Words are code. Writing is coding. And like any code, language carries ugly-ass bugs. Bias hides in syntax. Bad “culture” passes from hand to hand. We say things like “gamer girl” instead of just “gamer,” and barely notice. We “Hey Guyssss” each other every Zoom call. That’s why, when we told Gen Z to get That Close, it couldn’t just be a line. It had to be part of the product. In the experience. Because this generation has a way of debugging shit in real-time. This idea started small, a write-up on a slide. But I didn’t let it pickle there. Brought it into every meeting, pushed during the production.

I was lucky. My CDs pushed it in a global hackathon and set me up with an amazing team with devs, producers, and creatives. We shaped the idea for small business owners talking to Gen Z. And we made it totally optional, because we’re not school teachers. Cue Pink Floyd. After three nights, the idea made it into the top five among thousands of other ideas. And we get to show it to the leadership. It didn’t ship while I was there, but I heard it’s in the devs’ plans.