Episodios

  • Keeping it Real: The Moat is IRL, Not AI

    Keeping it Real: The Moat is IRL, Not AI
    Jan 29 2026
    If you live long enough, you’ll spot the patterns. Here’s one I’ve been keeping my eye on.In the 1990s the term Keeping it Real was used by many of us in the hip hop community which was lifted from African American Vernacular English. But why did this term in particular resonate? We have to think of what was happening at that time as a scene which had local roots and a foundation in New York City (Bronx and Queens to be precise) in the 1970s started to really grow and create influence across the globe in the 1980s and early 1990s. With this growth, the era of the “corporate sellout” was in full swing. We could easily spot this “talent.” Pawns of the larger major labels given six-figure record label deals because they had one or two solid hits, acted a particular part, but really lacked a vision for a long tail career that said anything. As more of this talent got signed, an entire underground spawned. Labels, artists, even clothing lines. A backlash to the fakery usually driven by a visual image. And this is where we heard people utter, Keeping it Real more to the point it even ended up as a mantra on a popular reality TV show, “When people stop being polite, and start getting real.”At its heart, Keeping it Real meant and still means:* Staying authentic* Being honest about who you are* Not selling out, fronting, or pretending to be something you truly are not for status or moneyThis idea was deeply important in early hip-hop, where credibility and lived experience mattered a lot. Maybe more than anything for a life long career of artistry. It reminds me I was able to meet RZA when I worked at a record label in the early 2000s. He’s the real deal. A prime example of someone honest about his roots, his passions and influences. A lot of early gatekeepers told him Wu-Tang would never go anywhere. But he heard things others didn’t and went with his gut.The reason I bring this up?It taps into a universal tension: who you really are vs. who you’re expected to be. And let’s be honest (a phrase that came out of keeping it real), authenticity never goes out of style, even when that word gets overused.Fast forward to the early aughts and many bloggers that inhabited the web would write out their entire souls to strangers online. There was something wonderful about this. These were normies, people like you and me who simply had a digital mood board. But instead of using it to try to convert into a career of sorts, many did this from the point of how open source works. They approached their writing from a “What Can I Offer the World” point of view. I remember talking to many of these bloggers. Most of them were introverts uncomfortable with their new found fame. One told me something that still resonates. “If people can learn something, cope better with what I share, and unite with others based on shared experiences, then maybe this will help bring humanity together with a common understanding. Maybe we’ll find more commonality with our universal human peers.”This type of Hopecore continued to spread as online influence grew and social media rose in popularity. Before you knew it, an entire cottage industry of creators and influencers had spawned. Need dating advice? There’s a creator/influencer for that. Need tourism ideas? There’s an influencer for that. Need ideas for an outfit? There’s a creator who does some cool hauls with a style you might like for that. And even how we approached our careers started to transform. “Oh, so and so has 900,000 followers on Insta (ahem, little did anyone know this person bought all those followers), they must be good at social media marketing. Let’s hire them!”This worked for a really long time. In fact in the past 15 years I would note that I have gotten hired from a great social media presence on LinkedIn, TikTok and now Substack. But when people hired me, they also knew my real credentials. I had the portfolio of work to back it up. And most important? I had the lived experiences. When you meet me, I can tell you all the learnings and relearnings from these experiences. I can talk game.This is a huge advantage not being talked about much by those so keen to lean heavily on knowledge engines to give them all the answers. IRL is now the moat in a world where prompt addicts think they can just figure out answers from some Large Language Model and be an “expert.” They’re looking more and more like the Matt Damon character in this Good Will Hunting scene…For the past six years everyone assumed what people tell them they’ve done or even have experience in is all fake quackery. Snake oil. That creative? AI must have made it. The people you say you know? BS to just get a meeting to talk about investment. And part of this is because instead of Keeping It Real there have been so many faking it until they make it with illusions of grandeur that trust has eroded our social fabric. “Should we believe what they say on their resume...
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    6 m
  • What's in store for 2026? More turbulence. Fasten your seat belt. Icebergs ahead.

    What's in store for 2026? More turbulence. Fasten your seat belt. Icebergs ahead.
    Jan 5 2026

    If everything is a Remix, then everything is filled with uncertainty. I’m approaching 2026 similar to 1976. Why? 1975 was a massive year of turbulence. Just like 2025. So should we assume because of turbulence things will smooth out as we get to smoother air? Not necessarily.

