The age of generalists
Specialists need to adapt
The Rebooting is kicking off a new research project with our partners at EX.CO. We want to understand how video is viewed within publishing organizations, particularly between those on the “revenue” side and the “product” side. The survey only takes five minutes to complete, and all answers are anonymous.Take the survey
This is the final couple days of The Rebooting’s fourth-anniversary promotion of TRB Pro, our membership program that gets you access to all content, exclusive events like our upcoming live podcast at Gannett, and quarterly gatherings we’re launching in 2025. My goal is to continue adding value to TRB Pro with new types of content as well as community features that aren’t just a Slack channel because I don’t think people want to spend more time in Slack, but I’m open to it. Last chance this week to upgrade to a TRB Pro membership for a 20% discount.
The post-cookie playbook
As the era of third-party cookies comes to a close, are you prepared for what’s next? The Rebooting’s Post-Cookie Playbook Online Forum will explore how Hearst and others are already moving beyond cookies to build a future around first-party, consent-based data.
On Oct 31 at 1:00pmET, I’ll be joined by Matt Kyme, senior director of product at Hearst, and Patrick Crane, director of core sales at BlueConic, to discuss:
- Staying ahead by implementing new first-party and consent-based data strategies
- Building consent-driven datasets
- Enriching first-party data to create more valuable, addressable audiences for advertisers.
The age of generalists
This is a piece I've been thinking about for years. I always advised people in their careers to go narrow and deep vs be generalists, yet I've begun to tweak this. Going narrow and deep as a specialist is no longer enough.
- The media industry's shift towards valuing generalists over specialists foreshadows broader economic changes
- Traditional career paths are disappearing, with a "great compression" affecting mid-career professionals
- The ideal employee is now a "new generalist" with a core specialty and flexible skills across multiple areas
- Small, independent businesses are thriving due to new tools, AI, and more flexible structures
- Organizations are adapting by flattening hierarchies, reducing bureaucracy, and embracing fractional roles
