I’m going to hit you with a bit of philosophical nerd rage in today’s newsletter.

You ready for it? LFG!

The Faustian Bargain

Last year, something shifted.

It wasn’t just that AI got better.

It was that, for the first time, AI’s fidelity crossed a threshold.

A threshold where we felt justified to outsource the thing we resented most as online business owners: creating social media content for visibility’s sake.

We never loved that part of business development, really.

We saw it as a necessary evil—something we had to do to generate leads.

And then… AI gave us an out.

A way to game the system that was gaming us.

Hoozah—we were free! Finally, we could focus on the real work of building our businesses again.

So we handed over content creation to the GPTs and didn’t think much of it really.

And then, just a few months later, the Faustian bargain we made with AI was now staring us in the face with a shit eating grin.

The result?

• AI-generated posts everywhere

• Brands doubling down on cheap, low-effort clickbait

• A sea of influencer talking head videos saying… NOTHING

The Collective Retreat

So what did we do?

We retreated! To seemingly quieter corners of the internet.

We thought:

👉 MAYBE newsletters are a better place for my eyeballs!
👉 MAYBE if I hit that little bell on LinkedIn, I’ll only see what I ACTUALLY care about.
👉 MAYBE if I just sign up for Substack I’ll find “real” creators!

But even those spaces?
They were filling up with garbage, too!

Joe Burns calls this phenomenon The Sloppening—a flood of low-effort, high-volume content that overwhelms more than it informs.

And in the process, we broke the internet.

More ≠ Better

Welcome to the Age of Peak Content!

Where we’re producing more than ever—but fewer people are actually paying attention.

And in this new digital hellscape, one thing is clear:

Volume without value? That’s just noise.

More posts won’t ≠ more leads
More noise won’t ≠ more trust

So Where Do We Go From Here?

The answer isn’t to quit creating.

It’s to create with intention.

Because in the Age of Peak Content, attention won’t be captured—it’ll be earned.
Earned by creating something that’s actually worth showing up for.

And my theory? The next wave of digital influence won’t come from the loudest voices—
It’ll come from the creators who cringe at the word “influencer.”

Anti-Influencers, as I like to call them.
Creators who publish with intention for a smaller, savvier, more loyal audience.

An audience whose attention they deeply respect and handle with care.

Help Me Fight Back Against The Sloppening!

So with all that in mind… I’ve got a quick ask.

Next week, I’m sending out a poll to get a pulse on what would make each edition of this newsletter a must-read for you.

Please (please!) take 30 seconds to fill it out when that hits your inbox.
It’ll help me create content that’s actually valuable for you, dear reader.

And whether you vote or not next week—thank you.

For reading.
For thinking critically.
For believing that thoughtful, intentional work still matters.

Until next time,
Brie

P.S. - If you need an antidote to the existential dread I may have inadvertently caused with this particular newsletter piece, another episode of Salon @315 just dropped! I hope it helps you cruise off into the weekend sunset with lightness and ease.

That’s it for this edition of Brie Bites! Stay tuned for the next episode.