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Creative Studies

Creative Studies

De: Geoffrey Colon
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Creative News for the Creative Class. Hosted by Geoffrey Colon.

creativestudies.substack.comGeoffrey Colon Ciencias Sociales Economía
Episodios
  • Revenge of the Humanities?

    Revenge of the Humanities?
    Apr 2 2026
    Tech bros and their Patagonia vests have reigned for quite a long time in the culture of business. We’re easily past the dawn of the era when Windows 95 debuted some 30 years ago. As we know, this swept in a whole new way to organize, work, live and function in the world of work, and life. It ultimately ushered in social media platforms, online advertising and a number of digital innovations. The fact you are checking your Slack messages in between reading/listening/viewing this is one example of a shift that occurred as a result of tech’s domination for several decades. Usher in on top of this that the hottest religion of late has been the gospel of AI. But are we missing a pull in a different direction that could impact the world of business slowly and ultimately change it in ways we don’t hear about on LinkedIn or CNBC? It feels like the recent AI bubble beginning to deflate shows that there is change in the atmosphere. Mass layoffs, lack of jobs, offshoring, nearshoring and a number of other workplace trends are leading to new ways to organize in addition to new business solutions looking beyond the tech bubble. Much of that taking place in real life (IRL) scenarios again.Could the next wave of businesses being formed now in 2026 possibly be way more balanced than the current model due to an injection of humanist thinking over pure tech solutionism? The Bezos, Musk, Zuck approaches (which were just updated versions of a Jack Welchian philosophy) might be looked at in five short years as “cooked” or performed strictly by “fossil corporations.” Change must occur if labor projections showing a mass shortage of workers are correct. Why? If we understand that the coming years will not enjoy the abundance of workers that past decades did, and yet we have a scarcity of solutions that help us with the how but not the what, then everyone’s approach to the labor market will need to change. This is leading to two opposing forces in the business world. One that is THX-1138 meets Blade Runner meets Minority Report themed vs. another Star Trek meets The Orville more humanist approach theme that puts more emphasis on stakeholders over the statistical rank and yank, automate everything, you’re just a human capital asset approach.Tech solutionism failing is possibly a signal we’re at the end stage of 80 years of neoliberalism. The consequences of prosperity it promised has led to austerity. This is now slowly dismantling as we see the beginning of the end of marketplaces. We cannot “spend” or “automate” our way to a free society it appears. As entrepreneurialism gave way to managerialism we are seeing zero innovation to the problems we face. Markets are not neutral and people are fed up with the crushing of the public sector. We need a mixture of humanism meets futurism as we straddle an old operating system with a new one. This means we need more people who understand and study the humanities as a life learning lesson mission. Who use it as a way to unlock curiosity. The humanities will help give us three elements currently missing from present day tech solutionist styled business leadership.1. A better understanding of people.Humanities fields like history, literature, sociology, and philosophy train people to understand human behavior, motivations, culture and context. This translates to stronger insight and empathy,more inclusive and effective leadership andbetter communication across cultures and teams.2. Stronger ethical judgment and long-term thinking.Right now everyone just thinks in quarterly profit motives. The humanities push us to ask should we? Not simply can we?History has constant reminders for leaders of what happens when short-term profit, cough, Enron, cough, overrides ethical responsibility. Just take a look around us right now. Do we really like this world we’ve designed?3. Clearer communication and persuasive storytelling.Writing, rhetoric, and narrative analysis are core humanities skills.A great idea doesn’t matter if no one understands or believes in that idea. The humanities helps ideas make an impact.Note: The humanities don’t replace technical or financial skills. They balance and amplify them by making businesses more human, ethical, and persuasive.We’ve over-indexed to be either all technical and all financial but not at all human. Not at all caring. And that’s showing now in the larger business leadership world. Things ebb and flow and humans seem to be reacting now in ways that are showcasing the need to put people back in the priority column and not treat us like we’re some metric in a P/L spreadsheet.Iceberg ahead. To hear more, visit creativestudies.substack.com
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    8 m
  • Keeping it Real: The Moat is IRL, Not AI

