I joined Lyris roughly 13 years ago. On my arrival - I had the ‘swag bag’ waiting for me in which was a mouse mat …and 13 years later not only do I still have it but it travels with me to most places I go.

Today I was taken by an article by 🔗 Scott Brinker - famed for his ‘stack maps’ - in which Lyris used to feature.

His articles arrives - and I either miss it - or I scan it - or I read it. On this occasion 🔗 1967 was the summer of love we will remember 2025 as the summer of vibes I read it - and - ummmm - no.

Umm - hell no.

…maybe one day I will follow this up with a more detailed reasoning why - but for now “yeah, no” is the only appropriate response.

Why?

1967 was music, movement, and meaning.

2025? Unless you live in a tech bubble (and clearly many do) I would suggest that when people look back from 2050, and ask how they remember 2025 - I suspect the answers or more likely to fall into categories such as;

• That America lost democracy.
• That the world slipped further into fascism.
• That we tipped past the point of no return on climate.
• That AI passed the tipping point - ushering in 50% unemployment. OR
• That AI passed the tipping point - and finally - humanity is actually free to live, create, and flourish.

My bet? However it lands, it won’t be remembered as the ‘summer of vibes’.

I am assuming that Scott has one of his tongues in one of his cheeks - so I won’t get too uppity - but just one more question - how many of you look back to 2022 as the year of

• The SPACs (and their collapse) - until their 2025 revival
• Web3 (remember when that was going to save us?)
• Cyber <fill in your ‘phrase du jour» it mainly created headlines)
• The restart of the Ukraine War (potential start of WW3)
• The end of free money
• The arrival of ChatGPT

.. and this was just 3 years ago

That said - BIG doff of hat to Lyris CMO and all round lovely man - 🔗Alex Lustberg for being 15 years ahead of tech culture and capturing ‘vibe’ as part of The Lyris culture.

This post is extracted from something I received from my friend 🔗 Randall Rospond - over on Maui.

He writes …

I first became aware of this song in 1989 when I purchased the cassette of Jackson Browne’s ‘World in Motion’ … and it spoke to me deeply then and has throughout the years.
It speaks to me more these days in the midst of America’s great lying disaster in the White House and the ruin of what I believed the USA had always ‘tried’ to stand for. Freedom. The song was written by Little Steven … and released on his Disciples of Soul album 1984. With this … I pray some sanity , rule of law , integrity , honesty and compassion return to America and the world … asap. … peace and aloha Randall

Ticketmaster - for it is they that own ‘Moshtix’ now have in THEIR system MY full and legal name that ‘must match’ the name I used to book my tickets, my phone number, my email, which city and country and zip code I live in - all of which was ‘needed’ as I booked tickets for a concert. Quite why they needed all that is unclear - because even the ID ‘enshitification’ stuff is their ‘information grab’ doesn’t solve the problem of scalping - they are just forcing data out of people - the bad guys have ways round it.

This all came to mind as I read 🔗 this from Don Marti - after he read this from Doc Searls.

Doc is a personal story - the key one to read is Don’s where he summarises surveillance ‘myths and the reality’.

I particularly liked this one …

surveillance myth: small businesses want social media advertising
reality: they wanted social networking and got switched over. Policy changes that limit surveillance will make independent businesses better off.

.. but the others are just as important.

Which is all currently high in my mind - because I am reviewing a new app that someone has recommended to me - and on their web site they write ( I paraphrase and add bold)

… a B2B marketing company that helps businesses find and close high-value customers faster by identifying which companies are most likely to buy before they raise their hand. They use AI and data signals to spot early intent, then deliver targeted ads and personalised outreach to decision-makers at those companies. Their model blends analytics, account-based marketing and sales activation to reduce waste and boost conversion.

I wonder how they do all that if they aren’t into surveillance … which as you know - I am not a big fan of … back to Don

surveillance myth: content is fungible, targeting algorithms are uniquely valuable.
reality: expert brands such as King Arthur Baking and Tieman Tire have product and service knowledge that differentiates them, and that the company can keep and build on.

The problem with that reality is that it takes time - and most people want the shortcut.

What was I thinking? I knew it wasn’t my kind of movie. And still I watched and … yeah. No.

What was I thinking? I knew it wasn’t my kind of movie. And still I watched and … yeah. No.

If you are keeping track of - the second part of my ‘Ages’ series has just been published on Substack.

The Age of Experience is rising even as the Age of Reason declines. Not to erase it, but to end its monopoly. Power is shifting from rigid logic and control to lived insight, emotional depth, and adaptive thinking, where success depends on how well you sense, respond, and connect. How then does Business adapt to survive? It must relearn its purpose: to serve people. To feel as well as think, to listen as well as plan, and to treat people not as inputs to optimise, but as meaning-makers to support. A feeling business? How? Well that’s down to the people in the business.

🔗 Read ON

It was ok. Something to watch. Didn’t like ending.

It was ok. Something to watch. Didn’t like ending.