Love You To The Core

Chelsea and I were frothing to record this State of the Internet July breakdown, because this was a TRUE "WTF is going on" month!

Today's report includes:

• Our takes on Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke — what was the book REALLY about? Tradwife influencers? Motherhood? Performing womanhood? We get into it and what it means in a broader cultural context.
• Is "influencer" an insult? We respond to this Reel by Levi Coralynn who addresses the topic, and dive into the overlap between influencers, capitalism and misogyny
  Meta Glasses — Chelsea shares her theory about why these will never take off in the way Zuck deludes, Xanthe shares her take on how they've positioned these culturally, and we have to wonder... who (and what?) are these really for?
• Plus loads of other AI headlines, including Substack's partnership with Pangram to detect AI writing, the backlash against Meta's gen AI tool, and how did we get to the point of "Claudefishing", where you can have Claude create videos of you from a single image
  

BIG ep today! We discuss everything through the lens of online leadership, digital behavior, and modern philosophy.

You’ll leave with clear takeaways to move forward with, as well as a deeper understanding of how these topics are already impacting the conversations you’re leading, online and off.

The internet is chaos — we'll help you make sense of it from our corner of it all.

Connect with Xanthe:

• Join Social Life and use code CHELSEA for $10 off any membership! It's the social media + content strategy membership to stop second guessing your social media shit and become the sought-after creator you're meant to be
• Check out the Leadership Lifestyle Carousel Templates — strategic templates designed with your audience's reaction in mind
• Links to all of Xanthe's offers: including Leisure Ethic Planner, Content Planner and more

Connect With Chelsea:

• Pitch Perfect Celebration of Life
• Notes From The New World Podcast
• Read Footnotes: a weekly-ish newsletter filled with rabbit holes and questions that keep me up at night
• Instagram: ⁠@chelseariffe⁠
• Threads: @chelseariffe

Ope! We're back on the mic after a little impromptu summer break and sharing what we've been up to behind the scenes — including some big conversations about evaluating where our resources (time + money + energy) are going and whether it's really aligned with our visions for the future.

Tiny wine bar? Part-time in Paris?

What's next for two ambitious Apples who can't seem to stay put for more than 10 months?! Tune in to find out.

If you’ve ever thought “I wish my entire business could be built around the thing I find most fun and fulfilling in the world,” YOU’RE GONNA WANT TO LISTEN TO THIS ONE. We get into how it’s maybe okay if your entire personality can’t be summed up through your IG feed, how Edila went from design → in-person experience curator over the last year, why she decided NOT to “build in public,” and her journey to hosting IRL events and retreats in stunning spaces around the world. This was such an inspiring chat about finding the thing you’re meant to be doing, bridging the gap between IRL and URL, proof that going all-in on your passion pays off, and a reminder that having fun is medicine.

CONNECT WITH EDILA ↓

Chelsea and Xanthe are back on the mic with your State of the Internet June report, where we try to make sense of WTF is going on in the internet each month. Today's report includes:

• ⁠Jessi Jean's viral Yap Challenge and million-dollar launches — what makes offers go viral? How much did the role of FOMO play here? Plus, pricing strategy, and the difference between viral content and viral offers. (Xanthe and I also share what we think our own viral offers could be!)
• ⁠Desire over data — Why do some creators like Kareem from Subway Takes deliberately ignore data? When are metrics actually useful vs. an armor? How much do you create for the love of the game over the numbers?
• ⁠Flodesk's AI Studio rollout — AI really is taking over and its latest target is Flodesk, a company near and dear to Xanthe's heart that's prompted quite the moral dilemma. Will we use it? For what? What does this mean for tech companies en masse, including the "smaller" ones?
• Plus, low-effort posting, personal diary content, and the surge in nostalgia — is this all in resistance to AI?

We discuss everything through the lens of online leadership, digital behaviour, and modern philosophy. You’ll leave with clear takeaways to move forward with, as well as a deeper understanding of how these topics are already impacting the conversations you’re leading, online and off.

