The Internet Is Having an Identity Crisis—And So Are We

As platforms, companies, and people shed old labels, we’re all learning to navigate a world where identity is fluid, messy, and in motion.

I’ve been thinking a lot about identity lately. Not just my own, but how everything around us is changing so rapidly that I constantly have to rewire how I think about organizations, other people, and how I live my life.

Two Moments in California That Shifted My Thinking

A few weeks ago, I had two moments in California that really drove this home.

The first was sitting in a Waymo, a driverless car. The first time I rode in one, my mind was blown. Trusting a robot to drive me through the streets of San Francisco was both exhilarating and terrifying. It forced me to begin rewiring how I think about transportation. Who’s really in control when there’s no driver?

The second moment came just before going on stage to give a presentation about AI. I had a slide with logos of various companies working on AI. OpenAI and Anthropic were easy—clearly AI-first. But when I thought about OpenAI possibly building a social network, things got fuzzier. Where does it fit now?

The Platforms No Longer Fit In Their Boxes

Google and Microsoft were easier to contextualize in the realm of productivity tools. But when I mentioned that Google Search—as we’ve long known it—is changing dramatically, I saw the room shift. Everyone understands search. It’s part of our daily lives. And yet, most people don’t realize that how results are being served to them is already transforming beneath their feet.

Meta is even trickier. We think of it as a social media company—but it’s far more than that. In last week’s FTC antitrust trial, The Verge reported that Meta is in the midst of an identity crisis. Tom Alison, who heads up Facebook, said under cross-examination:

“People are coming to Facebook for several other things besides friends.”

It’s true. Meta has long evolved beyond connection. Between Ray-Ban smart glasses, Oculus headsets, and its own generative AI tools, it’s increasingly hard to describe what the company actually is.

The Slide That Was Missing Something

Backstage at that talk, I realized I had made a critical omission: X (formerly Twitter). The speaker ahead of me was from X, and the room was full of people who loved X. They were buzzing about Grok, X’s AI tool. And I hadn’t even included the company on my AI slide—because, in my mind, it was still just a social media platform.

That moment sunk my heart a little. Because it wasn’t just about missing a logo—it was about how I still hadn’t updated my own mental model.

And it’s not just about function anymore—it’s about identity. People think of X as a right-leaning platform. Bluesky, by contrast, is seen as left-leaning. But these aren't labels either company explicitly asked for—especially Bluesky. They’re navigating identities that have been projected onto them, whether they want them or not.

Everything Is Blurring

This is happening across the board:

• Salesforce is another example. It’s known for CRM tools and Slack, not AI. But it has a full AI platform—Agentforce. Watching their McConaughey and Harrelson ads during the Indy 500 qualifiers, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people really understood what it meant to have AI managing customer service at airports or fixing your HVAC system.

• Amazon has become everything: tech company, grocery chain, pharmacy, logistics network.

• AI is now deeply embedded in banking, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, commerce, and more. These are no longer just industry verticals—they're tech companies now, whether or not they act like it.

• The media is also in the middle of its own identity crisis. Journalists are increasingly going independent, the line between influencer and journalist is nearly invisible, and legacy institutions are losing their grip on authority. Platforms like Substack are redefining what it even means to be “media”—who gets to inform, who gets to opine, and who gets paid to do it.

• Even TV and podcasts are facing identity crises. If your podcast is now on video, is it still a podcast? Is YouTube a social platform or a streaming service? What even is television anymore?

• And with search no longer driving website traffic, what does that mean for publishers and the open web?

The Personal Layer: What Am I, Really?

All of this has made me turn inward, too.

I have so many projects going on, I often don’t know how to explain what I do. I’ve been asking myself: Can I introduce myself in a way that doesn’t rely on a job title?

I think back to a lunch in France earlier this year. No one there knew me as a former executive or consultant—they just knew I was a writer. That label felt both foreign and freeing. The truth is, I’m a writer, yes. But I’m also a podcaster, analyst, consultant, entrepreneur, reader, gardener, crafter, and more.

I know people often struggle to put me in a box—maybe that’s the point.

Trust and the Cost of Confusion

This leads me to trust.

When our perceptions of who someone or something is changes, it can fracture trust, especially if that transition isn’t handled with clarity and care.

The institutions and platforms that navigate identity shifts with grace will win trust. Those that resist—or confuse their audiences—may lose them entirely.

Because people don’t want disruption, they want seamless evolution. My first time in a Waymo was wild. After a few rides, I’m used to it now. (Though I still find it wildly cool.)

Trust today isn’t just about being right. It’s about being understood. It’s about knowing who—and what—you are, and being able to express that clearly.

But it’s also about us giving others space to evolve. Transitions are hard. They require patience, clarity, and honesty—qualities that are increasingly rare in a world moving faster than we can process.

So, Who Are You Becoming?

Maybe identity isn’t fixed anymore.

Maybe it’s adaptive, responsive, a living system.

Maybe the better question isn’t “What are you?”
But rather: “What are you becoming?”

That question applies to people.
To companies.
To platforms.
To politics.
To work.
To culture.

Those who resist this shift may find themselves left behind. But those who embrace it and tell the truth about who they are, even when it’s messy, might find something better on the other side.

Editor’s Note: I meant to link to

Carmen Van Kerckhove

’s recent piece on

Pack Light Live Full with Carmen Van Kerckhove

entitled “You are not your job. And soon, you won't have one.” She highlights many of the same things I’ve been thinking and talking about regarding the evolution of how we think about our careers. It’s worth a read.

I came across this poem from

Flying Edna

after writing this newsletter and I thought it fit the theme perfectly.