iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Ottawa Senators @senators.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Bobblehead nights, familiar favourites, and a few new theme nights on deck this season! 📰 Brush up on the promo calendar here: ottsens.com/4xbmHnF

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Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

AI is for the dumbest and laziest amongst us. You're falling for every scam. You are the new Facebook Aunt. Good work everyone. Surely there was no hint that all this stuff was horseshit. Even though Trump and Musk and a bunch of CEOs said it was the future, that wasn't enough to tip you off

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 13/08/2026

In “cool stuff I had never imagined happening” territory, I was interviewed by @keithlaw.bsky.social of @theathletic.com (on @nytimes.com) about @catan.com’s presence in sports: www.nytimes.com/athletic/751...

nytimes.com

Why a board game is popping up across the NBA, NHL, and NFL

Catan, one of the world's most popular board games, is hoping to lure in sports fans with a growing number of partnerships.

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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 03/08/2026

smartphones and the internet, man. they might have destroyed journalism, driven people insane by the tens of millions, fueled a rise in global fascism, and literally touched off genocides, but at least they seem to have caused a global collapse in relationship formation too

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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

One cool thing about unequivocally hating AI is that you will be proven right over and over again every single day

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 19/07/2026

ICYMI, we had an LPU @catan.com fan event last month, and it was incredible. youtube.com/watch?v=ugdd...

m.youtube.com

CATAN x LINKIN PARK GAME NIGHT 2026

YouTube video by CATAN

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 17/07/2026

I thought Amsterdam was finally going to be the first place we had gone for work I wouldn’t see a friend, but of course @bmkibler.bsky.social and @goberthicks.bsky.social are here. My “I see a friend everywhere we go on Earth” streak remains undefeated.

Selfie in front of the MagicCon Amsterdam banner

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Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

This is so funny

Some leaders say they insist on full-time in-person work because it boosts productivity, despite clear evidence that it does not. Others claim it’s about collaboration, creativity or culture. Our new research reveals that the objection to any work from home is more likely to be driven by something else entirely: ego.

Case by case, there may be good reasons for teams to work together in person. As a general rule, though, it turns out that ordering people back to the office full time is a power and status move. It’s a signature strategy of leaders who exhibit narcissistic qualities. They see any kind of remote work as a threat to their authority and admiration. They want to be worshiped at the office altar.

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 10/06/2026

We’re hiring at @catan.com! Our studio is looking for a Senior Game Producer: careers.asmodee.com/job/Senior-G... I am not the hiring manager for this position, but I’m happy to answer any questions I can, or refer former colleagues interested in joining our team.

careers.asmodee.com

Senior Game Producer

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 10/06/2026

careers.asmodee.com

Senior Game Producer

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 20/05/2026

Having a lot of fun watching the reactions to this one. 💙

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CATAN @catan.com · 18/05/2026

Wackadoo! We’ve got something special coming up and we can barely contain our excitement. The iconic Bluey is coming to the world of CATAN! 🤩💙 #catan #bluey

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OrcGirlBoss @orc.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Today is officially the 30th anniversary of Steamed Hams. On April 14, 1996, "22 Short Films About Springfield" aired for the first time!

Steamed Hams full transcript

Well, Seymour, I made it- despite your directions.
Ah.
Superintendent Chalmers.
Welcome.
- I hope you're prepared for an unforgettable luncheon.
- Yeah.
Oh, egads! My roast is ruined.
But what if I were to purchase fast food and disguise it as my own cooking? Delightfully devilish, Seymour.
Ah- Skinner with his crazy explanations The superintendent's gonna need his medication When he hears Skinner's lame exaggerations There'll be trouble in town tonight Seymour! Superintendent, I was just- uh, just stretching my calves on the windowsill.
Isometric exercise.
Care to join me? Why is there smoke coming out of your oven, Seymour? Uh- Oh.
That isn't smoke.
It's steam.
Steam from the steamed clams we're having.
Mmm.
Steamed clams.
Whew.
Superintendent, I hope you're ready for mouthwatering hamburgers.
I thought we were having steamed clams.
D'oh, no.
I said steamed hams.
That's what I call hamburgers.
You call hamburgers steamed hams? Yes.
It's a regional dialect.
- Uh-huh.
Uh, what region? - Uh, upstate New York.
Really.
Well, I'm from Utica, and I've never heard anyone use the phrase "steamed hams.
" Oh, not in Utica.
No.
It's an Albany expression.
I see.
You know, these hamburgers are quite similar to the ones they have at Krusty Burger.
Oh, no.
Patented Skinner burgers.
Old family recipe.
- For steamed hams.
- Yes.
Yes.
And you call them steamed hams despite the fact that they are obviously grilled.
Ye- You know, the- One thing I should- - Excuse me for one second.
- Of course.
Well, that was wonderful.
A good time was had by all.
I'm pooped.
Yes.
I should be- Good Lord! What is happening in there? - Aurora borealis.
- Uh- Aurora borealis at this time of year at this time of day in this part of the country localized entirely within your kitchen? - Yes.
- May I see it? No.
Seymour.
! The house is on fire.
! No, Mother.
It's just the northern lights.
Well, Seymour, you are an odd fellow but I must say you steam a good ham.