The internet is chaos — we'll help you make sense of it from our corner of it all.

OFFERS MENTIONED ↓

LIFESTYLE CAROUSEL TEMPLATES
THE ULTIMATE PITCH KIT

CONNECT WITH CHELSEA ↓

INSTAGRAM

PODCAST

NEWSLETTER

POPCORN CLUB

Trial Reels has entered the chat… but not like THAT. Today’s episode is a deep dive into Xanthe’s most recent social media experiment, after noticing some major gaps in her strategy both from a practical, strategic perspective, and through the lens of what feels best to share. You’ll learn why she’s been posting multiple times a day, what her process has been for getting back into her Reels + TikTok rhythms, and what metrics she’s looking at to measure whether these efforts are bringing her closer to her goals.
P.S.: This episode promotes the Leadership Lifestyle Template Bundle which will be on sale as of June 24. Use code LYTTC at checkout for $60 off at www.ohsierra.ca/carousels

FRANK IS RE-HIRED (but that's not how he likes to see it)
if you’ve been following along with our journey for a minute, you know that our business started as a partnership (in life + love + work!) but Frank got extracted from most day-to-day business operations for the better part of the last 2 years.

however, it’s become CRYSTAL clear that in order to reach some big goals for 2026, xanthe simply cannot do it alone. and when presented with a job description for an operations hire, Frank said: why not me?
this week’s episode digs into alllllll that, along with a few more bits and pieces along the way.

Chelsea and Xanthe are BACK for May's State of the Internet debrief, where we try to make sense of WTF is going on in the internet each month.

Today's report includes:

• Spotify's AI-generated podcast announcement — what does this mean for podcast hosts? Why do tech CEOs feel SO out of touch with these decisions? Plus why reading T&C's is IMPERATIVE these days and what to do with this info.

• Hot Chef Threads drama — IYKYK, and if you don't, we'll explain. Do we "owe" our audiences anything after we make our personal lives very public? Is it okay to paywall your vulnerability? How can we be more mindful of the dynamic we play in our online communities?

• The Met Gala x tech billionaires funding the arts — is this a good or bad thing in the long-run? Why are tech bros so obsessed with inserting themselves in fashion right now? What amount of money makes people bend on their morals/values and why?

• Everlane gets bought up by SHEIN  — WTF. Period.

We discuss everything through the lens of online leadership, digital behavior, and modern philosophy.

You’ll leave with clear takeaways to move forward with, as well as a deeper understanding of how these topics are already impacting the conversations you’re leading, online and off.

CONNECT WITH CHELSEA ↓

⁠INSTAGRAM⁠

⁠PODCAST⁠

⁠NEWSLETTER⁠

⁠POPCORN CLUB

Hiiii from life post-Harry-Styles concert, back on the mic with a new monthly series: a roundup of all the things we’ve been most obsessed with, from products to productivity hacks to adorable tiny vehicles and everything in between. ENJOY!

Also — a reminder that the Life of the Party pre-sale ends Saturday, so hop in to save $1000 right here.

F*ck nice, give them DRAMA!!! In today’s episode Xanthe sits down with Kal from Words Hurt Copy to chat all things ~authenticity~ in the current online landscape. You’ll learn how to come up with your next offer theme, tips to revive an existing sales page, practical approaches to show up as your TRUEST self online (even when people from your past are watching), and hear us chat extensively about why “performing for the algorithm” isn’t actually such a bad thing.

We also get into the lore of the Christmas Kiss, the fear Final Destination bestowed upon a generation, and Kal’s ideal day in Barcelona.

CONNECT WITH KAL ↓

WEBSITE

INSTAGRAM

THREADS

It’s quitting season!!! Xanthe’s unpacking all the content commitments she’s choosing to stop continuing (see ya, Saturday Shift!), plus a mixed bag update episode talking about travel plans, Lena Dunham’s memoir, hangover hacks, places we’re loving in Barcelona, and a discussion around community inspired by this post!