Aggressively Human: Online Business in the Age of AI, Algorithms & Automations
Aggressively Human: Online Business in the Age of AI, Algorithms & Automations
Podcast Description
In a world focused on more: more content, more followers, more marketing, more scale, more noise… we’re facing less trust, less contact, less reach.
We’re drowning in AI-generated slop, being pitch-slapped by “personalized” email funnels that couldn’t be farther from authentic, and struggling to be seen by a pay-to-play algorithm.
It’s never been easier to create and connect more cheaply and at more scale, with less trust and more skepticism.
But for experts and service-based businesses? We’re seeing the pendulum swing back.
The answer isn’t to play by these trends. It’s to be **aggressively human.** aggressivelyhuman.substack.com
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on themes such as the human element in business amidst automation, community building, and marketing ethics, with specific episode examples exploring topics like the significance of dialogue in audience engagement, the power of community over commodities, and human-centered podcasting approaches.
In a world focused on more: more content, more followers, more marketing, more scale, more noise… we’re facing less trust, less contact, less reach.
We’re drowning in AI-generated slop, being pitch-slapped by “personalized” email funnels that couldn’t be farther from authentic, and struggling to be seen by a pay-to-play algorithm.
It’s never been easier to create and connect more cheaply and at more scale, with less trust and more skepticism.
But for experts and service-based businesses? We’re seeing the pendulum swing back.
The answer isn’t to play by these trends. It’s to be **aggressively human.**
What does it really mean to “stay solo” in a world that won’t stop telling you to scale? That’s the question we explore with Maggie Patterson, whose new book Staying Solo challenges the endless drumbeat of “bigger is better.”
In this episode, we dive into Maggie’s journey from agency owner to solo business advocate, the messy parts of writing (and marketing) a book without turning it into a performative launch, and the very real tension between wanting to build a sustainable business—while feeling pressure to do it in a way that exploits your time or other people’s labor. (Thanks, online business influencers).
We also talk about typos in print books, sticker packs as marketing tools, and why self-publishing may outperform traditional publishing as a soloist. Whether you’re a solopreneur, a micro-agency owner, or just someone wondering if you have to scale to be legit, Maggie’s perspective offers a breath of fresh air—and a permission slip to do it your way.
* Why Staying Solo matters—especially when the default advice is always to “scale”
* The tension between running an agency and telling others not to build one
* How Maggie’s book journey came out of years of blog posts and a poolside conversation
* The ethics of pricing, paying others well, and not replicating exploitative business practices
* The weird relief (and panic) of finding typos in a printed book you can’t easily fix
* How to stay human while promoting a book (sticker packs, handwritten notes, book tours)
* Book marketing vs. book selling—why Maggie chose self-publishing and what surprised her most
* The privilege of staying solo—and how to be clear about who you want to serve
* Most importantly, the 5 book names for Maggie’s book themed birdhouse.
About our Guest
Connect with Us
Connect with Meg and Jessica
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aggressivelyhuman.substack.com
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