    It’s difficult to forecast anything in this day and age. Too many changes, too many system flaws, too many human and technological errors. Too many bad hot takes. But it’s good to discuss what is possible to get a better idea of the behavioral landscape. Some highlights we see on the horizon for 2026:

    * What’s tangible? What can we touch? In a world overwashed in digital and made up metrics, people want what’s “real” again.

    * There is less risk being taken and a need for managed outcomes. We’ve been seeing this since 2023. This continues through 2026.

    * Cost-cutting seems to be the bet on revenue model. Until there is nothing else to cut. Then what? More uncertainty.

    * This year will be slower than 2025. Which means if we think things are going to “get better” we’re in for some heavy future shock.

    * Being first to market and “FAST” is maybe not the best recipe for success now even though this is what Big Tech sells to customers. Maybe being strategic, deliberate, deep and calculated aka “SLOW” is the better opportunity in a year that looks like a quagmire and uncertain. Why? Going slow allows you to focus. Going fast feels good for dopamine levels until you’re fried.

    * Are we seeking monocultures again over personalized feeds because the former leads to less alienation?

    * 2026 will be the first year portfolio careers are finally accepted and not looked upon as “weird” by those in career recruitment. All of us have multiple email addresses now to handle the various outputs we participate in.

    What are your thoughts for this year? How are you feeling? What are your big bets in business? Feel free to share in the comments.

    Creative Studies. Creative News for the Creative Class. Join Us at CreativeStudies.News



    To hear more, visit creativestudies.substack.com
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    27 m
  • 2026: The Remedy of the Commons and the Revenge of the Humanities

    2026: The Remedy of the Commons and the Revenge of the Humanities
    Dec 29 2025
    “Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.”This is something we will finally learn in 2026. The year I will dub “The Revenge of the Humanities.”We seem to have a death of permanence. But all of the broken pieces of how our society operated for much of the last 80 years are not thrown away. They are picked up and re-assembled into a new society. This is what we are witnessing as what we undergo for the 2020s is best described as future shock.What is it?Too much change in a short amount of time.We have all suffered from dopamine deep fry.When there is a significant amount of changes in a short amount of time, society undergoes what individual humans undergo when they face high levels of stress: literal shock. Everything we’ve been witnessing since the 2008 financial collapse has been one elongated version of shock. Certain generations seem to be okay with this. Writing new rules for a new world. But those who want to go back and make things great again seem to be trying to keep the beating pulse going on what appears to be a dead corpse.The primary question now for us to answer is, will our society give out and die from that shock or resuscitate and move forward to truly live?This leads to wondering why we believe that just because we have the capital and power to build certain technologies, if we should do so. We seem to think that innovation and the logic of the markets are the only path to perseverance. But are we overdue for adopting a paradigm of the commons approach for the 21st Century? And what would that look like?An alternative that has been tried and tested in practice by communities past and present, the paradigm of the commons goes beyond the state and the market and implies the radical self-instituting of society, allowing citizens to directly manage their shared resources.This isn’t the techno feudal corporatism that exists now. It represents more of a model in which the emphasis is on the importance of self-governance and community stewardship, contrasting with traditional market logic that prioritizes individual profit over shared responsibility. Key aspects of this world to help eradicate future shock could include:Self-organization: Communities that can directly manage their shared resources without external control, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.Holistic behavior: The commons presumes that humans can engage in more complex, humane behaviors that go beyond selfishness, promoting social solidarity and cooperation. It is no longer focused on the corporate state.Resilience: The commons can be found in various forms throughout history and organizations including indigenous practices, open-source software, local food production systems, community organizations and city-states where a percentage of all revenue is put toward the larger common wealth and good.This challenges the rational belief that everything that works best is a marketplace, privately owned and monetized like a casino.David Bollier describes a future by adopting the commons because:“Market enclosure is about dispossession. It is a process by which the powerful convert a shared community resource into a market commodity, so that it can be privately owned and sold in the marketplace. Enclosure preys upon the common wealth by privatizing it, commodifying it and dispossessing the commoners of their autonomy and resources.Enclosures sweep aside the social relationships and cultural traditions and sense of community that had previously existed. It requires the imposition of extreme individualism, the conversion of citizens into passive consumers, and greater social inequality. Money becomes the coin of social legitimacy and participation in a society.”For all this to happen there must be events that occur that we are not ready for.Future shocks.This will result in collapse and reform. Disruption and destruction. Which clears the way for a new canvas to paint on again. A new social contract. New collaboration. New collectivism. Public spaces and the commons, both online and off, are counter attacks to entrenched private power strangling society currently. It’s also a human reaction, a counterculture to the robotic-ism and cold and plastic solutions that have been shoved down our throats by big tech the past two decades. This is the only true path to creating real possibilities and new forms of social organization without being dictated solely by profit, markets or revenue.I hope you will use 2026 to learn, unlearn and relearn what will make you happy, curious and challenged to become a more well rounded and complete human being in a world over washed in technology. To hear more, visit creativestudies.substack.com
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    7 m
  • Revolution Calling

