Let's Make Some Noise

This week: One of the most exciting advancements in AI, Model Context Protocol (MCP) stands to shake up how work gets done. On a very granular level. Too bad MCP has such a terrible name. Hi Reader When I was a kid, I loved maps. Plotting a course, figuring out where things connected, seeing the whole picture at once. This is probably why business strategy felt less like a career choice and more like an inevitability. It's also why I'm genuinely excited about AI. Not the hype version. The...

This week: After 25 years, Google is changing its signature search bar. Hardly surprising, it is doubling down on AI-generated answers. But it's also leaving behind the creative sources that fuel its responses. Is it time to rethink our reliance on Google? Hi Reader I hope you're enjoying your Memorial Day weekend and spending some valuable time with friends and family. If you were in an all-fired rush to get things off your desk before you shut down for the weekend, you may have missed...

This week: It's starting to feel like "saving time" is the modern-day equivalent to the mythical "fountain of youth." Everyone believes the idea exists. Everyone is in search of it. But what if that's not really what AI is all about. Hi Reader I recently found this amazing article, Small Business Myths Busted, written by Patricia Simone at Entrepreneur. It was written two decades ago but it still holds up. Having worked with hundreds (thousands??) of business owners to craft their business...

This week: Marketing and creative pros gathered at the annual Adobe Digital Summit last week. The conversations, not surprisingly, were all about agentic AI. Hi Reader: Last week, Adobe (parent of PDF and Creative Suite), held its annual Digital Summit, which brings together 20,000 marketing pros to explore Adobe's newest tools. Not surprisingly, there were a whole lot of conversations about generative AI. The editors of one of my favorite newsletters, the AI Report, sat down with Adobe...

This week: Claude AI is outpacing ChatGPT as the world's go-to AI tool. In this week's issue, I break down what's new with Claude, why people love it so much, and how I use it to amplify my own productivity. And creativity. Hi Reader: If you follow AI, even a little bit, you may have noticed a significant uptick in online chatter about Claude AI. Owned and operated by Anthropic, Claude was once relegated to the "Always a bridesmaid" category, always coming in just behind ChatGPT. But that is...

This week: Back in the good old days, office technology meant having a calculator with a tape roll and a postage machine wired to the U.S. Postal Service. Today, the average business uses nearly 20 tech tools. Hi Reader: What's in your wallet? Remember that slightly annoying commercial where smug celebrities boast of the bennies of carrying a Capita One Card? Today, the modern version is "What's in Your Tech Stack?" Now we boast about all the technology we use. Once upon a time, we needed...

This week: When we talk about protecting our data, we thinking of spam and email scams. But are we paying attention to how information on our websites are getting consumed by AI? Hi Reader: Happy almost April Fools Day. I was going to write a cheerful email about spring and hope and the days getting longer. But instead I am sitting here reflecting on what really matters. A friend of mine has been handed some bad news. Very bad news. And the feeling of powerlessness is crushing. So instead...

This week: There are so many advances happening in AI right now. And by right now, I mean as in the last three weeks. But one thing has not changed. Business is built on relationships first, AI second. Hi Reader: I've had a few big weeks filled with amazing speaking engagements. SCORE, Kiwanis Club of Corrales, and the Better Business Bureau in partnership with NMSU Global Campus. At the BBB meeting, I sat next to a man who had never heard of any of the current AI tools. No ChatGPT, no...

This week: It's hard to keep up with all the AI solutions hitting the market right now The problem? The main AI tools do so much, so most of these additional solutions just don't offer enough extra value to make them worth the price tag. Hi Reader: At my art class this week, I met a woman who spent $1,500 on AI training. She got reimbursed — lucky woman. But she's not alone. People are dropping hundreds of dollars a year (or more) on tools and courses that do what you can already do with AI...