content strategy Archives

Substack and the Rise of the Creative Middle Class: A New Model for Community Engagement

In the wreckage of the ad-driven internet, a quiet revolution is underway. It’s not loud. It doesn’t chase clicks. It doesn’t serve brands. Instead, it serves people—through the radical idea that writers and creators should be paid directly by those who value their work. Once a niche newsletter platform, Substack has become something much more […]

Jun 11 2025 by Nancy Lerner in Editorials

Branding in the Startup World: A Tale of Speed vs Substance

In the unforgiving terrain of the startup world, where unicorns are revered and the mantra of “build fast, sell faster” reigns supreme, branding takes on a vastly different hue. It is not the slow, patient art of building deep relationships, but a swift, agile dance toward value. Yet, even here, in this frantic rush, there […]

Jul 4 2024 by Nancy Lerner in Brandshrink

Life in the TikTok Lane

I hail from the shores of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the home of OshKosh B’gosh and the largest airshow in the world, EAA AirVenture. (But those are subjects for another day.) After wrapping my undergrad years as a journalism major at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, I made my way to the Otherwise studio in Chicago […]

Sep 13 2022 by Hunter Ellis in Editorials

POV: Your Hours Spent Scrolling on TikTok Finally Paid Off

There’s nothing more escapist than lying down on your couch after a long day and sifting through the infamous app that has had the majority of us entranced since the early days of the pandemic: TikTok. What was once merely a source of cheap entertainment during the darkest of times has now evolved into one […]

May 9 2022 by Hunter Ellis in Editorials

A Case for Chicago Winters

“Winter came and the city turned monochrome — black trees against gray sky above white earth. Night now fell in midafternoon, especially when the snowstorms rolled in, boundless prairie storms that set the sky close to the ground, the city lights reflected against the clouds.” — President Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father: A Story […]

Jan 14 2022 by Madeline Rosemurgy in Editorials