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John Battelle shared thisAlec's Drugstore Cowboy newsletter is so, so good. Thrilled he's joining us at DOC!John Battelle shared this𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 | 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗰 𝗪𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴, 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗗 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝗢𝗖 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆 As the fourth-generation pharmacist, owner and Chief Operating Officer of New York-based C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries, America’s oldest pharmacy, Alec Ginsberg’s career is steeped in legacy. Ginsberg spends his days in Bigelow’s storied West Village location. There, customers can pick up the brand’s iconic hand lotions and soaps, as well as a curated assortment of cosmetics from around the world. However, the true heritage of the company resides at the pharmacy counter, which still fills more than 500 prescriptions a day. Customers come to hear straight talk about the medicines they’re being prescribed — and the companies delivering them. Ginsberg sees himself as an advocate for customers, helping them navigate the details around drugs such as GLP-1s to pricing shifts affecting those at the pharmacy counter. That advocacy is evident in his newsletter, Drugstore Cowboy, which brings a critical lens to the U.S. healthcare system to help patients better understand the machine behind their prescriptions, along with the cost. “We’re the front-facing part of the health care system that has to explain to them what’s going on,” he says. We are delighted Ginsberg is joining our growing DOC 2026 Faculty. Please welcome him to our community. You can read more about him in our story, linked below. https://lnkd.in/ezNtcy3M John Battelle Jordan Shlain, MD
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John Battelle reposted thisJohn Battelle reposted this𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 | 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗰 𝗪𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴, 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗗 𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝗢𝗖 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆 As the fourth-generation pharmacist, owner and Chief Operating Officer of New York-based C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries, America’s oldest pharmacy, Alec Ginsberg’s career is steeped in legacy. Ginsberg spends his days in Bigelow’s storied West Village location. There, customers can pick up the brand’s iconic hand lotions and soaps, as well as a curated assortment of cosmetics from around the world. However, the true heritage of the company resides at the pharmacy counter, which still fills more than 500 prescriptions a day. Customers come to hear straight talk about the medicines they’re being prescribed — and the companies delivering them. Ginsberg sees himself as an advocate for customers, helping them navigate the details around drugs such as GLP-1s to pricing shifts affecting those at the pharmacy counter. That advocacy is evident in his newsletter, Drugstore Cowboy, which brings a critical lens to the U.S. healthcare system to help patients better understand the machine behind their prescriptions, along with the cost. “We’re the front-facing part of the health care system that has to explain to them what’s going on,” he says. We are delighted Ginsberg is joining our growing DOC 2026 Faculty. Please welcome him to our community. You can read more about him in our story, linked below. https://lnkd.in/ezNtcy3M John Battelle Jordan Shlain, MD
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John Battelle shared this"...Those 1.6 billion active iPhones will all be running AI, AI that can only be accessed through Apple's orifices. And Apple will happily make hundreds of billions in AI profit along the way. Unless, of course, the AI ecosystem treats the app store as damage, and beings to route around it. That seems to be the case with AI coding apps, which allow end users to build, well, whatever the hell they want to build. That reads as dangerous to the Apple's corporate interests, and yesterday, the company did exactly what one might expect a dinosaur to do when faced with mammals scurrying around its feet. It stomped."
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John Battelle shared thisRelated to my own ongoing struggle to properly seat AI in my workflows and my sense of self, this from Ezra Klein confirms we are not alone in this. When the web was new, I noticed I was writing in a different way, which I called "Web-enabled writing" or "Link-driven writing." As I pursue complex projects with AI in the sidecar, I'm still not sure what to call this work I am doing. https://lnkd.in/evnpwmSn
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John Battelle shared thisThis feels like a particularly thirsty leak from OpenAI on its nascent ad business. "No really, we're crushing it with this new initiative!" There's a long way to go before OpenAI's ad platform becomes a juggernaut, and they've a perilous path to navigate between product market fit, utility, and revenue pressures. One to watch, for sure. https://lnkd.in/enW9HfwjOpenAI Surpasses $100 Million Annualized Revenue From Ads PilotOpenAI Surpasses $100 Million Annualized Revenue From Ads Pilot
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John Battelle shared thisA dream, a project, and a warning: "The experience left me a bit shaken. There's an hidden world of code constraining what most of us can and cannot do with technology, and as we've seen again and again, those constraints almost always favor the business models of the tech platforms who enforce them. I've researched and written about these constraints for years. But this one small example was the first time I've directly encountered their bite. As the world adapts and merges with the capabilities and complexities of AI, I'm certain it won't be the last."AI, Big Tech, And the Individual: Who's In Control Now?AI, Big Tech, And the Individual: Who's In Control Now?
