(Hello)
First principles enthusiast, painter, writer, event host, homo sapien
Filters, swiping left, copying, and commodifying everything is an awkward replacement for the sense of belonging we most want.
You can tell when someone flaunts an AI flyer, or drapes fake-rendered people in their product, or pitches you with a script that sounds like everyone else’s. It subtly says, “I don’t care about you. I care about shipping quick campaigns and collecting cash.”
Like language or money, technology is a tool that magnifies intentions. Directionless marketing leads to slop.
Slop is the average of the content on the internet.
It’s like the oatmeal wall color in a national chain waiting room. It leaves people wondering if the back office hosts smiles or serial numbers.
I started Unslop because I’ve felt disturbed by the feeling of astroturf rolling over real connection. The brands I love make me feel like a part of something meaningful, connected to people who say things that I swear I was thinking two minutes ago.
Aside from nice kumbaya feelings, belonging stabilizes marketing and sales. I love the idea that "your brand is your moat," as in, the emotional impression you leave stays with people. Buyers come back to brands they know, like, and trust.
Maybe I’m being harsh, but…
When I read slop, I see signs of tawdry hustler dogma: “If I’m busy and produce more than anyone, I’m really doing this entrepreneur thing, and I can keep using my business as a prop for my self worth. Providing meaningful value is secondary.”
That kind of hustle is great for the recent graduate trying door-to-door textbook sales, but tacky for career adults who claim to want to add value in the world. That's why marketing shouldn’t feel shiny and sexy.
Good marketing is steady, researched, and accountable to sales. Great marketing is emotionally intelligent, because people make purchases with their emotions.
Anyway. I want to live in a community where the food grows slowly to be nutritionally dense, and I want to know the people in my life for a long time.
I’m quick to knock distracting trends, which means I sometimes need to *chill* and let people build their robot bunkers. Let the robots talk to robots to farm likes from robots. Come back from existential angst about techno-feudalism, Katy, and help good people sell services to make life a little happier.
