#what-did-i-miss

#what-did-i-miss

Jazz drummer, composer and band leader Jack DeJohnette began playing drums in his school band at the age of 14. In 1969, he joined Miles Davis' band and played on the iconic album "Bitches Brew." He played with other jazz legends, including Keith Jarrett and Chet Baker. He won a Grammy Award in 2009 for his album, "Peace Time," and another in 2022 for his album, "Skyline."

Observer's inaugural New Media Power List recognizes the individuals who are defining how information, influence and capital move in the digital age. This is not a list about celebrity or follower counts alone, but a rigorous assessment of who holds real power in the new media ecosystem: the creators building loyal audiences outside traditional structures, the builders designing the infrastructure everyone else depends on, and the intelligence leaders whose tools determine where billions of advertising and PR dollars flow.

On Wednesday, Substack announced the new features that allow writers to embed prediction markets data directly into their newsletters and in Notes. (Instead of pasting in a link from Polymarket, writers can now search for and add data through the Substack Editor.) The features build on the partnership first announced in 2024 and seem to be aimed at encouraging more Substack writers to use prediction markets data.

European Commission opens call for evidence on Open Digital EcosystemsSignal: The EU is preparing a structural shift toward open, interoperable digital infrastructure. This marks a move from regulating dominant platforms to actively shaping alternatives and reducing strategic dependency. DMA and DSA enter an enforcement-heavy phase in 2026Signal: Europe's digital laws have moved from principle to execution. Compliance, fines, litigation, and operational constraints are now the central risk factors for large technology companies in the EU.

And Prue Leith's leaving Bake Off. Let us focus, then, on the few, brief bright spots we can if we really squint hard into the darkness see. There's microplastics maybe not poisoning our every organ as thoroughly as we thought. There's Gwyneth Paltrow announcing that she loves a 6pm dinner and early beddy-byes. That's not quite how she put it, but that's what she meant.

I've done a 180 when it comes to the use of AI. Instead of viewing ChatGPT as a threat, I now look at AI more broadly and view it as an opportunity. Original, well-articulated ideas stand out in GEO-driven searches much more than they ever did in SEO-driven search. As such, there's a huge opportunity to articulate and amplify thought leadership, which is what we've been doing all along. - Margy Sweeney, Akrete

At the same time, learning technology buyers are under pressure. Budgets are scrutinized. Buying committees are larger. Risk tolerance is lower. Decisions that once involved a single L&D leader now require alignment across HR, IT, compliance, procurement, and executive leadership. In this environment, vendors are not evaluated only on functionality; they are evaluated on credibility. This is where thought leadership marketing becomes a strategic advantage rather than a branding exercise.

Markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, compressing the week's activity into four sessions. Early in the week, stocks fell sharply after renewed concerns about a potential global trade conflict. Investor sentiment weakened following comments from President Donald Trump about imposing tariffs on certain European nations in connection with negotiations over Greenland. However, midweek optimism returned when the president signalled a softer stance and postponed the planned tariffs.

It recently disclosed that India Times was the most-effective English language publisher on Facebook in terms of shares, ahead of NBC and Fox News (with the Daily Mail in seventh and the BBC in eighth). It analysed the optimum length of a story for maximum shares and found that the sweet spot for the New York Times audience is 1,021 words, but for the BBC it's 721 and for the Huffington Post it's 641.