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John Battelle shared thisI was in that room last week, and it was extraordinary. This summary explains why! DOC Jordan Shlain, MDJohn Battelle shared thisDOC was built on the premise that the loudest voices in medicine are rarely the most trustworthy, and that a community of deeply serious people, given a room and a Chatham House rule, can move the needle on what counts as credible. Recently we gathered a group in New York City for the first in our new “Dinner with DOC” series. The guest list reads like a casting call for what happens when medicine, technology, media, and money decide to have an honest conversation. Read a sampling of the room in the edited AI summary. Jordan Shlain, MD John Battelle https://lnkd.in/gsEXT88f
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John Battelle shared thisFor the moment, open, user-controlled systems like OpenClaw are dominating the tech conversation across society. It feels exactly like the early web – everybody tinkering, unconstrained by the dictates of corporations or governments. But we’ve seen this movie before, and it’s always ended the same way.
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Kristy LaFollette Yes - if you can get through his prose haha
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Sally Ann O'Dowd Thank you for flagging that!
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Kurt Skifstad https://battellemedia.com/archives/2026/03/we-dream-of-genies-but-will-big-tech-let-us-use-them
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John Battelle liked thisJohn Battelle liked thisWe’re honored to partner with the Dohmen Company Foundation on a three-year, $3 million investment, the largest in our history. This is big news for Eat Real Certified, and more importantly, for kids. 🎉 This kind of commitment doesn’t just support programs. It accelerates what’s possible. With this partnership, we’re expanding our K–12 certification work and investing in research to better understand how real food in schools impacts children’s health and behavior over time. Because what’s on a student’s tray isn’t just a meal. It’s a daily input into their focus, their energy, their long-term health. And when you zoom out, school food becomes one of the most powerful levers we have to change the trajectory of chronic disease in this country. What I appreciate most about Dohmen Company Foundation is their clarity of vision. A future free from diet-related disease. That’s exactly what we’re building toward. This work is long-term. It takes real partnership, sustained investment, and a belief that systems can change. Grateful to have partners who are in it for all three. Let’s keep going. https://lnkd.in/gq69GqARDohmen Company Foundation Invests in School Food to Prevent Diet-Related IllnessDohmen Company Foundation Invests in School Food to Prevent Diet-Related Illness
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John Battelle liked thisJohn Battelle liked thisIf you’re looking for a good watch this weekend, I couldn’t recommend more the documentary Turn Every Page – The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb. The craft of research, writing, and editing is presented in the most beautiful way possible. Around 400,000 words were removed from The Power Broker, which was ultimately published as 1,162 pages.
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John Battelle liked thisJohn Battelle liked thisThe new report from Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center is out, and I am pleased to have contributed as one of the expert participants. What stands out to me most in this report is not the finer details, which only a few readers will fully immerse themselves in, but the broader message. Many of the experts involved, myself included, point to the need for a stronger and more coordinated societal response to the age of artificial intelligence, not only to manage technical risks, but also to strengthen the human and institutional capacity needed to navigate rapid change. One of the most important insights, in my view, is that the main concern is not a single dramatic AI failure or sudden rupture. It is something more gradual, and therefore easier to overlook. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in everyday life and key societal systems, there is a risk that human agency is slowly diminished, making it harder for individuals and institutions to question developments, challenge decisions, or even recognise what is quietly being lost. That kind of shift can easily be mistaken for progress. But over time, it may erode judgement, accountability, our shared sense of reality, and the social foundations on which democratic societies depend. But there is another layer to this report that could easily be missed. If change can be mistaken for progress without truly being progress, then it raises a more fundamental question: what does real progress actually look like? That is the conversation I personally hope this report will help bring forward. That said, I do not see myself as being in the prediction business, but I am grateful to have been included in such a strong group of contributors to making this massive 375-page report. Kudos to the friends and colleagues who contributed to the report: David Vivancos, vint cerf, Guido van Rossum, Marina Gorbis, John Battelle, Helen Edwards, Francisco J. Jariego, PhD., Ari Wallach, Terri Horton, EdD, MBA, MA, SHRM-CP, PHR, SWP, Aleksandra Przegalinska, Mark Schaefer, Nirit Cohen 🔮, Gerd Leonhard, Paul Saffo, Avi Bar-Zeev, Russ White, Ph.D., Alf Rehn, Tracey Follows, David Bray, PhD, R "Ray" Wang, Evelyne Tauchnitz, Devin Fidler, Roger Spitz, Gary A. Bolles, Matthew James Bailey, Mícheál Ó Foghlú, John M Smart, John C. Havens, Ray Schroeder, Alexandra Whittington, Amy Zalman, Ph.D., Jonathan Kolber, Chris Riley, and many more. Thank you to Lee Rainie and Janna Quitney Anderson for once again producing a report that helps elevate this important conversation.