    Keeping it Real: The Moat is IRL, Not AI
    Jan 29 2026
    If you live long enough, you’ll spot the patterns. Here’s one I’ve been keeping my eye on.In the 1990s the term Keeping it Real was used by many of us in the hip hop community which was lifted from African American Vernacular English. But why did this term in particular resonate? We have to think of what was happening at that time as a scene which had local roots and a foundation in New York City (Bronx and Queens to be precise) in the 1970s started to really grow and create influence across the globe in the 1980s and early 1990s. With this growth, the era of the “corporate sellout” was in full swing. We could easily spot this “talent.” Pawns of the larger major labels given six-figure record label deals because they had one or two solid hits, acted a particular part, but really lacked a vision for a long tail career that said anything. As more of this talent got signed, an entire underground spawned. Labels, artists, even clothing lines. A backlash to the fakery usually driven by a visual image. And this is where we heard people utter, Keeping it Real more to the point it even ended up as a mantra on a popular reality TV show, “When people stop being polite, and start getting real.”At its heart, Keeping it Real meant and still means:* Staying authentic* Being honest about who you are* Not selling out, fronting, or pretending to be something you truly are not for status or moneyThis idea was deeply important in early hip-hop, where credibility and lived experience mattered a lot. Maybe more than anything for a life long career of artistry. It reminds me I was able to meet RZA when I worked at a record label in the early 2000s. He’s the real deal. A prime example of someone honest about his roots, his passions and influences. A lot of early gatekeepers told him Wu-Tang would never go anywhere. But he heard things others didn’t and went with his gut.The reason I bring this up?It taps into a universal tension: who you really are vs. who you’re expected to be. And let’s be honest (a phrase that came out of keeping it real), authenticity never goes out of style, even when that word gets overused.Fast forward to the early aughts and many bloggers that inhabited the web would write out their entire souls to strangers online. There was something wonderful about this. These were normies, people like you and me who simply had a digital mood board. But instead of using it to try to convert into a career of sorts, many did this from the point of how open source works. They approached their writing from a “What Can I Offer the World” point of view. I remember talking to many of these bloggers. Most of them were introverts uncomfortable with their new found fame. One told me something that still resonates. “If people can learn something, cope better with what I share, and unite with others based on shared experiences, then maybe this will help bring humanity together with a common understanding. Maybe we’ll find more commonality with our universal human peers.”This type of Hopecore continued to spread as online influence grew and social media rose in popularity. Before you knew it, an entire cottage industry of creators and influencers had spawned. Need dating advice? There’s a creator/influencer for that. Need tourism ideas? There’s an influencer for that. Need ideas for an outfit? There’s a creator who does some cool hauls with a style you might like for that. And even how we approached our careers started to transform. “Oh, so and so has 900,000 followers on Insta (ahem, little did anyone know this person bought all those followers), they must be good at social media marketing. Let’s hire them!”This worked for a really long time. In fact in the past 15 years I would note that I have gotten hired from a great social media presence on LinkedIn, TikTok and now Substack. But when people hired me, they also knew my real credentials. I had the portfolio of work to back it up. And most important? I had the lived experiences. When you meet me, I can tell you all the learnings and relearnings from these experiences. I can talk game.This is a huge advantage not being talked about much by those so keen to lean heavily on knowledge engines to give them all the answers. IRL is now the moat in a world where prompt addicts think they can just figure out answers from some Large Language Model and be an “expert.” They’re looking more and more like the Matt Damon character in this Good Will Hunting scene…For the past six years everyone assumed what people tell them they’ve done or even have experience in is all fake quackery. Snake oil. That creative? AI must have made it. The people you say you know? BS to just get a meeting to talk about investment. And part of this is because instead of Keeping It Real there have been so many faking it until they make it with illusions of grandeur that trust has eroded our social fabric. “Should we believe what they say on their resume...
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    6 m
  • What's in store for 2026? More turbulence. Fasten your seat belt. Icebergs ahead.

    What's in store for 2026? More turbulence. Fasten your seat belt. Icebergs ahead.
    Jan 5 2026

    If everything is a Remix, then everything is filled with uncertainty. I’m approaching 2026 similar to 1976. Why? 1975 was a massive year of turbulence. Just like 2025. So should we assume because of turbulence things will smooth out as we get to smoother air? Not necessarily.

    It’s difficult to forecast anything in this day and age. Too many changes, too many system flaws, too many human and technological errors. Too many bad hot takes. But it’s good to discuss what is possible to get a better idea of the behavioral landscape. Some highlights we see on the horizon for 2026:

    * What’s tangible? What can we touch? In a world overwashed in digital and made up metrics, people want what’s “real” again.

    * There is less risk being taken and a need for managed outcomes. We’ve been seeing this since 2023. This continues through 2026.

    * Cost-cutting seems to be the bet on revenue model. Until there is nothing else to cut. Then what? More uncertainty.

    * This year will be slower than 2025. Which means if we think things are going to “get better” we’re in for some heavy future shock.

    * Being first to market and “FAST” is maybe not the best recipe for success now even though this is what Big Tech sells to customers. Maybe being strategic, deliberate, deep and calculated aka “SLOW” is the better opportunity in a year that looks like a quagmire and uncertain. Why? Going slow allows you to focus. Going fast feels good for dopamine levels until you’re fried.

    * Are we seeking monocultures again over personalized feeds because the former leads to less alienation?

    * 2026 will be the first year portfolio careers are finally accepted and not looked upon as “weird” by those in career recruitment. All of us have multiple email addresses now to handle the various outputs we participate in.

    What are your thoughts for this year? How are you feeling? What are your big bets in business? Feel free to share in the comments.

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    To hear more, visit creativestudies.substack.com
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    27 m
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