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A few weeks ago, I finally paid for ChatGPT Plus. It started with a simple goal: I wanted to create a personal archive of my published articles, but wasnt sure how to begin. That led to a long back-and-forth with ChatGPT, where we built a Python script to scrape my author pages, download the content, and format everything cleanly. By the time I hit the free usage limit, I was too invested to pause or switch to another chatbot. So I upgraded. In hindsight, the money ($20 per month) was well spent. For one, it worked: I now have a folder on my computer containing more than a decades worth of articles. More importantly, this was the moment that AI tools clicked for me. I’ve had little success using them to write, and often recoil at the images they churn out. When I ask ChatGPT and Google Gemini for factual information, they’re liable to get the details wrong on all but the most widely understood topics. But in this case, ChatGPT saved me days of tedious workand opened my eyes to what else might now be possible. (The idea of creating code without knowing how to code has even been coined vibecoding by Andrej Karpathy.) If I could use AI to build personal Python scripts, what other plugins or extensions could I try next? Web extensions, plug-ins, and more Unlike my colleague Harry McCracken, I’m not using AI to dream up entirely new apps. I already have too many apps from actual professionals on my phone and computer, and I don’t trust AI (or myself) enough to compete with them. What I’ve really gotten into, though, is using AI to extend and improve the software I use already. For instance, I take notes and draft stories in Obsidian, an app that’s endlessly extensible via user-created plug-ins. I’ve always dreamed of a quick note plug-in for Obsidian that matches the simplicity of Google Keep, but have yet to find anything that works. After a few hours of vibecoding, I finally built the plug-in myself. Now, through Obsidians right sidebar, I can view all the notes from any folder in a card-based layout and edit them directly from the sidebar. The plug-in also lets me pin notes to the top, create new notes with a single click, send notes to an archive folder, and search with real-time results. It even works in Obsidians mobile app, with the quick-notes view just a swipe away. I’ve also been tweaking some existing plug-ins for Flow Launcher, a free Windows app for executing quick actions from a command bar. I took a plug-in for window management and added some new sizing options, and I modified a browser history search plug-in to make it work with my current browser (Floorp). AI tools are also useful for creating browser bookmarklets, which are special kinds of bookmarks for doing things like decluttering web pages and speeding up videos. I already wrote an entire article about that, but now I’ve created an additional bookmarklet for downloading YouTube videos. This works by connecting to a local Python server that silently processes video links and sends them to my Downloads folder. In all cases, the process was the same: I would tell ChatGPT exactly what I was trying to make, and asked for clear, step-by-step instructions on how to make it. I’d follow the instructions, compile the code, and go back to ChatGPT for fixes or refinements. Some assembly required I dont want to oversell vibecoding as an effortless activity. Each of the above projects took hours to build, as I inevitably fall down a rabbit hole of tweaking, clarifying, and troubleshooting. Thats partly because AI can be as unreliable in coding as it is in other endeavors. ChatGPT has a habit of confidently declaring that its produced working code, only for errors to appear when compiling or running it. Ive spent hours feeding it error messages, trying to get it to recognize basic syntax issues or missing functions. On several occasions, Ive had to abandon a chat entirely and start a new one after the code modifications veered too far off track. Even when everything is working properly, its easy to fall prey to scope creep. You might think its simple to add a new feature or tweak the design, but those changes can easily turn into additional hours of refining and fixing. (In fairness, this happens in actual software development, too.) And while you can accomplish a lot without formal programming knowledge, youll still need a solid grasp of how file systems work and some basic sense of what code should look like. ChatGPT might ask you to replace one snippet with another, or mistakenly claim its providing full code when large portions are missing. Being able to spot when AI is about to screw up can go a long way. Take some control back One last disclaimer: I’m not nearly confident enough in what I’ve created to share it with the world, as I’m sure other folks would run into bugs or ask for features that I’m thoroughly unqualified to address. I also wouldn’t suggest vibecoding anything that handles sensitive data or important personal information. But for the things vibecoding is good atsmall, personal utilities that no one else would want to makeit’s immensely satisfying and even empowering. As Techdirt‘s Mike Masnick recently pointed out, lowering the barriers to software development is a great way to push back against enshittification by major tech companies, whose products inevitably get weighed down by the need to scale and extract more money from captive users. To that point, you don’t even need AI anymore once the vibe coding is done. Having built what I need for the foreseeable future, I cancelled my ChatGPT Plus subscription after a single month’s payment.
