This week, a baby Japanese macaque named Punch went viral for clinging to a stuffed orangutan toy after being abandoned by his mother at birth, and all I could think of was the Punch-The-Monkey-Ads era some of us lived through. I was going to try to tie all of this into a “future of publishing” lesson, but that would have been quite the stretch. Sometimes things need to just stand on their own.
But waitaminute - isn’t that itself a lesson? We all watch things going viral and then feel like we should get in on the action. On one hand, perhaps by showing this poor monkey, you get some extra page views and impressions, and if you do it well enough, you make some money.
But on the other hand, what does it say about your brand as a publisher when you are clearly playing the arbitrage game? If you’re trying to be everything to everyone, you’re going to lose. Maximizing revenue in an AI-driven digital world will increasingly be about people choosing you over easier options. That will require trust, and trust is established when people know who you are and what you’re about.
At a recent event I attended, someone shared research that the time people spend on article pages is decreasing. Their recommendation was to cater to shorter and shorter content forms. Here’s my problem with that: sometimes things take time to explain. We need to hook people more quickly and get them to stick around to understand why, as a publisher, we think this matters to their lives. People consume junk-food content: do you want to compete by serving them more junk food, or do you serve them a proper meal? Harper Magazine calls it “the end of thinking.” Will your business benefit from pushing people to think more or think less?
Sigh. My dadsplaining is a bit out of control. Sorry. Go watch some videos of Punch finally getting some hugs.
If you haven’t heard the news, Base.Camp San Antonio is OFFICIALLY SOLD OUT!
That means it’s time for us to start looking ahead at what we’re planning for the rest of the year. For instance, AI Publisher Response is happening on May 6, 2026 in New York City.
AI Publisher Response is a working session built for publisher teams that want a clear, practical path through the noise of AI. Together, we’ll discuss what should be automated, what must stay human, how your org should evolve, and how you protect your content and revenue in a market moving faster than your resources.
Recently, we dropped your first look at the agenda preview.
And this week, we’ve got another exciting announcement for you…
We’re thrilled to share that technology journalist and author Jacob Ward and Committee to Protect Journalists CEO Jodie Ginsberg will be joining us as keynotes at AI Publisher Response.
If you’re interested in joining us in May, now is the time to raise your hand.
Hot off the presses, we’ve got three juicy reads for you this week:
- AI Publisher Response Live: Publishers have a brand problem ICYMI, this session featured Rob Beeler, along with Amanda Sabreah of Thought Factory. Amanda comes into this conversation from the brand side to tackle a clear reality: publishers have a brand problem. We dig into what “think like a brand” looks like in practice, and how that shift changes how audiences, partners, and the market recognize publisher value.
- The real impact of client-side, server-side, and parallel bidding For years, publishers have been caught between competing narratives about client-side, server-side and parallel header bidding, with each touted as the definitive way to increase yield, performance, or privacy. In reality, it’s a bit more complex. In this interview, Rob speaks with Olli Järvilehto, Chief Operating Officer & Partner at Relevant Digital, to unpack the results of a large-scale test comparing the three types of bidding across real web and mobile traffic.
- Trust, scale, and the new economics of programmatic Drawing on responses from 500+ industry participants evaluating the 50 largest sources of programmatic supply in the market, Chris Kane of Jounce Media provided a rare, data-driven overview of how publishers and supply-side platforms are perceived by the buy side and, crucially, how those perceptions translate directly into spend.
Want to get caught up on everything we’ve published? Start here.
Here’s the latest news, and yes, it’s all true:
- Don’t forget: Navigator NYC isn’t as far away as you think! The day before AI Publisher Response is Navigator NYC! Already, we have publishers from Automattic, NASCAR, Time Out, Weatherbug, MediaNews Group, Tribune, Yahoo, and Crain who have already committed to joining us this May. Will you?
- DEAL: Landmark Executive Roundtable Series on March 20 (Virtual) In a landscape defined by constant disruption, DEAL – Dialogue on Exits, Acquisitions & Landscape– offers a rare forum for unfiltered conversation and strategic connection. Curated and hosted by Landmark Ventures’ Investment Banking team, this off-the-record series is designed to illuminate what’s next: from emerging market signals to transformative deal opportunities.
- Save the date: Post-San Antonio Camp.Fire on March 24 Camp.Fire is where publishers and partners meet up to talk about the top topics within our community. In this edition of Camp.Fire, we’ll come together monthly to discuss the big takeaways and action items from Base.Camp San Antonio. Camp.Fire is exclusive to our existing publisher and partner community.
A full list of all 2026 events we’re involved in, all in one nice little package:
- Base.Camp San Antonio - March 1-4, 2026
- Advertising Economic Forum NYC - March 18-19, 2026
- Digital Day Camp: Spring - April 15 & 16, 2026
- Navigator NYC - May 5, 2026
- AI Publisher Response Event - May 6, 2026
- Navigator London - June 9, 2026
- Base.Camp La Jolla - October 4-7, 2026
- Digital Day Camp: Fall - October 21 & 22, 2026
- Base.Camp Madrid - November 8-11, 2026
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