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John Battelle liked thisJohn Battelle liked thisThis is THE most inspirational book I’ve read this year! Even better, I’m interviewing Maya Shankar next Wed April 8 in SF. Meet her & get your book signed! Be ready to be inspired! (tix link below) Commonwealth Club World Affairs https://lnkd.in/gi8_36bi
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John Battelle liked thisJohn Battelle liked this🧬 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚕 𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝙷𝚂 𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚜 NHS-Galleri trial suggests that adding an annual Galleri blood test to standard screenings can catch more cancers earlier and significantly reduce late-stage diagnoses. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑫𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: Found over 4x more cancers than standard screenings alone. 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: Moved diagnoses from late stages to Stages I and II across 12 deadly cancers. 𝑳𝒂𝒕𝒆-𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: Achieved a >20% reduction in Stage IV diagnoses by the second and third years. 𝑭𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝑬𝑹 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒔:: Reduced the number of cancers first discovered during emergency room visits, which typically have worse outcomes. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔: 5-year survival is 93% at Stage I compared to only 26% at Stage IV. 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕: Earlier detection allows for curative-intent and less aggressive treatments. 𝑪𝒐𝒔𝒕: Late-stage cancer costs can be up to 7x higher for patients. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕: It must be used in addition to, not instead of, routine screenings. 𝑵𝒐 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒇 (𝒀𝒆𝒕): The test has not yet been proven to reduce overall cancer deaths. 𝑬𝒏𝒅𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕: The trial missed its primary goal of a statistically significant reduction in combined Stage III-IV diagnoses, despite the positive trend. DOC Private Medical GRAIL NHS
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John Battelle liked thisJohn Battelle liked thisI’m spending the 31st anniversary of craigslist explaining in the NYT when enough is enough, and to help folks who haven’t gotten so lucky. Indulge me… https://lnkd.in/gGryhemS About newspapers revenues and craigslist, fact checking: https://lnkd.in/gU_nsT-j
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John Battelle liked thisJohn Battelle liked thisOne of the takeaways from a mindblowing conversation with Harper 🫠 Reed: We have this idea that a product is a thing, when in fact a product may now be a dynamic set of possibilities that are called out by a process, and may be co-created and constantly modified by our customers. Talking with Harper never disappoints. https://lnkd.in/efbqwFg5"Conviction Collapse" and the End of Software as We Know It"Conviction Collapse" and the End of Software as We Know It
Experience
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Executive Producer, Signal P&G
Battellemedia, P&G
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Owner, GP
Battelle Media
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Author
The Search: Business and Culture in the Age of Google
Education
Skills
Publications
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The Search: How Google and It's Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Changed Our Culture
Penguin
Projects
Honors & Awards
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Forbes Tech Influencer
Forbes Magazine
Named a top tech influencer for global CMOs by Forbes.
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LinkedIn Top Influencer
LinkedIn
Thrilled to be named #3 most influential "LinkedIn Influencer".
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Digital Hall of Fame
Media Industry News (min)
Inducted into min's "Best of the Web" Digital Hall of Fame.
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EY Entrepreneur of the Year - Northern California
EY
Finalist for NorCal
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World Economic Forum Young Global Leader
World Economic Forum
Twice named a YGL (or GLT) by the WEF in Davos.
Languages
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Spanish
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