Category:
E-Commerce
When we hired a Gen Z marketer, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We expected fresh perspectives and a new approach to marketing, but as an older millennial, I didnt expect just how foreign her methods would feel. Our company is an AI-powered platform that helps small and medium-size businesses find top part-time professionals through network-based recruiting. As we grew, we realized we needed someone who truly understood how younger audiences communicate and consume contentnot just to market the product, but to shape how we tell our story in a changing world of work. For decades, marketing has been about connecting emotionally with audiences. “Hit the pain points,” they say. But now? Were living in a completely different world where short and authentic is king and Gen Z speaks an entirely different language. Try making sense of phrases like: Touch grass? I AM the lawn. Delulu is the solulu. Slayed so hard I need a rest day. I need a dictionary to decode this. Worse, I cant even evaluate the creatives our marketer brings to the tablethey’re so removed from my understanding of what works. It’s a puzzle. But what is also true is that we needed someone who gets it. In the same way that you need the right tech stack to build a successful product, you need the right people to resonate with your Gen Z audience. Heres what I learned about how marketing has changed from our Gen Z marketer. A Gen Z style ad for Intech. The rule of TikTok Theres a general rule when it comes to social media platforms teenagers dont want to hang out where their parents areor geriatric millennials. Instagram was built to solve a specific problem: sharing lifes moments in a simple, visually appealing format. It worked because millennials wanted to embellish their life. But that’s a negative vibe for Gen Zs only authentic content ethos. TikTok is different. It doesnt solve a problem, it is more of a content playground where attention grabbing creative content rules. TikTok is not about functionality but about the thrill of discovery. The same goes for YouTube Shorts. Micro-trends dominate One of Gen Z’s most defining traits is how quickly they move through trends. On Instagram, an ad can last for weeks before losing steam, but on TikTok, youll be lucky if a trend lasts a couple of days. Gen Z’s world is about micro-trends, and staying on top of these can feel like a full-time job. Remember that trends are not created by companies they are created by young people themselves. Advertising itself has become decentralized, and it cant look like advertising at all. A millennial style ad for Intech. Thats so me If you try to replicate Gen Zs style or worse, imitate them as a millennial or older marketer it comes across as inauthentic, and that’s a surefire way to alienate them. Gen Z has a radar for fake, and they’ll call you out for it. The content that grabs their attention is fast, compressed, and utterly focused on authenticity. Whether its meme-based or pure user-generated content , if its relatable, theyll engage. Furthermore, Gen Z is rejecting traditional advertising which paints a picture of a happier, more beautiful, successful life. For them, its about identity. If your content doesnt make Gen Z say ‘Thats so me,’ then its not worth their time. This could be a video of someone fake-smiling through a Zoom meeting while their laptop teeters on a stack of laundry, a meme about overthinking a simple text message for 15 minutes, or a skit that dramatizes the emotional rollercoaster of getting ghosted after a job interview. The goal isnt polished perfection – its emotional accuracy, humor, and the unfiltered truth of everyday moments. Let Gen Zers lead the way As a founder with over a decade of marketing experience, I’ve come to accept that I cant speak to younger audiences the way fellow Gen Zers can. Before, our marketing used to follow a classic structure: brand-building business-to-business positioning: thought leadership, long-form content, product launches, and sales enablementall based on the pain solution offer formula. It was clear, structured communication that worked well for a more traditional audience. After a Gen Z marketer joined the team, everything shifted: we stopped explaining the product and moved away from polished, heavily branded materials. Instead we prioritized native, meme-driven, user-generated, and highly contextual content. The goal wasnt to convince anymore, but to resonate instantly to make the audience say: Thats so me. Our marketer launched TikTok-style videos that used humor to show what it feels like to be stuck hiring from outdated platforms. She created Instagram Reels featuring mock text threads between overwhelmed founders and the dream hire who finally gets it. She even turned real user feedback into memes that felt like inside jokes for our audience. In the new approach, pain points are barely mentioned at allits all about cultural relevance and emotional recognition. At the same time, our return on ad spend jumped from around 30% to 120%. If your product targets Gen Z, or if you want to stay relevant in a future where Gen Z will be the dominant workforce and consumer group, you need to let them take the reins. Their instincts for trends and authentic content are unmatched. They understand the pulse of whats current and know what will resonate with their peers. If you want your marketing to succeed, you need to follow their lead.