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Ami Fields-Meyer @fieldsmeyer.com · 13/04/2026

In the end, Hungarians showed us not only how to beat a thuggish nationalist, but also how to defeat our own stubborn cynicism. Set some Google news alerts. Get a little invested. The future can still be ours. Nothing is inevitable.

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 11/04/2026

I don't know how to explain to the people who pop up when creatives complain about "AI" to say there are legit uses for it just how much they sound like someone saying "Well actually fire is used to make bread" when people are talking about an organized arson ring burning down their fucking houses

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Amy @lolennui.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

books: the rectangle that can’t send you push notifications. Try: books.

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Raw Signal Group @rawsignal.ca · 07/04/2026

@shappy.bsky.social and @johnathan.bsky.social are on @theatlantic.com's Galaxy Brain with @cwarzel.bsky.social to talk about AI 🤝 management. And this part pretty much spells out one of the loudest conflicts going on at work right now:

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 04/04/2026

Too much else going on today so I forgot, but we did it! We launched this incredible thing that is going to be a ton of fun for millions of players.

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Picard Tips @picardtips.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Picard humor tip: Be thankful that April Fools' Day jokes fell out of common practice hundreds of years ago.

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Aura/Moom @moomanibe.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

if I were ever to write a followup or expansion to 'A Pivot To Indie Won't Save Us' it would probably center around how much midsized indies benefit from the ability to poach producers, QA and other roles from AAA, roles that indie itself makes zero room for other than preexisting domain experts

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Kelly Turnbull @coelasquid.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

You know, I’ve said for a long time that a big problem in the entertainment industry these days is people claw their way in so young and are so afraid to take a break that they have no time to have actual life experiences, so they write about media they’ve seen instead of things they’ve lived-

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CATAN @catan.com · 27/03/2026

Hey @boardgamegeek.com, you know how once kids are a couple of years old, it's weird to keep referring to their age in months? 😅

CATAN has been on the BoardGameGeek bestseller list for 1,003 weeks - or, in comprehensible terms, 19 years, 3 months, and 3 weeks. 😊

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 25/03/2026

Yeah, okay, I can get behind that. 😆

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Mike Drucker @mikedrucker.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

For years my iOS devices have kept reminding me to set up Siri (“You haven’t finished setting up your phone!”) and I just wish there was a fucking option to stop that shit. I don’t even want a dumb smart assistant. Just let me fucking work, man.

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michael lutz @ztul.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

I don't know about the rest of the millennials but I make all purchases via real computer because I don't have to Download Yet Another App to do it and the browser there is better at blocking all the stupid fucking ads and trackers. At some point you gotta take control of the hamster wheel, kids.

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Mike Bithell @mikebithell.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

If you were someone pinging critics with ‘it’s just lighting cleanup’ a few days ago, I need you to use this as a jumping off point to thinking about your susceptibility to talking points and marketing rhetoric more generally. It was right there in front of all of our faces.

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 20/03/2026

The DLSS 5 thing is just NFTs all over again. A bunch of people who know *literally nothing* about game development are talking up how revolutionary it is, while anyone who has ever touched gamedev is absolutely uninterested (because they know better). Tired.

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Bill Corbett @billcorbett.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Sorry to get radical but I don’t think it’s my job or yours to embrace, accept, understand - and certainly not to use - the thing being sold to us as AI. I don’t like any part of it, so I won’t. I’m missing out? Good, that’s what I want. You’re worried about me missing out? That’s fuckin weird, man.

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Ian @brocktoon.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Call for papers: for a special issue on contemporary craft work and digital economies. See below and alt text.

