For decades, white-collar work consisted of generating impressive-looking documents that few people read carefully and even fewer verified. This work felt productive. It kept people busy. It generated revenue. It filled time. This is why I call AI a white-collar revolution. Itโs doing what the industrial revolution did to many blue collar jobs of its time. It changed what constituted value and forced people to add value in new ways.
From SEO to AEO: How to Make Your Brand Appear in AI Search Results
Understanding the fundamental shift from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
Why Arattai’s Positioning Matters And India’s Product Ambition Gap
I analyze why Koo and Hike failed despite millions of users. And why Zoho's Arattai may be repeating their mistakes. I argue that, at its core, itโs the difference between "Made FOR India" and "Made FROM India." To be clear: Zoho is uniquely positioned to break this pattern. They've proven they can compete globally in B2B. The question is whether Arattai's positioning reflects that ambition.
The Writing Looks ChatGPTish
When people say they can spot AI writing from a mile, what do they actually mean? Excessive em dashes? Short paragraphs? Words like "delve" and "meticulous"? LinkedIn was full of cringe long before ChatGPT. AI didn't invent buzzwords or performative prose. The algorithm simply picked what went viral. We're pretending that before ChatGPT, all writing flowed from pure creativity. As if "On Writing Well" and "The Elements of Style" never existed. We always followed rules. But our inability to follow them perfectly made our writing unique. AI follows rules perfectly. That's the problem. I explore this paradox in this essay.
The Great Resume Paradox: How AI Broke the Job Market
AI in hiring has accidentally brought back the "sifarish" culture from 1970s & 80s Hindi movies, where referrals open the doors. I call it the Great Resume Paradox: tools designed to help you stand out made everyone identical instead.
India’s Op Sindoor: The End of Strategic Restraint, The Dawn of Deterrence
In response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack in India's Jammu and Kashmir on April 22nd, 2025, India launched a military campaign codenamed Operation Sindoor on May 7th, 2025. As a marketer, I cannot overstate how apt the codename was. This was indeed unprecedented, marking an end to decades of strategic restraint by the Indian state.... Continue Reading →
Why AI Made Marketing Generalists Unstoppable
"Pick a lane and stay in it." For decades, this was our career insurance policy. Specialize. Build your moats. Become indispensable. But AI just bulldozed those barriers. Now synthesis matters more than specialization. AI accidentally brought back the Renaissance generalist. Leonardo da Vinci would dominate today's marketing world. The ability to synthesize, not specialize, is the new competitive edge.
Reports of Content Marketer’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
"๐ช๐ฒ'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐..." Sounds like any generic job posting, right? Except this one's for ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐๐๐ฃ๐ง โ the juggernaut that was supposedly eliminating content jobs. Delicious irony, this. The very company poised to make content marketers obsolete... needs content marketers.
Deception by Design: India’s Crackdown on Dark Patterns
Let me paint a picture you're familiar with. You're booking that weekend getaway. "Only 2 seats left!" the website screams. Then comes the guilt trip: "No thanks, I don't want to save money." Finally, the sting: โน500 "convenience fee" appears at checkout. Sound familiar? You've just been played by "dark patterns." India just banned 13 of these psychological tricks. And, companies have 3 months to do a self-audit and comply. Here's what they don't want you to know.. but, you must anyhow.
The Agentic AI Wake-Up Call: 4 Takeaways from McKinsey’s Report
About 80% of companies use GenAI. 80% of them report ZERO bottom-line impact. McKinseyโs latest report calls this the GenAI paradox. Whatโs the way out then? AI agents that automate complex business processes. Today, weโre at a moment of strategic divergence. Companies that figure AI out first won't just gain efficiencyโthey'll redefine their industries.
Musings by Madhav 