the opposite with Threads.

MashableMatt Binder

Nice to see a big tech company finally letting people use links and not demote them for doing it.

Is Google really getting worse? (Actually, it’s complicated)

Explore why Google search may feel worse, why it isn’t necessarily worse, and how shifting dynamics shape the search experience.

Search Engine LandPhilipp Götza

It is complicated. Worth a read.

Anthropic’s New Model Excels at Reasoning and Planning—and Has the Pokémon Skills to Prove It

When Anthropic’s older Claude model played Pokémon Red, it spent “dozens of hours” stuck in one city and had trouble identifying nonplayer characters. With Claude 4 Opus, the team noticed an improvement in Claude’s long-term memory and planning capabilities.

WIREDKylie Robison

AI can now play Pokemon on it's own. And has even more skills.

Discord might use AI to help you catch up on conversations

The company just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

The VergeJay Peters

A good use for AI, if you ask me. I struggle to keep up in Discord.

Don’t Guess My Language

If you’re still using IP geolocation to decide what language to show, stop screwing around. It’s a broken assumption dressed up as a feature.

Good points made. IPs can be spoofed (achem... VPNs). Don't make assumptions.

WordPress.org Plugin Submissions Surge 87% Amid Rise in AI Tools

Less than a year after clearing their backlog and bringing wait times down, the WordPress Plugin Review Team is facing a new challenge: volume. Plugin submissions have nearly doubled, driven by a rise in AI tools — and developers eager to put them to use.

The RepositoryRae Morey

Yikes!

Digg co-founder offers to save Pocket as Mozilla winds it down - 9to5Mac

Just one day after Mozilla confirmed it’s shutting down Pocket, Digg co-founder has stepped up with a public offer to take it over.

9to5MacMarcus Mendes

Pocket is uses by lots of people. Good to see it get a reprieve.

Updating some legal features

Setting up optional Terms of Service, server rules translations and age requirements - new features coming in Mastodon 4.4.

Mastodon Blog

I'm excited for this update on Mastodon.

Google AI Mode traffic is untrackable

Google’s AI Mode hides referrer data, making clicks invisible in Google Search Console and analytics platforms. Is this Not Provided 2.0?

Search Engine LandDanny Goodwin

Well this isn't good. Geez!

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Web Find

Infrared contact lenses let you see in the dark

Mice and humans were able to detect infrared light, even with their eyes closed, with limited resolution.

Ars TechnicaJennifer Ouellette

This is pretty neat.

One helluva story.

Oops! 🤣

I'm mostly a cross between Lawful Good and Chaotic Good.😏🤣

That's It For This Week! Keep Rocking It!

-Seth

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