the newsletter, every issue.
Nine hundred and forty-nine editions of yap, sat in one place. One long read every friday morning. Always free.
Nine hundred and forty-nine issues.
What happens when art becomes just another asset class?
The algorithm has quietly changed the deal for artists. To have a career now, you don't just make good work. You perform the making of it, on camera, in real time, for a feed that refreshes every second.
The Tana effect - why messy can be a marketing goldmine
Brand safety used to mean squeaky clean. Now it just means predictable. This article breaks down how creators and business owners with a messy digital footprint can turn their reputation into their biggest marketing asset.
Why I'm moving out of the feed and into the neighbourhood
The personal brand era is starting to crack. When everyone is a brand, nobody is a person, and the AI-generated noise of the feed is pushing creators toward something smaller and more intentional. The new move is the digital commune, a gated space where context beats reach and the bots are not invited.
Why your personal brand needs a soul, not a filter
Everyone is using the same lighting kit, the same scripts, and the same almond milk. When everything looks the same, nothing is memorable. This piece breaks down four ways to build a personal brand that actually has a point of view.
The 'curation crisis': is Meta killing the digital museum?
Meta is cracking down on repost and archive pages on Instagram, calling them low on original value. But for the communities built around digital curation, this feels less like a policy update and more like a cultural wipe. Human taste is one of the last things the algorithm can't replicate.
The high cost of the high-life aesthetic and how to survive the era of performative influencing.
The creator economy has a perfection problem. Audiences are getting sharper at spotting the performance, and trust is the one thing that can't be manufactured. This piece breaks down why the most curated creators are building on the shakiest ground, and what a more sustainable approach actually looks like.
The return to neighbourism
A decade of digital connection has left us lonelier than ever. Now people are turning back to the people on their street, in a growing movement called neighbourism. It turns out proximity was never outdated.
Why is fashion eating food while the rest of the world stops?
Luxury fashion brands are turning bread, tomatoes, and leather produce into thousand-dollar accessories. At the same time, GLP-1 medications are quietly shrinking the appetite of the exact people buying them. This is about how food became the most fashionable thing you can own, so long as you never actually eat it.
The Cerulean Effect: why The Devil Wears Prada 2 is a masterclass in modern mythmaking
The Devil Wears Prada 2 didn't need a manufactured press tour to dominate the cultural conversation. It let the brand do the work. This is what the Cerulean Effect looks like when a franchise finally trusts its own power.
The death of the "watch me" era
The "watch me" era of performance content is over. We have stopped watching for entertainment and started watching to make decisions. In a world about to be flooded with AI-generated noise, the creators people actually believe are worth more than ever.
Why 2026 was the final nail in the April Fools' coffin
April Fools' brand posts used to be a harmless bit of fun. Now they're a liability. In a world already drowning in AI-generated misinformation, the last thing consumers need is a brand adding to the noise.
The safety net of beauty (and why only 10s can afford to fail)
The hot mess trend promises that messiness is finally acceptable. But there is a catch. It only works if you are conventionally attractive, and that pretty privilege has always been the safety net making it possible.