    Revolution Calling
    Nov 17 2025
    Creative Studies is made possible by Dropbox Dash. Search the way you think.Dropbox Dash is your AI teammate that surfaces the content and context you need to stay focused and on track. Cut through chaos with Dropbox Dash, your AI teammate In 2008 James Surowiecki wrote the book “Here Comes Everybody.” In it, he made the case that digital connectivity has democratized organization and communication, reshaping how communities form and how collective action happens in the modern world.We’re now seeing that play out 18 years later as the book reaches a maturation state moving from merely a hypothesis to real life case studies.Shirky documented what is now showing up in every human state of affairs including politics, business and education. And we’re just at the beginning state of this tipping point.One of the biggest real life case studies happened recently that may actually dial all of this up to eleven to use a terminology from Spinal Tap.Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City as a Democratic Socialist. Many point out he did this solely using social media. But what he really did was utilize organizing without organizations. And using something usually not talked about in our heavy technocratic narratives. He got people talking with one another in real life spaces again in one of the biggest cities in the world. And they did this without any formal organization. He copy and pasted Shirky’s hypothesis into real life. Mamdani relied heavily on a decentralized group of volunteers who canvassed for him around progressive policies and a vision that is long overdue to be implemented in a city that has become the playground of billionaires.As The New York Observer review of Shirky’s book stated, “For the first time in history, the tools for cooperating on a global scale are not solely in the hands of governments or institutions. The spread of the internet and mobile phones are changing how people come together and get things done - and sparking a revolution that is changing what we do, how we do it, and even who we are.”While the internet is not new, how we are finally using it seems to be rewriting outdated playbooks and systems from a big media monocultural era. This is leading to a reform revolution right before our very eyes where how we viewed the world the past 40 years is no longer how it will function for the next 40. Mainly because the past worked like a military hierarchy. The present? Like a flat collective where everyone has equal power to contribute and be a participant more than a witness.This, along with an economic system in need of a Nu “New Deal” is making us teeter on the edge of a reset. So what is holding back the complete overhaul of outdated organizational design systems? Is it technology? Probably not, as technology is all around us. Is it the lack of vision to implement new ways of thinking? Maybe, but we’re seeing those cracks now showing as more progressive candidates get elected into office using crowdfunding techniques. Most likely it is the hoarding of power by old systems unwilling to simply give up power. It’s a classic tale of a power struggle. New vs. Old. Future vs. Past.We know through history how this all plays out. There are 8 stages of collapse. We’re in stage 7. What’s stage 8? Reform or revolution. Note that there is a possibility of reform OR revolution in stage 8. Not everything has to be violently destroyed to be rebuilt.Reform only happens when we can pay attention to what truly matters when it comes to disruption. Things that are “outside the lines” of our purview. Today we note that AI or the Intelligence Age will be the largest change on our society moving forward similar to how many believed the Space Age and the Atomic Age would make the most important impact on eras of the past. And yet if we look at the past from the present we realize quickly that it was the transistor and birth control pill that were much more revolutionary than either rockets or nuclear bombs.As Shirky notes: “They changed society precisely because no one was in control of how the technology was used, or by whom. That is happening again today.”Technology tools are not simply technology tools. Technology tools are social change agents.Mamdani showed exactly this when he went from a 1% nobody one year ago to a 50% voting mayor-elect majority ushering in the dawn of a new era on organizing without organizations.He is not the first to run an organization without organizing and most certainly won’t be the last. To hear more, visit creativestudies.substack.com
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    7 m
  • Everything Good Was Once Imagined

