Article

Mapping the Next Era of the Internet

Here’s an article unlike anything I’ve shared with you before.

It’s based on a talk our CEO Paul gave at a conference this past spring. What you're about to read is a personal history of how Paul and his identical twin, Mark, got started working on the web, where they’ve seen it go over their careers, and the unexpected turn it’s about to take. (Spoiler: It’s not really about AI at all.)

Enjoy! I’d love to get any feedback you have on this too. Just hit reply.

Okay, here’s the opening of Paul’s article:

My identical twin and I have built on the Internet for over 30 years. (In twin-years, that’s over 60 years of experience.)

We’ve seen a few things! Perhaps the one constant has been that the Next-Big-Internet-Thing is ever changing (and we jump on it too quickly).

But in 2023, we had a new experience: we got stuck.

We’d started building Pathwright 3 with a clearer vision, a more skilled team, and more engaged customers than ever. But our vision for what to build began confusingly shifting. It was as if the tide of the Internet was sliding out under our feet.

Was it the post-pandemic digital reset? A tidal wave of AI? A midlife crisis?

And then we had an epiphany.
 

My focus at Pathwright is mapping our big-picture strategy. (I’ve got a thing for maps.)

In this post, I’ll sketch a new map that I hope will give you a calmer, clearer big picture of how the Internet’s evolving and how we’re adapting to it.

Dead Cat

10 curious links that would have killed the cat

New at HQ

in Greenville, SC

🗓️ The final session of PathCamp is coming up on November 20. That’s one week before Thanksgiving.

We’ll take you inside the Lab at Pathwright to show a huge update to Home and a new feature called Cover Pages. It’ll be an exclusive look we haven’t shared anywhere yet.

This is the perfect session to bring anyone who works with you on course design or branding to—they won’t want to miss it.

*  *  *
 

It’s turned chilly here at HQ. Yesterday’s team meeting kicked off with swapping fire pit recommendations. As I look out the window next to my own work spot, I see my neighborhood’s 100-foot trees full of red and orange leaves. I’m enjoying it before the inevitable fall storm blows them all off.

I’m taking more walks while those leaves are still here. Also working through my Letterboxd watchlist on the chilly nights. Just made my kids watch Holes—it still slaps. Have any recommendations I should get to?