Taste

I have yet to find a single writer who’s grown a serious following without some kind of niche.

That doesn’t mean boxing yourself in. It means starting with something clear enough for people to get what you’re about, and specific enough for the right readers to find you.

The first six months are for you. Experiment like crazy. Write about anything. Te... See more

The 2025 tastemaker navigates this tension with remarkable dexterity. They aren't anti-digital but post-digital, using online tools with intention rather than compulsion. The crucial distinction lies in their relationship with attention: Internet Cool seeks it desperately; Scene Cool appears indifferent. This studied indifference isn't affectation ... See more

‘Scene Cool’ values high quality over high sales, fellow tastemakers over mass-market followers, and specific geographical context over post-geographic audiences. While ‘Internet Cool’ chases clout and virality across global digital networks.

The ‘Scene Cool’ practices a studied absence from digital performance. Their power derives from what they wi... See more

In this new era, founders—of every kind—must become tastemakers, and venture capitalists the arbiters of taste. Because in a world where

anyone can create anything

, taste is what matters.

Taste manifests as a combination of history, design, user experience, and embedded values that creates emotional resonance — that defines how a product connects with people as individuals and aligns with their identity. None of the tactical things alone are taste; they’re mere artifacts or effects of expressing one’s taste. At a minimum, taste isn’... See more

While it’s probably one of the corniest things I’ll ever write in this column, I’ve come to believe that developing taste is not so unlike going to therapy; it’s an inefficient, time-consuming process that mostly entails looking inward and identifying whatever already moves you. It’s the product of devouring ideas, images and pieces of culture not ... See more