This proposal is for an upcoming special issue which has received strong interest from a leading cultural studies journal. We welcome theoretical inquiry, case studies, and research papers which address the complicated and perhaps inextricable relations between craft, analog and digital technology, and the conditions of artisanal culture and digitized commerce.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):
 Cultural exchange via craft work online
 Practices and beliefs of digital craft communities
 Craft and the gig economy
 Rentierism and exploitation on digital craft platforms
 The role of algorithmic sorting on digital platforms within craft communities
 Philosophical inquiry into craft as a salient category in a digitized cultural economy
 Changes in access to craft after digitization as a mode of work along lines of gender, race,
and sexual orientation
 The role of influencers in the broader craft economy
 New challenges to craft work from AI and other forms of advanced automation
 Craft’s relation to industry and regimes of mass production
 The changing role of video in craft instruction after TikTok/Reels

Send abstracts (250-500) words to Ian Williams at igwillia@live.unc.edu or Michael Palm at mpalm@unc.edu by March 5, 2026.

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 29/01/2026

* Mention that X has been banned in multiple countries over this * Ask whether your emotional or legal risks from exposure to this kind of material will be covered * Confirm that they know Musk restores the accounts of, retweets & PAYS those suspended for CSAM violations www.cnbc.com/2026/01/05/i...

cnbc.com

Elon Musk's X faces probes in Europe, India, Malaysia after Grok generated explicit images of women and children

Regulators in Europe, India and Malaysia are scrutinizing X after exploitative images created with the Grok chatbot went viral on Elon Musk's social network.

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 29/01/2026

If you are a person who works in social media, and your job requires you to manage an account on Twitter/X, please ask your boss, in writing, to verify that you are required as a responsibility of your position to be on a platform that knowingly creates and monetizes child sexual abuse material …

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 20/01/2026

Incredibly excited that we're announcing the first project I've been involved with end to end today - CATAN On the Road! It's a faithful reimagining of the game you know and love, now as a fast-paced card game you can enjoy anywhere and everywhere. On the Road launches April 3!

Picture of the new CATAN On the Road packaging

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 20/01/2026

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Micah @rincewind.run · 11/01/2026

being silly with your children is one of the best parts of being a parent the eight year old and I were playing Catan Jr and I kept getting goats so I started chanting “goats goats goats” and doing a silly dance and now he is randomly coming up to me and going “goats goats goats” and it’s adorable

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The Wyzard @thewyzard.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Synopsis: You need to kick more people out. You will actually have a larger base of customers/attendees if you kick more people out. You will make more money. I am dead serious.

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 07/01/2026

Speaking as someone who has also seen the data for this at major game companies, this is universally true. The worst 2% of your players/customers/whatever that you aren't dealing with are costing you 10x as many people who won't participate because of them.

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dr. hazel 🕯️ @hazelmonforton.com · 06/01/2026

“Hybrid” just means “onsite.” Can we be honest here.

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 29/12/2025

Kids got new iPads for Christmas, and I need @shappy.bsky.social and @johnathan.bsky.social to know that some of their amazing @rawsignal.ca stickers finally found good homes.

Six year old showing off her iPad case, freshly adorned with new stickers.

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pixelatedboat aka “mr bluesky” @pixelatedboat.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

This might sound harsh, and judgmental, but if video is your preferred way of getting information about a topic, you’re a fucking moron

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Nortuet @nortverse.com · 22/12/2025

Zero tolerance is the ONLY and FITTING response to genAI being used in production of media. Sure, you might think it's too harsh. Sure, they might've only used it for early stuff in development, etc Listen, it's not even a SLIPPERY slope, there is NO friction at all unless we speak out against it.

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 21/12/2025

This one is easy: No. Don’t use the evil slop generation “tools” anywhere in your process. Consumers have been so, so clear on their preferences here.

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 23/12/2025

No, it’s not. Consumers loathe generative AI badly enough that you a) cannot use it; and b) might have to come up with other terms for other things we used to describe with AI. That’s not a crisis.

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 21/12/2025

This one is easy: No. Don’t use the evil slop generation “tools” anywhere in your process. Consumers have been so, so clear on their preferences here.

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shaun @shaunvids.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

this is a good battle to pick. the CEO mentioned using "AI" and got so much shit for it immediately that he's rattled and backpedaling. easy win there

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Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

my team has never used ChatGPT for any of our writing. these are 100% artisanal handmade mistakes, thank you

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Kevin Hovdestad @hovdestad.ca · 17/12/2025

Happy to report that the new Bluey game is - for its target audience age - fantastic. Highly recommend. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsGY...

youtube.com

Bluey's Quest for The Gold Pen | Official Launch Trailer

YouTube video by Halfbrick Studios

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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 15/12/2025

Merriam-Webster’s human editors have chosen ‘slop’ as the 2025 Word of the Year.

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Drew Magary @drewmagary.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Some people (not me) use Sunday morning to catch up on their politics, so here was my Say No to AI piece from this week for that. www.sfgate.com/tech/article...

sfgate.com

The time has come to declare war on AI

"It's now in everything, even if you don't want it there."

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