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The GRADIENT: Why Taste Is the New Moat

Gemini Set to Bring Significant Improvements to Google’s Ad Business

The numbers $113.8 billion—Alphabet’s Q4 revenue, up +18% year-over-year. $95.9 billion—Revenue generated by Google Services during the quarter, which includes Google Search, subscriptions, platforms, devices, and YouTube ads. $13.6 billion—YouTube advertising. $17.7 billion—Google Cloud revenue, up +48% from the same period in 2024. Over 750 million—Gemini monthly active users. The watercooler talk Google’s parent company,

Work-form’s practice has its roots in participatory design and place-making

Alongside their studio practice, founders of work-form Charlie Abbott, Jake Hopwood and Alex Hough teach graphic design at a range of institutions across London, collaborating with participants of all ages to orchestrate large creative briefs and collaborative projects. Seeing this part they play in education as a valuable way of “testing approaches to the production

How to Use NotebookLM In Your Communications Planning

Gini Dietrich shows how NotebookLM creates AI-generated podcast-style discussions. She recently tested it out, and the results were incredibly realistic – complete with natural inflections, tone, and even filler words. The post How to Use NotebookLM In Your Communications Planning first appeared on Spin Sucks.

Google’s Mueller Calls Markdown-For-Bots Idea ‘A Stupid Idea’

Some developers have been experimenting with bot-specific Markdown delivery as a way to reduce token usage for AI crawlers. Google Search Advocate John Mueller pushed back on the idea of serving raw Markdown files to LLM crawlers, raising technical concerns on Reddit and calling the concept “a stupid idea” on Bluesky. What’s Happening A developer

TransUnion looks to bring trust back to mobile communications channels

TransUnion this week signed a definitive agreement to acquire RealNetworks’ mobile division. The acquisition will help expand TransUnion’s Trusted Call Solutions suite by offering protection of text messaging and expanding the company’s footprint in the E.U., where RealNetworks has a strong foothold. To understand the strategy at work here, you likely need only look at

We heart these Valentine’s Day gifts for photographers

Believe it or not, photographers are actually some of the easiest people on the planet to buy for. We always need something. Whether it’s a new lens, extra film, spare batteries, a software subscription (see some of the best photo editing software examples) – heck, even a personalised camera strap can be a sentimental gift

How AI In PR Is Revolutionizing How You Work

What would you do with two extra days a week? That’s the potential time-saving of AI in PR. Gini Dietrich breaks down how AI tools are transforming routine tasks and freeing up time for strategic work. The post How AI In PR Is Revolutionizing How You Work first appeared on Spin Sucks.

The Real SEO Skill No One Teaches: Problem Deduction

Most SEO failures are not optimization failures. They are reasoning failures that occur before optimization even begins. In enterprise SEO escalations, the pattern is remarkably consistent. Teams jump straight to causes, debate theories, and assign blame before anyone clearly articulates the actual problem they are trying to understand. Once blame enters the conversation, problem definition

MND Association on its ‘fast forward’ rebrand

The Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association is on a mission to “unlock opportunities” following its first brand refresh in over a decade. “Our ultimate goal is getting to £50m [in income per annum] by 2030 and driving more research, more campaigning and more support,” says head of brand and marketing, Siobhan Gray. “Brand isn’t the only

Posters/Illustrations 23/25 :: Behance

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The Business of Social Mission

Meg Crumbine says a big brand cannot do business without a social mission. She shows how PR pros can play their role thoughtfully and authentically. The post The Business of Social Mission first appeared on Spin Sucks.

Using AI For SEO Can Fail Without Real Data (& How Ahrefs Fixes It)

This post was sponsored by Ahrefs. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. If you’ve ever run into the limits of solo AI or manual SEO tools, this article is for you. What You’ll Learn 1. Why AI + Real SEO Data Together Beats Guessing Or Generic Prompts 2. Level 1: Quick

YouTube users have already noticed changes on the platform

On Jan. 21, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan released a lengthy blog post about what creators can expect in 2026, outlining upcoming changes poised to drastically affect creator experiences on the platform. The changes show just how much YouTube is willing to flex to keep itself ahead of the game — whether that’s competing with big

Where have all the flowers gone? The new dawn of Corita Kent

In 1955, Pete Seeger scotch‑taped a song to a microphone and sang it at Oberlin College. The tune was spare, almost plainspoken, but its question cut deep: Where have all the flowers gone? A lyric about war’s recursive toll, about memory slipping through generations. When will they ever learn? That same year, the acquittal of

How Comms Pros Can Counter Misinformation

Misinformation spreads at lightning speed, but with preparation and the right tools, Gini Dietrich says communications pros can keep control. The post How Comms Pros Can Counter Misinformation first appeared on Spin Sucks.

Google’s Crawl Team Filed Bugs Against WordPress Plugins

Google’s crawl team has been filing bugs directly against WordPress plugins that waste crawl budget at scale. Gary Illyes, Analyst at Google, shared the details on the latest Search Off the Record podcast. His team filed an issue against WooCommerce after identifying its add-to-cart URL parameters as a top source of crawl waste. WooCommerce picked

Matthew McConaughey on Why He Loves Filming Ads

Matthew McConaughey loves making ads. Inside his trailer near Uber Eats’ Super Bowl ad shoot, he can’t sit still as he describes the challenge of shaping a plot to fit within a 30- or 60-second window. He jumps up off the couch to reenact scenes, snaps his fingers rhythmically to illustrate the precision needed for

Suda51 explains his creative chaos: “We make our games through a lot of ad-libbing”

If you’ve played a Grasshopper Manufacture game, then you’ll know that the Tokyo-based studio has a distinctive visual style that aptly expresses its company ethos, ‘Punk’s not dead’. Its latest game, Romeo is a Deadman, is perhaps its boldest and most bombastic vision yet. Even in just the first 20 minutes, as protagonist Romeo Stargazer

Corporate Communications and the Cost of Silence

When leaders stay silent during visible disruption, “declined to comment” becomes the message. A communications playbook for clarity: plan, script, protocol, updates. The post Corporate Communications and the Cost of Silence first appeared on Spin Sucks.

GSC Data Is 75% Incomplete

Boost your skills with Growth Memo’s weekly expert insights. Subscribe for free! My findings this week show Google Search Console data is about 75% incomplete, making single-source GSC decisions dangerously unreliable. Google filters 3/4 of search impressions for “privacy,” while bot inflation and AIOs corrupt what remains. (Image Credit: Kevin Indig) 1. GSC Used To

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