Category:
E-Commerce
A CEO I recently worked with had become obsessed with speed and staying ahead of disruption. He launched an internal rapid response tiger teama small group of leaders and managers from a cross-section of departmentsto accelerate innovation. Within a quarter, they launched pilots, restructured teams, and redesigned workflows with promising early results. The dashboard lit up green. But beneath the surface, things were cracking. Departments were misaligned. Innovative pilots clashed with long-term strategic goals. Employees were burning out. Customers noticed. Were doing everything right, he said. Why isnt it working? It reminded me of something systems thinker Donella Meadows once wrote: Its almost certainly an example of cranking the system in the wrong direction. In this case, the issue wasnt strategy, talent, or commitment. It was the frame of thinking itself. Many organizations rely on forecasting as their primary tool for future thinking. Forecasts extend whats already knowntrends, data, and market behavior. Thats useful for near-term planning. But when youre trying to get ahead of disruption or be transformative, its not enough. Leading with foresight The path to the future isnt a straight line. Thats where strategic foresight comes in. Foresight isnt prediction. Its a discipline for understanding complexity, scanning for emerging change, exploring multiple possible futures, and using those insights to make better decisions today. It helps organizations shift from fragile to adaptable, from reactive to resilientand from watching the future unfold to actively shaping it. Foresight isnt theoryits practice. Heres how to put it to work. 1. Shift from linear forecasts to alternative futures Traditional planning assumes the future will look like todayjust more intense. More powerful technologies. More complex regulations. More global complexity. More demanding customers. Strategic foresight challenges the assumption of sameness. Rather than relying on a single, extrapolated future, foresight helps leaders explore a range of plausible alternativesincluding disruptive or counterintuitive ones. By doing so, organizations can stress test strategies, build adaptive capacity, and prepare for a broader set of outcomes. The futures that matter most arent necessarily the most likelytheyre the ones your organization is least prepared for. That requires taking off your organizational blinders. Historical data, internal benchmarks, and even industry norms can constrain your view. Leaders need to look outward across adjacent sectors, cultural shifts, and global forces that will shape tomorrows operating environment. Is the world you live in today what you expected ten years ago? Likely not. The straight-line future is the least likely one. Without broadening your perspective, you risk designing strategies for a world that no longer exists. Try this: Pick a strategic question. For example: What will it mean to lead in an AI-shaped economy? Then, build distinct scenarios that reflect recurring patterns of how the future unfolds: Collapse (no rules): a future shaped by systems failure or falter due to disruption Realignment (shifting rules): a future shaped by changing values, limits, or intentional constraints Transformation (new rules): a future shaped by fundamental emerging change driven via tech, culture, or new models Ground each scenario in early signals of social, technological, economic, environmental, and political change. Then ask: What would it take to succeed in each? What can you start doing now? In practice: A regional bank used this approach to explore the future of trust in financial services. By examining how decentralization, AI governance, and generational values might evolve in different directions, they identified core investmentslike transparency and human-centered designthat would position them well across multiple alternative futures. 