Why CES Matters More Than Ever

Happy New Year, friends and colleagues. Hope you had a meaningful holiday.

I took some downtime to unplug, travel, and think deeply about the future I want to create. 2026 is already shaping up to be a wild ride.

A few signals that are hard to ignore:

• America’s 250th anniversary
• The FIFA World Cup
• Grand Theft Auto’s long-awaited release
• Accelerating AI + robotics integration
• A new cultural era for NYC

I’m expecting the unexpected and betting on deep cultural shifts. One thing is certain: What comes next won’t arrive with a notification; you’ll have to seek it out, test doors, learn the codes, and earn your access. That’s how counterculture breaks. 

I’ve skipped the last couple years of CES (Vegas the first week of January isn’t exactly aspirational), but in moments of real transition, CES can be quite useful. AdAge is already forecasting it as one of the most important industry events for marketers this year, so this year, I’ll be gathering firsthand insights and potentially doing a recap here. 

The intersection of tech, consumer behavior, hardware, and networking makes CES one of the few places you can still get a real pulse check on what’s actually coming, not just what’s being marketed. 

From CES, I head straight into Wurman Shoulders Weekend in Miami, a first-of-its-kind gathering conceptualized by TED founder Richard Saul Wurman. I love year-one energy, and when the original architect of TED is involved, expectations are high. With speakers like Kara Swisher, Bjarke Ingels, Matt Groening, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, it feels less like a conference and more like an ideas lab done Miami-style.

If you’re interested in attending, I have a limited number of half-price community passes.  

It’s the year of the Horse. Giddy up and let’s make some noise together!