This is quite interesting, as cold emailing feels like a modern version of guerrilla PR (and I talked about that on the last edition) - lean, scrappy, and all about breaking through the noise. "Back in the day", getting visibility often meant cracking the gatekeepers of traditional media. Now, the 'cold outreach', is all about passing the gates entirely and managing to drop into someone's inbox. Personalisation at scales sounds magical, I get it, I've been doing newsletters and content for so long that it starts to be natural to me, but is it for others? When I do these newsletters (like here or at work), I craft them in a way that show my personality, my tone and voice. It's not just 'spray and pray', it's a crafted version of me. So, bottom line, the real challenge isn't just about sending emails, but building trust at a moment's notice. Give something back first before you ask for an action. That's what people usually forget when they send emails. Hope you can see that here, where I bring my own authenticity to your inbox every week.

WhatsApp’s evolution is both fascinating and fraught. On one hand, it’s incredible to see a simple messaging app morphing into a lifeline for businesses, especially in markets like India and Brazil. On the other, this shift feels like watching a scrappy, purpose-driven startup grow into a corporate juggernaut, with all the messiness that entails. I still remember when they were the ultimate minimalist app - or wanted to be, to cope with WeChat - with no ads, no clutter, just pure, reliable communication. It was refreshing, almost rebellious, in its simplicity. Now, with AI bots, “click-to-message” ads, and business APIs, it’s clear the priorities have shifted. And honestly, I get it - businesses need tools like these, and for many in emerging markets, as I said, is a lifeline.

You weren't expecting this now, were you? :) What a great piece and article! United Fruit portrayed Central America as a tropical paradise, using campaigns like maps, books, and tours to sell bananas and destinations. Behind this imagery, United Fruit monopolised resources, manipulated governments, and suppressed dissent, earning its “octopus” nickname. This is both an eye-opener and a gut-punch. This story is frustratingly familiar - where corporate profits intersect with imperial ambitions, justice often takes a backseat. It’s a stark reminder that beneath the everyday commodities we enjoy lies a history of struggle, often paid for in blood.

If you're reading this, you already have a good brain! :) True story! But this really makes you think about how much we take reading for granted. It’s fascinating that something as personal as cracking open a book literally reshapes our brains. The idea that thicker cortices support complex integration while thinner ones speed up processing feels like the ultimate brain balancing act - one we’re at risk of losing if reading keeps declining. Sure, video might be easier, but it’ll never push our brains to connect ideas or empathise the way a good book can. It’s a powerful reminder: when we read, we’re not just enriching ourselves; we’re keeping a part of humanity alive.

If you follow me for a while, you know I do talk a lot about GenAI and AI, so this article feels like the debate we urgently need. AI/GenAI isn’t just a tool; it’s a mirror reflecting the systems that birthed it. The tension between these new astonishing capabilities and its deeply flawed origins is stark. On one side, you’ve got realists tweaking what’s already here; on the other, refuseniks arguing it’s broken beyond repair. But what’s missing is that bold, imaginative leap - what could all of this look like if it were truly built for the public good? Right now, the stakes feel impossibly high: if we stick with the status quo, we risk building a world that runs on profit-driven code, leaving the rest of us behind. Anthropic's Dario Amodei gave an interesting interview to the FT about this. These perspectives feel like two sides of the same coin - one pressing for radical reimagination, the other working within current frameworks to steer it responsibly. We need an approach that is pragmatic, grounded in a belief that iterative scaling and control mechanisms can harness AI’s complexity for good. Still, I think that 2024 was definitely the year of AI and GenAI.

This piece hits at something timeless: our impulse to anthropomorphise what we don’t fully understand. Gremlins start as coping tools, offering WWII pilots humour and control amidst chaos, but they’ve morphed into metaphors for the inscrutable quirks of technology. It’s fascinating how these myths survive, from “bugs” to “daemons,” showing our uneasy relationship with machines hasn’t really changed. We still need stories - whether of sabotage or guardianship - to make the digital world feel more human and manageable.