    Everything Good Was Once Imagined
    Nov 5 2025
    Why are we so fixated to not imagine any alternatives from what exists on the left vs. right spectrum? Do the economics of the past not fit the containers of the present? Geoffrey Colon asks and answers questions about the power shift from the knowledge economy to the creative economy.Creative Studies. Creative news for the creative class. Join us.Insights, inspiration and influential commentary about business and life in the 21st Century.“How will you make buses free?”Well, how do we make any public service free?Libraries, the last I checked have been free for some time.And not many people complain about those.The internet has reshaped behavior. Not always in a good way. But now it wants to disrupt how we govern. And this could actually be a good thing. Why? People are just asking that their power as a collective in the form of taxes be directed to the things we want more of. Not what some representative thinks we want more of. In a world where the internet isn’t new, what scares those in power is that what they think we want, maybe we don’t really want at all.This leads us to the current situation of efficiency over progress. Because big tech has a huge monopoly and stranglehold on the world economy, how we do business, how we communicate, how we police, how we work, how we live; we are seeing moves for them to become bigger, more powerful, to have more oversight where they have an ultimate stranglehold on power. They are becoming nation states unto themselves. Some in the creative class see this and are calling it out. Now this ripple effect is reaching politics. And this is causing many to finally wake up and question old institutions and outdated systems. If you’re an old fashioned politician on either side of the aisle peddling a bunch of propaganda and spouting canned talking points, good luck. Authenticity which wins on social media has now seeped into the political water. And it seems to be winning.We aren’t asking a cult of personality anymore. We don’t want cult leaders. We see what is happening with the current digital Jonestown in place. We want leaders who remove obstacles so that the collective can rise. We are tired of assuming someone will represent us when we feel like we can represent ourselves better as a unified force. We don’t assume everyone who can’t feed themselves is lazy or incompetent. We are starting to realize more and more that society and the sum of the parts is greater than a few wealthy individuals who use corporate welfare to enrich themselves at the expense of everybody else.This is a huge shift over the past 40 years where we were told communal thinking was bad, individualism was the only way. Where we were told government was bad, that privatization and the logic of the markets was the only way. Where we were told anybody could be anything they wanted to be, even if the system isn’t really designed to help them be that. We seem to be complacent with the fact we reward people who move pixels around on a screen then people who move physical bodies from a bed to a chair. That one is worth $1500 an hour and the other only worth $15 an hour. We seem to be quick to label ourselves as if that is enough for us to get into the pearly gates of an unproven afterlife while ignoring the plights of our fellow humans in the here and now.When people say things are not possible, that we’ve tried that and it doesn’t work, that things are going to go to s**t, then we’re giving up on the one skill that has carried us through as humans forever. That allows us to expand our minds in ways not deemed possible.Imagination.We’re no longer in the knowledge or information economy. But the powers that used big data to enrich themselves don’t want you to get this memo. They don’t want you to imagine an alternative to what has existed for thousands of years. They want you to stay on the straight and narrow path. Because doing anything different prevents their growth. And these powers want us to simply choose from two very narrow options. Both not that very different from each other. Both dressed up in two colors. Do you want red or do you want blue? Those with imagination are questioning where are the green, yellow, purple, pink, black, white, grey, turquoise, orange options?We are fully in the imagination era now. If we would actually exercise it. But someone keeps telling you to believe anything the intelligent assistant tells you. This is why big corporations are trying to dig in their heels, laying people off to enrich what shareholders remain holding the stock and seeing the end of the world before seeing the end of a financial system that seems to have run its course.What if this layoff collapse going on around us is actually an opening? Is it a signal of the emergence of smaller indie creator DIY systems as the next infrastructure of work and a shift from managers to makers? What if we have a barter economy take the place of the financialized one that ...
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    7 m
  • Our Podcast Could Be Your Life

    Our Podcast Could Be Your Life
    Oct 27 2025

    Creative Studies. Creative news for the creative class. Subscribe, read, watch and listen now at CreativeStudies.News

    It feels like the 1980s all over again. Just not the 1980s you’re thinking of.

