This is a phenomenal game. If you loved classic CRPGs (Planescape, BG2, et al.), this is not just a love letter, it's a sprawling, hilarious, deeply enjoyable, unique experience.

My friends at Balsamiq have taken a bold new direction, switching from being a wireframing tool to an AI prototyping tool.

NEW: AI prototyping + the Balsamiq MCP server, now in Balsamiq Cloud. It's the product building workflow that puts your users first:

The statistic that 90% of searches happen on Google is outdated. The real number is more like 73% according to new research by @randfish.bsky.social. @clairecarlile.bsky.social and I talk about Rand’s findings and more in today’s podcast episode. Watch the full episode below!

👀 Interesting research from @randfish.bsky.social sharing how AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands or products: Does this means that AI tracking is useless? No! The key is what Rand mentions at the end: ...

"AIs almost never give the same list of brands/recs in the same order"... from new research by @randfish.bsky.social "...any tool that gives a “ranking position in AI” is full of baloney": sparktoro.com/blog/new-res...

NEW research: sparktoro.com/blog/new-res... If you give ChatGPT the same request for product recommendations 100X, will you ever get the same list twice? And what does that answer mean for folks who try to track their brand presence in AI tools? Finally, some real answers 🧐

“Hello, can I interest you in some times?” “Oh, no thank you. I’ve had enough of these unprecedented times.” “Don’t, worry, we only provide precedented times.” “In that case, I’ll take some.” “Alright then, here are your precedented times. By the way, the precedent is 1933 Germany. No refunds.”

Pricing is marketing and this is excellent marketing.

NEW post: sparktoro.com/blog/the-5-b... I made 5 predictions for the marketing world in 2026 based on these 5 big trends we're seeing. Feel free to fight with me in the comments AFTER you've read the piece 😉

www.getflack.com/p/responding... Great analogy "Imagine a thermostat for your credibility. If you’re above their setpoint, people feel you’re overrated and want to bring you down; if you’re below it, people feel you’re underrated and want to build you up."

Tip 50% or better for the next eight days. Make a reservation for a restaurant in January. Buy a round for the neighborhood bar. Be a hero.

"It's Holocaust $#*&" Exactly. Love these two.

Want a quick way to (potentially) pay for gifts? Take our survey! We're looking for responses to our 2026 trends report to fully capture the state of the market. Two responders will be selected for a $500 Amazon gift card. Survey only takes ~3 minutes: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

A nonviolent, fascinating, but still a “firearms in America related story.” Nothing bad happens, but skip it if you don’t want to read about guns. It starts with trying to legally and ethically dispose of a gun.

www.nubero.ch/blog/017/ never expected to enjoy a piece like this as much as I did (which was a lot!)

I wonder if younger folks read takes like this and think "I don't care about whether AI or artists made it, just gimme the content," aftermath.site/ai-pendleton... Or are they, too, sad for what we're about to lose.

I'm going to share a dark secret with all of you. My Kindle reading habits are those of a thirsty, middle-aged white lady who cannot get enough romantasy. And apparently this gentleman is my type? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

www.reddit.com/r/NewsStarWo... Seems to me like the solution is what Uniqlo does -- put all the items on the counter and the computer instantly tells you how much you owe and what you're buying. No need to scan.

The Results: 📈 +309% average click difference vs control 📊 +4.32% impressions for the test group

Today, I read the most important AI post of the year: sparktoro.com/blog/never-a... It's from @britneymuller.bsky.social. The topic: Why you cannot ask an AI how or why it gave you a particular response. Because it will lie to you 👇

What this makes me think: We're winning more with humans, Direct, Social, and Referral for the most part indicate that the content we are putting out is getting progressively more eyeballs, more shares, etc. Meaning we are DEFINITELY creating human value and HOPEFULLY algorithmic value too.

NEW post: sparktoro.com/blog/the-202... Thanks to the tireless work of @paddymoogan.bsky.social, our survey of 200+ digital agency owners is now live featuring answers to critical questions about the field's health, growth, and threats. 👇

NEW post: sparktoro.com/blog/the-7-m... Buyer journeys on the web moved from the familiar, funnel-shaped process to a pinball-machine-shaped one... And us marketers are facing 7 problems as a result. My latest #5MinuteWhiteboard 👇

Best new feature Google's built in years. Yes, including all the AI stuff.

