Digital Tug-of-War
On TikTok ban whiplash, digital trade, Harvard MBAs, and CEOs running it back.
Hello loyal readers, I wanted to share where my mind has been with writing lately. If you’re curious, read on—or skip straight to today’s post in the next section (a refreshed format).
Last year, I wrote ~50 essays (plus many unpublished ones), which taught me a lot about my interests, habits, and goals. This year, I want to put more energy into longer-term creative projects and be more selective with essays, putting greater intent into each one. To balance these demands, I’m going to experiment with new formats alongside my usual essays (a couple are already in progress).
Today’s post is one such experiment, refreshing a format I used last year for paid subs—quick thoughts on what’s happening now and what’s caught my eye recently. We’re living in an economy of takes and double takes, after all. I welcome your feedback: comment and share if you like it; if not, shake your head silently and DM me. :)
The will-they-or-won’t-they TikTok ban whiplash is at least nudging ‘digital trade’ into the mainstream consciousness.
TikTok’s 12-hour absence gave us a glorious evening of collective commiseration. Platforms waited in the wings to take advantage of the fallout (Substack’s app passed X briefly in the App Store rankings). Anthropologically speaking, people just want a spectacle to talk about, something to force them out of their social silos, even if they retreat back in tomorrow. It seemed bittersweet—like people were losing something they loved but deep down knew wasn’t good for them—not pure celebration, not pure misery—celebrisery, perhaps.
Digital trade now makes up 25% of global trade— around $5 trillion—and is the fastest-growing segment. A D.C. think tank says we should “directly address the systematic economic mercantilism and lack of reciprocity that define the current digital market.” Big words, but they make a lot of sense. On Monday, when the big power is transferred, we’ll know more. We’re playing digital tug-of-war, and Trump clearly doesn’t want to let TikTok win or let it fall. The most likely outcome has to be the one that could boost sales of The Art of the Deal.
Should the MBA be rebranded as a Masters in Business Philosophy, a learning sabbatical for smart people, or a work-study co-op focused on trade skills (my dad’s pick)?
Every year, like clockwork, people screenshot-dunk on MBAs not getting jobs faster. (The real indictment of business schools isn’t their graduates but their struggle to fix their reputation.) And this isn’t a talent problem; it’s mismatch unemployment. People aren’t struggling to find a job—they’re holding out for the job, and macro cycles don’t help. (The WSJ has been telling this story since 2014!) What’s true is programs haven’t cracked hiring beyond consulting and finance.
But the degree isn’t just about jobs. A slight provocation: it’s also a structured learning sabbatical—a chance to recalibrate ambitions, to start a business with a community’s support, to join an immersive cohort of a thousand ambitious peers—for the last time in your life. Yes, the cost is problematic, and people want better alternatives, but are there any? (I’d argue any graduate program that isn’t required to practice a real world discipline has similar benefits and thus deserves similar critique.) That said, MBA programs should at the very least bring in leaders who truly understand where the world is and where it’s heading, AGI and all, because education as we know it is undeniably racing toward obsolescence.
One more provocation: Why do MBAs get more flack than elite undergrads? Perceived ‘prestige games’ are judged more harshly later in life. We seem to tolerate prestige-seeking at 18 but expect only tangible results by 27. And ‘little tech’s resentment toward MBA programs is mostly a fight to “own” business as a skilled execution discipline—though tech people still crave an invite to guest lecture and star in case studies. Stanford escapes much criticism because everyone either went there or wants to hire its grads, researchers, and dropouts. Lest we forget, it’s all a game.
And so, as I suggest in the opening provocation, a rebrand is due, but in which direction?
The founder-CEO to ex-CEO to returning CEO play is an evergreen feature film worthy plot.
Whitney Wolfe Herd is returning to Bumble as CEO, and it can’t hurt. Steve Jobs did it with Apple, Howard Schultz with Starbucks, Jack Dorsey with Twitter, Bob Iger with Disney, Sam Altman with OpenAI. Donald Trump wins for the most impressive return to office. (The scarcity of female examples isn’t lost on me.)
Time away seems to give CEOs a jolt of perspective plus the freedom to go full ‘founder mode’ with reckless abandon. It feels like part redemption tour, part revenge tour, a rush to feel the adrenaline again, and the primal urge to make sure your life’s work doesn’t get obliterated in someone else’s hands.
I’ve never been much into science fiction, but I’m reading lots of theories on post-Singularity society now, and this one’s good.
Great title from
, and it delivers: It's Still Easier To Imagine The End Of The World Than The End Of Capitalism. Everyone is wondering what a post-AGI techno-capitalist society could look like, and I am too. I’ll write more on this, but please share other good reads you’ve come across in the meantime!Matthew McConaughey launched a newsletter Lyrics of Livin’ after consulting Andrew Huberman, James Clear, & others.
It’s a 5-minute inspirational newsletter that goes out every Friday at 5 PM with a cartoon animation of him reading it aloud. He’s using Kit and getting free services but no equity. Newsletters are no longer the indie creators’ playground but a stage big enough for A-listers to act. It’s noisy and getting noisier. Three issues looming: the great inbox cluttering, stacking subscription costs, and time.
I hate Severance for releasing only one episode a week, but I love everything else about it.
Season 2, Episode 1 was good. My favorite new conspiracy theory is about Helly R, but it might have already been debunked here. Also loved this soundbite from creator Dan Erickson on the show’s origin:
“I was walking into an office job one day, and I didn’t like it, and I wanted to jump ahead to the end of the day. And then it was just like, “Okay, well, let’s follow that to its logical conclusion. How would that work? What would that mean for me? What would that mean for the version of me stuck in the office?” … [Severance is] close enough to our reality that we can recognize it, but it also feels a little bit like we get to go on a fun trip to this other weird place.”
There aren’t enough skill-based reality series which is why I love the idea behind ‘PMF or Die’ by the Technology Brothers.
PMF or Die is a competition where contestants are confined to a studio apartment for 90 days with one goal: hit $1 million ARR. Last year I predicted that more creators would specialize as producers, and it’s already happening at all levels of fame, from podcasters to Mr. Beast. More to come.
Tim Urban screenshot-tweeted one of my Substack posts.
Notable because he’s someone I admire, and because it’s usually the reverse—tweets being posted to Substack. There’s a nugget of insight here on evolving platform dynamics, especially in the era of TikTok limbo. Everything feels like a digital tug-of-war right now—with no signs of relenting.
This post turned out longer than planned, so thanks for reading. Always curious to hear your thoughts on any of the above, or whatever else is top of mind! — Anu
Tim Urban sharing your Substack feels like part of a bigger shift—Substack is slowly taking over the space Twitter used to own for long-form thinkers. Kind of like how early blogging platforms were all fighting to be the go-to place for ideas.
The MBA trends are interesting. I wrote about this recently -- in 2019, ~20% of HBS grads went to both SF and NYC. In 2023, it was ~8% to SF and 33% to NYC. I expect MBAs will start heading back to SF as a ton of capital needs to get deployed into AI and they have a good skill set to do that
https://substack.com/@joehovde/p-151973226