The Push and Pull of the Times

by

The Push and Pull of the Times (May 26, 2026)

BY ROB BEELER

Last week, Kitty and I headed out to scout the venue for Base.Camp La Jolla. 

Estancia La Jolla is an incredible spot, and you really should start finalizing your travel plans. We even checked out the safari activity—and while I can’t promise the wildlife will always be on their best behavior (a certain male rhino was definitely feeling spirited), the experience will be top-notch. 

The trip out and back gave me time to have lots of big thoughts, and I was certain I’d be sharing some of those big thoughts in this newsletter. For example, I had found a way to connect Henry David Thoreau to Rob Zombie in one version. 

But nothing seemed to quite fit the moment nor quite capture the state of things right now.

We’re in a world right now where the only constant is that everything and everyone wants our attention, and people only have so much attention to give. What the platforms have learned is pulling us back and forth with conflicting stories holds our attention better than anything else: it confirms my biases while simultaneously testing them. 

From an entertainment perspective, the push and pull is the drama we seek. From an informational standpoint, it is overwhelming. 

Case in point: the narrative that people who let people go because of AI are rehiring them. Is that true? Is that something that should give people hope, or is it just a temporary blip? It’s hard to know how to advise people on moving forward, and I very much want to talk about taking action. 

So I’ve collected my big thoughts from this weekend, and I’m going to continue working on what I consider the foundational ideas that’ll help the community no matter which way the winds blow. I’ll share that my weekend had both the high points of enjoying Southern California with new people, the work on Navigator London, but also the low of learning that a friend lost his daughter. Talk tech and AI all you want, but the push and pull of the human experience is all that really matters.

Navigator London is mere WEEKS away. How? Because time is both a social construct and a flat circle, depending on how deep your existential crisis is this morning. 

But if you look at the full agenda, you can see we have bigger things to talk about. 

For example, AI is changing the face of publishing, but we need to be clear about its limitations: AI can’t fix unclear strategy, weak processes, or the human challenges underlying the technology. 

That’s why we’re thrilled to announce Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE (author of She’s in CTRL) as a keynote speaker for Navigator London on 9 June.

Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon will help us examine what this moment demands from the people currently keeping publishing moving, including: how to future-proof yourself, build teams that can experiment with purpose, and make decisions that help your organization move forward… all without losing sight of the human judgment, trust, and connection publishing still depends on.

And that’s only one of the conversations we’ll be having together. 

👉 Check out the full Navigator London agenda and raise your hand to attend Navigator London today.

Here’s the latest:

  • Camp.Fire Replay: Interstitial UX Reset + Navigator NYC & AI Publisher Response Analysis
    First, Evan Thor digs into a broken part of the mobile ecosystem: interstitial ad UX. From lack of publisher control to misaligned incentives and “inescapable” creative design, Evan outlines the problem and proposes a path forward toward a better, more sustainable user experience. From there, we recap, review, and analyze the critical conversations from Navigator NYC and AI Publisher Response. This conversation is for our exclusive publishers and partners only community.

  • There’s a dangerous tendency to think of AI as magic instead of infrastructure
    For the past two years, publishers have largely talked about AI in abstract terms: opportunities, risks, legal concerns, SEO disruption, licensing deals, existential dread. Yes, they are all important. But they’re increasingly disconnected from the practical question every operations, revenue, and editorial team now faces: what are we actually doing with this stuff? Matthew Rance’s demo answered that question with refreshing specificity.

  • Metrics publishers prioritize may not drive revenue (new report from Playwire)
    For years, publishers have been told to obsess over CPMs, viewability, and time-on-site. But according to Playwire’s new report, State of Publisher Ad Revenue 2026: Insights and Opportunities, many of the industry’s most commonly discussed metrics are not actually the strongest predictors of publisher revenue.

Want to get caught up on everything we’ve published? Start here.

The Stack subscription is built for people on the business side of publishing who need more than recycled industry headlines. You get a clearer read on the pressures shaping publisher decisions right now that don’t always show up in public conversations.

Here’s what you’ve missed:

  • Free preview: Publishers: ‘failing fast’ only works if somebody’s writing it down
    I’m tired. A lot of my friends in ad ops are tired. We keep being asked to absorb the same preventable problems on behalf of organizations that have decided learning isn’t worth the time it takes. (New anonymous publisher op-ed with Liz Moorehead)

  • Subscribers only: What ‘intent’ means in 2026, and why the machines won’t wait for your product to catch up
    Intent has been treated as a targeting label rather than a human truth. The gap between the two is where publisher revenue leaks, buyer trust erodes, and campaigns quietly underperform. (By Hazel Broadley of Beeler.Tech)

  • Free preview: Ad ops is where other people’s bad decisions become emergencies
    Ad ops is still treated in too many organizations like the place where work goes after the important thinking is done. The strategy happened already. The deal is closed. The client is excited. Leadership is happy. Sales is moving on to the next thing. And now here come the details. Here come the questions. Here come the constraints. Here comes the part where reality shows up and asks whether any of this can actually work. (Anonymous publisher op-ed with Liz Moorehead)

  • Subscribers only: 44-Page Above the Fold Q1 2026 Report
    Teams are dealing with immediate revenue pressure, unstable traffic patterns, shifting buyer behavior, AI-fueled disruption, and growing demands on already strained operations. That tension is shaping decisions everywhere; in yield strategy, in staffing, in workflows, in audience development, and in the ongoing question of where publishers can still build durable leverage. (By Rob Beeler of Beeler.Tech.)

Here’s what you need to know this week… 

  • ICYMI: Melissa Chapman is now Beeler.Tech’s Chief Operating Officer. 🎉
    In Melissa’s own words, yes, the COO role is about “running the day-to-day operations of our team and helping to execute on the strategy of the organization.” But the heart of it goes deeper than that. She’s focused on making sure the team has the people, the skills, and the structure to actually deliver on what our community needs. Tell Melissa congratulations on her new role!

A full list of our 2026 events we’re involved in, all in one nice little package:

TWIPN Event

From Advocate to Operator: Owning Your Voice, Value, and Career Trajectory

📅 Thursday, May 28, 5:00 PM – this week!

📍 PubMatic NYC Office 

Join this session for an impactful conversation focused on the full spectrum of self-advocacy: how to communicate your value, influence decisions, and position yourself for long-term growth. 

🔗 RSVP here!

Chicago Happy Hour

📅 May 28, 5:00 pm CT

📍 West Loop Parlor Pizza @108 N Green St. 

Don’t miss the next Chicago adtech happy hour, sponsored by Seedtag! The gang will be on the patio if it’s nice out that day.

Cannes 2026 Calendar

Each year The Digital Voice creates a robust Cannes calendar. For those attending, worth a review. Get the Cannes calendar here!

Join the Community!

Thousands of professionals, of all ages, worldwide turn to Beeler.Tech as their meeting place for all things publisher revenue operations. Join the Beeler.Tech Community here! Your teams and colleagues are welcome, too. 

Join the Women’s Space

Our Women’s Space continues to grow, and we’re developing a Code of Conduct for all Beeler.Tech events: something every attendee will agree to, and something we hope the wider industry adopts. The goal is simple: raise the bar on respect and professionalism for everyone. We have a Slack channel and a WhatsApp group. The WhatsApp chat is more active, but you’re welcome in either (or both) if you want to be part of the conversation.

Please reach out to Melissa if you would like to join one or both.

Looking for your next opportunity? Know someone else that is?

Check out our job board. Also – sign up for our Jobs Newsletter (delivered every Thursday). Subscribe here.

Team.Beeler Out

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