October 9, 2025
In this week's edition: a smarter way to disagree, passing peak social media, how TikTok keeps scrollers scrolling, why context comes first, the creative cheatsheet, and much more...
A smarter way to disagree - “It’s what you say, not what you think, that matters - People’s internal mental processes (the think and feel techniques) have a limited impact on outcomes for a simple reason—we can’t read other people’s minds. This means that for others to notice, appreciate, and react to our conflict-management attempts, our thoughts and feelings must be reflected in the things we do and say. Mental states must be translated into observable behaviors.” (HBR)
Have we passed peak social media? “As platforms degrade into outrage and slop, users are turning away.” (FT - $)
Automated PR tool is bombarding UK media with AI-generated content - “‘Olivia Brown’ reads websites, writes press releases then ‘relentlessly’ sends emails.” (Press Gazette)
How TikTok keeps its users scrolling for hours a day - “More than 800 U.S. TikTok users shared their data with The Washington Post. (They) used it to find out why some people become power users, spending hours per day scrolling.” (Washington Post - $)
Facebook is turning into TikTok - “Meta’s next pivot to video will show a popup bubble whenever one of your Facebook friends likes a Reel.” (The Verge)
He used to work for X. Here’s what he says is wrong about Musk’s stance on the mainstream media - A former Comms chief for X said in an interview that “social media is not journalism. Social media platforms are a great place to do journalism, and there are fantastic journalists that are doing really great work on platforms, but the platforms themselves are not replacing the craft of journalism… The craft of journalism is different than sharing the raw feed.” (CNN)
Trust in Media at New Low of 28% in U.S. - “Republicans’ confidence in mass media to report news “fully, accurately and fairly” now at 8%. (Also) there is a clear generational divide in trust in the media that has grown particularly stark over the past decade.” (Gallup)
It’s not Qantas that has the reputation problem, it’s marketers - “Here’s the inconvenient truth for all those marketers and journalists that have lined up to take down Qantas over the last few years: the airline could not be in better shape. It’s a spectacular business. It’s in rude health. And by any proper estimation one of the best brands in Australia.” (Mumbrella)
How the Crisis PR Machine Shapes What You Think About Celebrities - “The disinformation age has hit Hollywood, and the celebrity-industrial complex is armed to the teeth. Meet the crisis publicists, right-wing wranglers, and trolls for hire who are influencing what we think about today’s biggest stars.” Celebrity PR… erm publicity… is not a space I want to play in. (GQ - $)
Why context comes first for brand success - “If brands stick to static consumer profiles that neglect how different moods and moments influence individual shoppers, then they risk losing sight of how their audiences act at scale.” (Ipsos)
Media Reactions 2025: Where do people prefer advertising? “Despite the rapid emergence of new media channels and platforms, both marketers and consumers still feel there is a lack of innovation in the media space. Only 14% of marketers find ads innovative in general, and according to consumers there are no media channels that stand out as innovative.” (Kantar)
Humiliating gaffe melts reputation - “We could not ignore the story of the chocolate bar and the spelling mistake that left a bitter taste.” (Mediafirst)
Americans have mixed feelings about AI summaries in search results - “Americans who have seen AI summaries in search results are lukewarm about their value. One-in-five say they find the information extremely or very useful, 52% say it’s somewhat useful, and 28% say it’s not too or not at all useful.” (Pew)
The Creative Cheat Sheet - From the creator, “As a young, dumb art director beginning my career in advertising, I’ve decided to put some resources together to help up-and-coming creatives like me (and maybe some older folks) make their best work. The result of that effort is The Creative Cheat Sheet.” (The Creative Cheat Sheet via Matt)
And finally, the most popular article from last week was How to be a supercommunicator by Range Widely.
That Creative Cheat Sheet is a great find! Thanks for sharing!!