Tom Hadley | Exodus 25
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exodus25.bsky.social
Tom Hadley | Exodus 25
@exodus25.bsky.social
Persuasion specialist. Cinephile. Autodidact. Dad rocker. Stoic.
https://exodus25.substack.com/
AFCON, Greenland and the 1966 film "A Man for all Seasons".

Marvel as I attempt a tenuous linkage of all three in this week's article.

open.substack.com/pub/exodus25...
Terrible acts and terrible looks
Which is more real? Which is more important?
open.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:28 PM
Taking a direct hit to the morning can be fatal. #copyfail
January 20, 2026 at 1:35 PM
I am now beginning my sales process by saying to prospects "Before we speak, please paste this into Chat-GPT".

"How much should I expect to spend on commissioning a brand strategist to create audience profiling and a brand platform for a SaaS brand in 2026?"

LLMs as Anchoring, we know it works!
January 20, 2026 at 12:50 PM
I didn't think threads like this were possible on social anymore. Lovely to see.
Average Sunday show interview:

OFFICIAL: we are going to dip enemies of the state into acid vats

HOST: how will you pay for it?

OFFICIAL: tariffs

HOST: critics say tariffs don't generate acid vat money

OFFICIAL: tariffs have generated more money than has ever existed

HOST: thank u for ur time
January 19, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Love that Matt Damon said this out loud and made the corporate intent behind it clear.

www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ja...
Matt Damon is right: phones + Netflix mean we are now in the pub bore age of cinema
The streaming giant has the data that proves we all just watch things with one hand gripping our phones, so need to have the plot explained to us over and over again
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Can't say I'm not a touch intrigued in seeing this experiment attempted

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Iran plans permanent break from global internet, say activists
Report claims unrestricted online access will be a ‘government privilege’, limited to individuals vetted by regime
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Ant & Dec starting a podcast and Amol Rajan deciding to go "creator entrepreneur" tells me the attention economy still has a ways to run. Sadly.
January 16, 2026 at 2:42 PM
£260 for a "new" Commodore 64!!?? Thank God I still have an original one (and an Amiga 500)

www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
Commodore 64 Ultimate review – it’s like 1982 all over again!
Showing the value of great design over visual impact, this faithfully resurrected home computer seamlessly integrates modern tech with some wonderful additional touches
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Most interesting thing for me from today isn't Jenrick's move. It's Farage putting a 7th May deadline on other Tories doing same. Interesting signalling, that, from a behavioural strategy POV.
January 15, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Super article building on my sentiment from yesterday.

substack.com/home/post/p-...
January 15, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Europe should be telling America of the consequences of taking Greenland. Just saying "Well, that would be unprecedented" is pretty feeble.
January 14, 2026 at 12:50 PM
This is good, naming brands involved in AI-generated duplicity. Wonder if this will become more of a thing? Maybe we can bring some standards back.

pressgazette.co.uk/news/named-5...
Named: 50 'experts' and linked brands publishers should treat with caution
Experts and brands associated with more than 1,000 likely faked stories.
pressgazette.co.uk
January 12, 2026 at 9:52 AM
What's far from dead is the belief you can just speak things into existence, rather than persuade by action.
“Social media is dead, we’ll all leave in 2026”….

Says someone on social media…
January 11, 2026 at 12:51 PM
Trump is asking all other world leaders: "Where is the line where any of you will openly resist my desires?" He wants to know. I don't think he can believe how little resistance he encounters. He's going to keep going until someone slaps his face.
Trump told NYT that his power as commander in chief is constrained only by his "own morality" — brushing aside international law and other legitimate checks on his abilities.

"My own morality. My own mind. It's the only thing that can stop me."

"I don't need international law."
Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by ‘My Own Morality’
www.nytimes.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Interesting to see Rick Beato tackling the relentless required for social attention in the face of Generative AI. Even if I don't agree with his "hustle harder" conclusion. You can't outhustle the machines. Find a way to make less beat more.

youtu.be/FgJK-cwzfmk?...
When To Call It Quits
YouTube video by Rick Beato
youtu.be
January 8, 2026 at 1:44 PM
If you are any kind of strategist or consultant I cannot recommend this article highly enough. It goes to the heart of all our deepest, darkest fears.

hybridhorizons.substack.com/p/the-thinki...
The Thinking Class
What if the real problem was always us?
hybridhorizons.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 11:30 AM
2026: A year of more forceful persuasion and less storytelling?

open.substack.com/pub/exodus25...
Forceful persuasion
2026 looks like being a year of action over talk
open.substack.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Opinions on football recruitment are the best social content. Can we have it in other sectors?

"I mean the bloke was never going to work as Mars CEO, he's a well-known Twix fan, been eating them for years".
January 6, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Glad to see phoenixism being kept in the news, suspect we'll see a lot of it this year. I myself have been an unpaid creditor of this practice a few years ago and it was maddening to see the owner celebrating his newco while dodging £300K owed to HMRC.

www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Taxpayers miss out on millions after ‘phoenixism’ at UK recruitment firms
Practice where companies are liquidated and reacquired, free of debts, thought to cost taxpayers about £800m a year
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 9:46 AM
Terrific recent article on how various LLMs can be gamed to get them to repeat whatever you want about a brand.

ahrefs.com/blog/ai-vs-m...
I Ran an AI Misinformation Experiment. Every Marketer Should See the Results
I built a fake brand and tricked 8 AI search engines for 2 months. The results show how any real brand can be poisoned, and how to fight back.
ahrefs.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Seems an appropriate day to start on this Christmas gift.
January 3, 2026 at 3:31 PM
It's amazing what you can achieve if you stay off social media.
January 3, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Another AI benefit: RAM scarcity forcing up consumer tech prices.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Why everything from your phone to your PC may get pricier in 2026
The price of Ram - once one of the cheapest computer parts - has more than doubled since October 2025.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 2, 2026 at 12:17 PM