When Your Favorite Apps Have an Identity Crisis

Hey honeys and hustlers,

I’ve tried to avoid addressing our new reality, and for that, I’m sorry. Given the current state of our daily news cycle, I didn’t feel the need to harp on the mounting evidence that our physical and digital goods are going to be affected by what’s happening at the federal level of government. However, we’ve reached a point where it would be weird for us not to talk about how our businesses will fare given potential tariffs on physical goods and the effective pull-back from companies on DEI policies. Not to mention the ever-increasing cost of living expenses that affect how much money we’ll need to make to afford having a business or creating meaningful work. My goal with this article isn’t to be neutral – I’m on the side of small businesses and creators always. My goal is to strike a balance between a measured, thoughtful, and researched stance on recent news in the creator economy.

On Thursday, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming, so I have to know…

Okay, we’ve had our dessert, onto the veggies.

In Readworthy News

// Adobe HR Chief says they’re getting rid of DEI hiring targets. Adobe set goals in 2020 to increase minority representation in leadership positions. Now, Gloria Chen, a woman of color in a leadership position at this very company, announced they would no longer be pursuing diversity at all levels of the company. They claim that this decision in 2020 never actually affected their hiring practices and that while the policies are changing, their values are not. I read an article titled If It Doesn’t Shape a Decision, It’s Not a Value on The Case by Amanda K. Gordon, and I would highly recommend reading it to see exactly why I think that’s a load of bs.

Will I switch from using Adobe Creative Suite? I was already considering switching because an annual subscription vs. a one-time fee is starting to feel hard to justify, even though I know these products well. I’m currently undecided, but heavily weighing my options. Capture One and Davinci Resolve seem to address 80% of what I need. Maybe a Canva Pro subscription would round out my Photoshop needs? It’s still a subscription, though.

Tell me what you think. Will you be moving away from Adobe Creative Suite? Have you already ditched them, and currently enjoying living the good life?

// Shopify CEO says they won’t hire until they can prove AI can’t do the job. In a recent posting, he stated that employees will be expected to prove why they “cannot get what they want done using AI” before asking for more headcount and resources. There are a few ways of looking at this: one way is that Shopify has steadily decreased its headcount over the past few years. While they’ve seen a decrease in staff, the amount they pay their staff hasn’t necessarily decreased. The company seems to encourage and maybe even mandate that workers integrate AI into their workflows to increase productivity. They’ve also rolled out several AI features for digital store owners, aiming to help them cut down time spent on repetitive tasks, like customer service for frequently asked questions, and making product images.

On some level, I think using AI for repetitive or organizational tasks where applicable is generally a good thing. I think the statement comes off as “AI is replacing tech jobs” when in reality, it’s probably more like people who embrace AI will have a better chance at staying competitive. It seems to me that he’s betting on highly skilled workers + AI-powered productivity. I think AI use should come down to “what” we’re using it for, and asking harder questions to use it responsibly and ethically. This policy doesn’t seem to negatively impact creators or small businesses (though it will definitely affect the environment), but I’m open to other thoughts and perspectives.

// Tariffs will affect camera, phone, and tech gear prices. Apple shipped 600 tons of iPhones by plane to beat the new tariffs. Blackmagic Design, an Australia-based camera company, has reportedly found a way to produce its new cameras outside of Australia, though it will still come with a price increase for American buyers. Ugmonk founder Jeff Sheldon shared the early signs of decreased business since the announcement of the tariffs, even though many of his products are made in America. Big companies like Apple and Blackmagic can afford to take a big bet on shipping large quantities now to beat impending tariffs, but smaller companies like Ugmonk or your favorite local coffee shop can’t.

For an administration that claims to love American businesses, these tariffs seem to be the start of pulling the rug out from under many bootstrapped companies. I refuse to believe that billionaires know something magical that we don’t, and that their complete disregard for American companies and lack of empathy for small business owners who may never be able to open their businesses again is “innovative.” Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and they should be treated as such. No PPP loans are coming to save us this time (and I use “us” loosely).

// New features were announced at Canva Create 2025. Canva announced sheets, enhanced AI capabilities, magic charts, and coding capabilities. Clearly it was a slow day at the office. Canva decided that coming for designers wasn’t enough – they wanted to come after creators who were using design, data visualization, and images at all levels. These new features are perfectly aimed at both enterprise and solo creators. Honestly, well done. I think they took the feedback they received from last year’s event and the pushback on the increased price of a Canva Pro subscription and decided to add greater production value to the yearly event and more value to match the cost of the subscription.

What Melanie Perkins has built is incredible and isn’t talked about enough. I use Canva regularly, and don’t know many creators, no matter what they create, that can’t say the same. I think they’re coming after Adobe, but they really need better export capabilities to complement their desktop apps. I would also not get away from the heart of creating. While AI integration is cool, especially with something like developing code, they should still augment their template and native design capabilities if they want to compete with Figma, etc. as designers grow in expertise and want to have the option to stay with Canva.

// Stunts are finally getting their own category at the Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences plans to start awarding stunt performers for their work on movies in 2027. This is long overdue, and conveniently after Jackie Chan is in his prime. I wrote a previous article about award shows, so I won’t reiterate that here. But maybe this calls for an updated article on the importance of having new categories added to award shows? Hot Ones was successful in their bid to be nominated for an Emmy, marking the first entry of a YouTube production in a major award category. This evolution of Hollywood and all the ways filmmaking is represented is a fascinating one. My major question always remains: how do awards and recognitions affect income, sustainability, and protection of folks in the industry?