Josh McConnell
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joshmcconnell.com
Josh McConnell
@joshmcconnell.com
280 followers 440 following 970 posts
Tech and business journalist turned industry analyst. Still writing and commenting on tech, AI, gadgets, and the narratives behind the news. Past bylines: Financial Post, Globe and Mail, CBC, CP, Toronto Star, more. Subscribe → www.ctrlaltdeliberate.com
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Toronto is partying like it's 1993 tonight. 🤘
Hey look, it's me referenced by my friends at BetaKit.
Big #CDNTech stories in The BetaKit Newsletter:

💵 Open banking rules coming in #Budget2025?
🏙️ Lyft to hire hundreds in Toronto
🤖 Alexi's "war" to dominate the #AI legaltech market

PLUS: Bring back tech that's "human-scaled, not habit-shaped" 🤳
Gen Z wants BlackBerry back. Why?
A few weeks back, a bunch of gadget heads descended upon a Brooklyn café to kick off the campaign to Bring Back BlackBerry.
betakit.com
I didn't have Laurene Powell Jobs calling out Marc Benioff for his philanthropy with asterisks (or "quiet corruption" as she calls it) on my Friday morning bingo card, but grab the popcorn.
Brooklyn Comedy Collective gets it.
Ah, I remember this! That was great.
Thought it was just my end, but it seems like the internet has been slow across the board this afternoon? Even downdetector wasn't loading.
Remember when everything needed Wi-Fi? Toasters, forks, egg trays — all “smart.”

A decade later, the gadgets stopped shouting, but the noise got louder with generative everything.

The Internet of Shit walked so AI slop could run.

My latest piece:
joshmcconnell.substack.com/p/the-intern...
The 'Internet of Shit' walked so AI slop could run
A decade after we mocked Wi-Fi toasters, we’re drowning in AI that generates just because it can. The gadgets got quieter, but the noise never stopped.
joshmcconnell.substack.com
Excited to watch Apple TV in Apple TV on Apple TV.
Reposted by Josh McConnell
I attended the Bring Back BlackBerry campaign launch in Brooklyn.

It’s easy to think it’s about nostalgia. It’s not. It’s about a growing movement toward intentional tech: people choosing focus, tactility, and boundaries in a world drowning in AI slop.

joshmcconnell.substack.com/p/bring-back...
‘Bring Back BlackBerry’: The intentional tech movement just got its rallying cry
In a world full of AI slop, a grassroots campaign kickoff in Brooklyn says more about our attention crisis than nostalgia ever could.
joshmcconnell.substack.com
I attended the Bring Back BlackBerry campaign launch in Brooklyn.

It’s easy to think it’s about nostalgia. It’s not. It’s about a growing movement toward intentional tech: people choosing focus, tactility, and boundaries in a world drowning in AI slop.

joshmcconnell.substack.com/p/bring-back...
‘Bring Back BlackBerry’: The intentional tech movement just got its rallying cry
In a world full of AI slop, a grassroots campaign kickoff in Brooklyn says more about our attention crisis than nostalgia ever could.
joshmcconnell.substack.com
Seen on the Salesforce Tower. Is this what they told the hackers?
come on, Canada
"Do you think there is a connection between childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and autism?"

No: 45%
Yes: 35%

Unsure: 20%

Research Co. / Sept 12, 2025 / n=1003 / Online
I'm not sure the problem is framed correctly. I don't think you need to "signal" that you're looking at content at all. You could have a private list-like feature, but that's not for external signaling like a follow could be interpreted as.
Reposted by Josh McConnell
The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
The revenue from the stream could cover the child's future therapy bills.
Fair enough. Well don't worry, you can be my friend if you'd like.
"29% report a parasocial relationship with influencers."

That's quite a stat.
Newsrooms constantly chase backlinks and referral revenue, especially with SEO now. It's not unique to Prime Day(s). It's another example of newsrooms trying to plug revenue gaps, as many resist tech innovation at every turn. Started in the dot-com era with relying only on newspaper-style banner ads
twice a year the entire U.S. press becomes a marketing extension of a single billionaire-owned retailer, and nobody in any position of editorial power thinks it's weird or gross