2. Look for signals on the margins Most leaders wait for trends to become visible and validated before they act. But by the time something shows up in your dashboards, it’s already well underwayand likely already influencing the competition. Strategic foresight trains leaders to seek out weak signals: early signs of change that emerge at the fringes of industries, cultures, and geographies. These signals tend to look small, strange, or unrelateduntil they dont. When the same unexpected idea starts appearing in unrelated places, or niche behaviors spread across sectors, youre no longer looking at noise. Youre seeing early indicators of what could scale. Weak signals are the raw material for scenario development, and let you act before others do. Try this: Set aside 30 minutes a week to explore beyond your core market. Scan youth culture, subreddits, startup ecosystems, art, policy, or new language emerging online. Ask your team: Whats something strange, sticky, or unexpected youve noticed? Track them. Patterns will emerge, and youll spot change earlier. Common pitfall: Dont confuse noise with significance. Virality isnt viability. Look for persistence and spread across time and context. If an idea keeps resurfacingespecially in unexpected placesit may be a sign of deeper change. 3. Understand the systemnot just the symptom One of the foundational mindsets in foresight is learning to think in systems. Most leaders are taught to break problems down: analyze parts, isolate variables, and find the root cause. That works well in science and engineering. But in businessand in lifeit can be limiting. To lead effectively in complexity, we need to think holistically. Its not linear cause and effectits loops, interdependencies, and emergence. Without this lens, leaders risk solving the wrong problem, or worse, reinforcing the dynamics that created it. Systems thinking reveals the deeper structures shaping outcomesand where leverage really lies. Try this: Take a persistent challengesay, employee burnoutand map it. Place the issue at the center. Ask: What contributes to this? and What does this affect? Draw lines and arrows to show how elements interact. Look for loops and unintended effects. Better yet, build the map with colleagues from across the organization. Youll surface blind spots you didnt know you had. Counterintuitive insight: Effective solutions often feel unnatural. The best move might be to slow growth, loosen control, or redefine success. If your instinct is to push harder, try asking: What if the opposite is true? In practice: A global nonprofit used this mapping technique to explore volunteer attrition. Instead of ramping up recruitment, they found that increasing flexibility and reducing performance tracking led to better retention. 4. Plan from the future, not just for it Foresight isnt just about imagining what might happenits about deciding what should happen and aligning your strategy to make it real. Once youve explored possible futures, choose one youd be proud to help build. Thats your preferred future: not a prediction, but a direction. Then work backward to identify what must be true for that future to unfold. Backcasting reverses typical planning. Instead of projecting from today, it asks: If thats where were going, what decisions should we make now? Try this: Choose a future you want to help createsay, a climate-positive supply chain or radically inclusive service model. Ask: What needs to be true in five years? Three? One? Then identify the actions you can take today to start closing the gap. In practice: A health insurer used this method to envision a future where care is personalized, proactive, and home-based. By backcasting, they identified shifts in reimbursement, caregiver training, and diagnostics. Within months, they were piloting a solution tied to that long-term visionturning foresight into strategy and actively leading the way for an entire industry. From Forecasting to Foresight The most common reaction I hear from executive teams when I introduce foresight is, We already do that. What they usually mean is forecasting. And thats exactly the problem. Forecasting extends the present. Its helpful for budgeting and risk management, but not for transformation. It cant reimagine your business model, challenge outdated assumptions, or surface the early signals of change. Foresight can. More importantly, it gives leaders agencynot just to adapt, but to shape what comes next. This shift isnt just methodological. Its a mindset: one that calls for curiosity, humility, and the courage to act before the future is fully knowable. The future wont follow your roadmap, but that doesnt mean were powerless. Strategic foresight gives leaders the tools to act with purpose, even in uncertainty. Its not just about anticipating change. Its about becoming the kind of organization that helps shape it.
Category:
E-Commerce
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