Great website by @justinjackson.ca laravelnew.com

I love these photos of @jonbuda.com and me. 😆 Seven years ago, we began building @transistor.fm. Just two people with a dream. Last week, our entire team of six met up for our annual retreat. Incredibly proud (and grateful) for what we've built together. ❤️

Talking to a federal tax agency: All it took was three phone calls to learn that I needed to send a fax. 🤣

Consultants/aspirational employees often tell business owners: "Hire me! I've got lots of great ideas for your company." Business owners (generally) don't need more ideas. We're domain experts who speak with customers and leads daily. We have plenty of ideas! What we need help with is executing.

I’ve had a couple side conversations recently about centralized video. John Gruber makes a strong case today that this needs to be solved soon: "With YouTube, Google has a centralized chokehold on video. We need a way that’s as easy an... https://www.manton.org/2025/09/23/ive-had-a-couple-side.html

Working on something I believe in gives me an unbelievable amount of energy. I'm motivated by the promise of a future payoff. But if I start to feel like the payoff isn't going to happen, my energy disappears. justinjackson.ca/kill-motivat...

Rob Snyder’s writing has been so good lately. open.substack.com/pub/howtogro...

Hey, @jonbuda.com and I just recorded a new episode of @saas.transistor.fm. It was really meaningful for me to get on the mics again (it’s been 2 years!) Would love for you to listen: saas.transistor.fm/episodes/an-...

Digital fatigue is real.

After this discussion, I had so many thoughts about how everything you try in business is a bet (which requires effort). Also clear: we don't get unlimited bets! (Because we don't have unlimited resources) "Will this effort produce an ROI that's commensurate with the risk I'm taking?"

Today on the podcast: @ianlandsman.com (BUSINESS DAD) joins us to talk about Outro.fm, digital fatigue, @briancasel.com getting ready to launch the Builder Methods Pro, and the dynamics of selling courses vs. SaaS. What did you think of this one?

We're back! @jonbuda.com and I recorded a new episode of @saas.transistor.fm today. Get it here when it drops: saas.transistor.fm

(Developing this idea; help me finesse it?) In business, any effort you expend is a bet. And every bet you make *should* have some threshold for success: "Given this investment, this is the ROI I need." The hard part? Many bets fall below the needed threshold. And, one more thing 👉

BUSINESS DAD is joining us on @thepanel.bsky.social today! Join us for the livestream chat!

Blast from the past. 10 years ago. With a beard. Doing a mic sound check. In a bank vault. It looks like I'm in prison! 🤣

Vimeo is being purchased for $1.3B (Not a great return for investors: $450M in funding – they were valued at $5.2B at their last round) www.theverge.com/news/775701/...

Apparently this is a peacock spider and it’s a real thing?!!

Deeply saddened to hear this news. I can’t believe it – we were all just hanging out with him in Dallas. Todd was a pillar of the podcast industry, and passionate about keeping it open. He was also feisty and opinionated! I will miss him. Just heartbreaking 💔 podnews.net/article/todd...

🎯 “AI is accelerating digital fatigue.”

“Fine arts programs in New York City are receiving record-high applications… The surge comes as many young adults grapple with fears about the impacts of artificial intelligence, a sense of internet overload and a desire to reconnect with the physical world.”

Dan Carlin on why (in this age of AI) people are increasingly seeking out real-life experiences: "As it becomes harder and harder to tell what's real and what's not, I think human beings start to seek authenticity. Maybe old time theater comes back... maybe this creates a thirst for authenticity."

I've been sending an email newsletter since 2008. Just sent another issue this morning: justinjackson.kit.com/posts/increa... If you like it, please subscribe!

I love this line from Steve Silver, a painter who lives in the Bronx: “The satisfactions of painting are so great it seems like it must be some kind of illegal activity. That’s what it’s about, I mean, it seems like too good to be true” youtu.be/kBgvOddahzY?...

Was asked by @ninjaparade.bsky.social to turn this photo of @dyrynda.au into a meme.

Can't stop thinking about this post by Evan Armstrong. www.gettheleverage.com/p/every-star...

Why does the same amount of effort produce wildly different results? What do you think? (Reply here)

😬 editor @ichris.bsky.social finding all the great @thepanel.bsky.social clips.

“The more accurately everyone can forecast an ad’s return, the smaller the gap between what you pay for it and what it truly costs. One increasingly popular marketing strategy is to found a cult.” open.substack.com/pub/thelever...

Wildfire smoke

Love this: “At its best, marketing is a transfer of enthusiasm.” world.hey.com/jason/market...

Nice gradient

🎙️ Just published a new episode of Justin's brain: Same effort; better results. Have a listen:

Funny how that works! I have sometimes heard it called "resulting" or "outcome bias" The cognitive bias is that we attribute an outcome to the actions that preceded it, but don't account for alternatives that may have provided similar outcomes

You spent $100k on ads in 2025. Sales jumped by 50%. "What a great campaign!" you said. But then you took a time machine back and spent $0 on ads. Suprise! Sales still increased by 50%. Not every input drives the outcome.

I think it's wild that the same amount of effort can produce wildly different results (across different endeavours). I wrote about it here: "Effort-Outcome Asymmetry" justinjackson.ca/effort-outcome

“Creators are equal parts artist and entrepreneur.” – @jay.blog

"People care about marketing. They love it when it's done well. They hate it when it's done poorly. But they don't ignore it. The idea that marketing could be replaced by AI is [a misunderstanding]." People don't understand: risk is part of the job. www.hottakes.space/p/whats-real...

I've been saying for years Substack has a broken revenue model. When a user (writer) gets enough traction (revenue), they switch from paying Substack 10% to a low cost platform and take all their paying subscribers with them. Looks like Substack is finally rethinking this hole.

Good band name

In business, the most powerful marketing force is inertia: marketing efforts accumulate and build momentum over time.

“Middle-class customers are increasingly strapped, even as high earners keep on buying. Wealthy Americans are keeping swaths of the economy in good stead as they continue to buy first-class plane tickets, while more Americans are clipping coupons and cutting back on nonessentials.”

When everyone's optimizing for the algorithm, all content becomes copycat content. Originality gets replaced by mimicry, and what's left is a mediocre porridge of tasteless work. Where’s the good stuff? Where’s the creativity? Where’s the uniqueness?

Super fun to meet up with this crew during my visit to Toronto. @wesbos.com @calebporzio.bsky.social @adamwathan.com Steve Schoger, and my son Marty!

So refreshing to hear @bradfrost.com and @zeldman.bsky.social talk about their lives, creativity, “the web industry.” “Despite it all, show up and do the next right thing.” 💯 Highly recommend you listen to this episode.

my local garden center calls its rewards program “hedge funds” lol it’s the little things

Just got home. Took this photo from the plane.

Having a great time here in Texas.

Just got to this massive resort in Grapevine, Texas for Podcast Movement. #podcastmovement

So much of what made culture great between the '60s and '90s was that you had to work for it. There was friction. You'd go to a record store, book store, or thrift store, and browse for hours, just hoping for one good find. Maybe we need more of that on the internet. justinjackson.ca/good-find

My biggest fear in business: to wake up one day and realize you’ve been fighting yesterday’s war. “As Microsoft, Nokia, BlackBerry, and every other phone maker scrambled to respond, they found themselves fighting yesterday's war.” – Apple in China by Patrick McGee