NEW: sparktoro.com/blog/the-pin... Buyer journeys don't look like funnels anymore. IMO, they're like pinball machines -- people bounce around between sources before, during, even after purchases to numerous sources of influence regardless of what message you intended to put where 👇

NEW post: sparktoro.com/blog/welcomi... I'm honored to announce that the incredibly talented, deeply kind, shockingly on-top-of-everything @kristym.bsky.social has joined SparkToro, Snackbar Studio, & Alertmouse as my Chief of Staff. 💗💗💗

Google Alerts: Sorry we got nothin' Alertmouse: Golden cheddar baby!! 🧀

What people think really fancy #whisky bottles look like vs what they actually look like.

Tool of the day: Alertmouse For finding new brand/keyword mentions on the web, this is the best tool, hands down, for tracking + daily alerts If you haven't already, try it out. Every day, I've received comprehensive email reports I never would have known about otherwise alertmouse.com

Here is the link to donate: www.sleepout.org/participant/...

Hey folks, I'm sleeping outside tonight, this is why... youtube.com/shorts/deKHw...

After much deliberation and a grueling interview process, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve accepted a new job and will not need any financial support from my parents to cover the high costs of childcare going forward. #AmericanDream #ThisIsYourCity

The best advice for freelance journalists today is to be born rich. The second best advice is to marry well. This is not shade. This week's long-form essay has been a long time in the making, as I go deep into the sad state of freelance journalism over on ESC KEY .CO: www.esckey.co/the-death-of...

www.hcn.org/issues/57-11... is a beautifully written account of a beautiful project. It's the kind of piece no AI could write, where the author's passion for the subject and love for the people shines through.

nautil.us/the-surprisi... great advice "Sticking with impossible goals can take a real toll, with research suggests it can lead to higher stress, poorer well-being, and even physical health costs. But letting go and—crucially—reengaging with new goals, was found to restore purpose and well-being.”

Rarely do I read something thoughtful & nuanced about Israeli/Palestinian politics. Rarely do I read something thoughtful and nuanced about creative uses for AI. And yet, www.betterconflictbulletin.org/p/what-you-c... is somehow simultaneously both. (it's a podcast, too, for those who prefer)

NEW in SparkToro today: Take Action 16 common marketing tasks (from PR pitches to content ideation to landing page suggestions) made easier by combining real audience data + LLM calls. Anyone can try it free starting now 👇

DONATE here: www.sleepout.org/participants... Next week, I'm chipping in $6,500 and sleeping outside in the freezing Philly cold w @wilreynolds.bsky.social, not b/c I want to (dear god I am not built for sleeping outside in a cardboard box 😅🥶), but b/c it's important. Would 💗 your support

Google's new deceptive ad layout not only tricks people into clicking more ads It's costing businesses real money 💸

No. Your Twitter traffic did NOT double overnight. What happened? Twitter's been stagnating/declining since 2023 The growth team growth hacked (making links auto-open in webview) They hope marketers will fall for it & pay more attention again. But, it's nothing more than smoke & mirrors.

Got interviewed re: the digital marketing AI "revolution" (which I admit has changed a lot, but has also caused a lot of dumb decisions): www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7a5... The first 60 second-trailer bit almost convinced me to watch the whole thing and I was there the first time around! 😎👇

*puts on best Mighty Mouse outfit* Here I come to save the day!! 🦸🧀

Used @randfish.bsky.social’s awesome new tool, @alertmouse.bsky.social (a better version of Google Alerts) for a whole 30 seconds only to learn that my name was mentioned in Forbes this week. (1/2)

I *know* Google Alerts is aware of these brand mentions for my company. And yet... 😡😤😒😠🤬 they won't send me alerts. It's inexplicable. Google (the search engine) clearly has these URLs indexed, so what gives? Mystifying. Thank goodness for🔔🐭

Looking good @thekraken.bsky.social !

I've got a new job today: alertmouse.com Not leaving my other jobs, but alongside my friends Adam & Nathan, we built a "what if Google Alerts was really good?" product. Your first alert is free forever; I suspect that if Google's let you down the way it has me, you'll like it a lot 😎👇

Agency owners: Fill it now! PS: I'll feature in today's edition of #SEOFOMO 👀

This week I made a distinctly American variant of risotto that was, unquestionably, one of the most beautiful things I've ever plated. But... Gotta say it wasn't my favorite. I fell for an Instagram recipe based on looks > flavor. Still good just not *great*.