    Geoffrey Colon explains how indie podcasts are leading the way on IRL community building by remixing something established 40 years ago by DIY hardcore punk culture and the book Our Band Could Be Your Life.

    Read this now by subscribing to CreativeStudies.News

    Subscribe to the Creative Studies podcast on Spotify or YouTube

    Check out merch at CreativeStudies.Store

    Hire our creative collective to shape your content and storytelling at CreativeStudies.Agency



    To hear more, visit creativestudies.substack.com
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    8 m
  • There's an Iceberg in the South of France

    There's an Iceberg in the South of France
    Jun 17 2025

    In this conversation, Geoffrey Colon, founder of Creative Studies, and Marty Swant, freelance ad tech journalist, discuss the evolving landscape of advertising in the context of AI and technology. They explore the implications of generative AI on creative processes, the potential displacement of agencies, and the challenges marketers face amidst rapid disruption. The discussion also touches on future predictions regarding the role of advertising, the rise of user-generated content (UGC), and the impact of agentic browsing on consumer behavior and privacy.

    * The generative AI boom has sparked interest in technology's capabilities.

    * Advertising agencies are grappling with the potential displacement by AI.

    * Brands are experimenting with AI in creative campaigns, facing mixed reactions.

    * Concerns exist about agencies losing control over the creative process to platforms.

    * Data privacy and trust issues are significant in the ad tech landscape.

    * The workflow of creative processes is changing due to AI integration.

    * Marketers are uncertain about the future amidst multiple disruptions.

    * UGC is becoming increasingly prevalent in media buys.

    * The creator economy is generating more revenue than traditional media.

    * Agentic browsing could create new challenges for advertisers and consumers.

    Chapters

    00:00 The Intersection of AI and Advertising

    05:31 The Future of Marketing in a Disrupted Landscape

    10:14 Predictions for the Future of Advertising

    Read + Watch + Listen to this episode and more on the podcast for the creative class. Creative Studies.

    Creative Studies. Masters of the Fine Arts. Join us.



    To hear more, visit creativestudies.substack.com
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    17 m
  • Finding the work shouldn't be harder than the work

    Finding the work shouldn't be harder than the work
    May 15 2025

    Microsoft and LinkedIn just announced layoffs as I’m writing this. 3% of the company or over 6,000 people. This seems to now be the norm in what kicked off in February of 2023 where nothing is stable. I even underwent my own layoff like many in my own big tech job in what feels like forever ago in April 2024. Over that time period I had 50 conversations with people close in my network and have applied to over 300 roles.

    I won’t say nothing has happened. Do I have one, stable W2 paying job?

    No.

    Am I employed with work?

    Yes.

    Will I ever have another W2 paying job ever again?

    Not likely.

    And this is what many are missing as they seek to find work in this new normal of the 21st Century.

    Finding work is broken along with the fact the economy as a whole is also busted.

    Most of this originates back to 2008 but this piece isn’t about the Great Recession. It’s about where job hunting will go next as the job market evolves.

    For as long as I can recall over the past three decades as a member of Generation X, we’ve been told that the future of work would be like producing a film. You have a skill, you bring it to the team, you do the job, you depart, you look for your next line of work.

    There’s just one issue with this. It’s unstable.

    Add in this factor with the fact job board sites like LinkedIn are more like Facebook Lite and a job hunting, referral and networking revolution is long overdue.

    Enter Posted.Careers.

    When I was laid off last year I noticed that many people wanted to help but the systems and architecture we rely on are all old and antiquated. Spend $20 to apply to an Upwork job with no transparency. Spend $90 for a monthly LinkedIn Premium account to apply with thousands of others.

    There’s no differentiating advantage. Zero community.

    The new solutions provide all the NEW job posts delivered fresh daily to your inbox so you can apply in a timely manner. And the entire service is donation only of $1, $3, $5 or an amount you want to offer on a monthly or one-time basis.

    It’s the de-corporatization or un-privatization of job hunting and it’s long overdue.

    Watch or listen to the podcast with co-founders Chuck Heckman, George Nguyen and myself, Geoffrey Colon, on why we built Posted.Careers as a rallying cry for the creative class to find work and create a DIY collective job hunting movement.



    To hear more, visit creativestudies.substack.com
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    44 m