I feel like I always pick the worst times to take a week off because a ton happens whenever I’m away. Rather than try to cover it all and miss good stuff, I’m just going to declare news bankruptcy and instead boost all the awesome content y’all made while I was out.

I did want to note one bit of news that’s pertinent to our interests: Support Driven’s Scott Tran announced this week that the community has paused new member signups from its website.

The reason: an influx of scam jobs, spam, and bad actors that the current open-door model wasn't equipped to handle. The community is building a deliberate application process to protect existing members and grow more intentionally going forward.

I just want to send them some encouragement that this isn’t just happening to Support Driven. The state of the internet being what it is right now — flooded with AI bots and slop and other ill-conceived and ill-intentioned schemes — it makes sense that all of that would eventually find its way into our communities.

It’s something that’s hitting the CX community as a whole hard (stay tuned for a feature on that, as boy do I have some things to say), and so my sympathy goes to them while they try to deal with a gnarly problem. They’re taking a good step by not shutting the door forever, but rather putting a doorbell on it, and I wish them the best.

Lots and lots of career successes this week — these are just the folks who gave me the okay to celebrate them. I know the market has been rough, but hang in there — I’m hoping this is signaling an upswing.

Jackye Clayton launched Who Do I Work For?, a free company research tool that is extremely relevant to anyone who has ever stared down a job listing wondering what they're actually getting into. If you're a Bad Job Bingo fan, this one's for you.

Rachel Provan wrote about why not everything customers want needs to be a feature request.

Ben Werdmuller wrote about the landmark social media addiction verdict against Meta and YouTube — a jury found them negligent, which could have big implications for social media platforms going forward. I’d love to revisit this in a future issue when I have more time.

Daria Littlefield wrote about what it really means to retain a customer — and why the old playbook is dead.

Fernando Duarte wrote about how the first thing AI changes in Support isn't headcount, but the job itself.

Sarah Betts has been busy during her hiatus, but her recent piece It Was the Org Chart All Along on EQ and power dynamics in companies is a particularly good one.

Alice Goguen Hunsberger shared some great resources for upskilling Trust & Safety and Fraud teams on AI.

James Baldwin wrote about the skill that took him from leading a CS team to leading his company's AI strategy (a trajectory I imagine many CX folks will be interested in).

Tom Sweeney put together a roadmap for CX leaders looking to reallocate resources toward high-leverage work — framing AI as a liberator of time rather than a justification for cuts.

Ines van Dijk published Part 6 of her burnout in CX series, this time with real-world examples.

Kristi Faltorusso wrote a very relatable post about the imposter syndrome and pressure that comes with putting yourself out there as a creator.

Nico B. Boyce wrote wrote this fantastic and aptly titled piece: You Did Not Get Hired (But It Is Not Your Fault).

Ryan Coughlin of Savi Security launched Scamwise, a free tool for determining whether something is a scam. Everyone should have this bookmarked. Everyone should use it, and huge kudos to Ryan for making it possible.

Hat tip to Dominic Sandoval for sharing this LinkedIn Translator — put in anything, get back corporate speak. It's deeply stupid and you'll use it immediately.

Marginal Support sat down with Stefano Virgili to talk about what counts as Good Lazy.

Support Stack talked to Thomas Hils about how he's using Claude + Intercom to build a QA system that actually works — without buying yet another tool.

The CX Files talked to Michelle Wideman about turning CS teams that feel like an afterthought into functions that earn company-wide recognition.

Customer Support Leaders talked to Ryan Klausner about what Support becomes when it's no longer defined by tickets — a question the whole field is grappling with right now. The podcast also dug into what Fearless CX looks like inside an organization with Nate Brown.

More Than a Brand broke down what it actually means to have a customer retention strategy.

CX Passport talked to Lisa Guzman about building CX in remote startup environments and leading without micromanaging.

Punk CX talked to Help Scout co-founder Nick Francis about the enduring and evolving craft of customer support.

Customer Career Success Coach covered why mass applying to CS jobs is a terrible idea.

CMX Masterclass: What K-Pop Gets Right About Community (That Most Companies Still Don’t)
April 1 at 1pm ET. Hosted by CMX by Bevy, feat. Joshua Zerkel. Register here.

Customer Success Summit Denver
April 1-2 at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Denver, CO. Hosted by Customer Success Collective. Get tickets here.

Community Week Online 2026
April 7-10 at 3pm BST. Hosted by Led by Community. Get tickets here.

AI Customer Success Summit
April 8 at 10am ET. Online event hosted by Customer Success Collective. Register here.

AI Lovable Hackathon: Community Tools Edition
April 14 at 2pm BST. Hosted by Led by Community and Lovable. Register here.

The Blueprint for Scaling AI Support: Live in Austin
April 14 at 2:30pm CT in Austin, TX. Hosted by Intercom. Register here.

Chief Customer Officer Summit Silicon Valley
April 15 at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, San Jose, CA. Hosted by Customer Success Collective. Request invite here.

Shaping Your Story Through Your CV
April 16 at 4pm BST. Hosted by Led by Community, feat. Todd Nilson. Register here.

Phoenix CX Gathering
April 16 at 5pm MT at Pitch Scottsdale, Scottsdale, AZ. Hosted by Donna Drehmann and Vicki Brackett, feat. Nate Brown.

Road to Summit Tour: Community IRL in LA
April 16 at 5:30pm PT at Santa Monica Brew Works, Santa Monica, CA. Hosted by CMX by Bevy. Register here.

Customer Success Meetup - New York
April 21 at 5:30pm ET in New York City, NY. Hosted by Customer Success Meetup. Register here.

Is Your Contact Center Actually Delivering Value?
April 23 at 3:30pm ET. Hosted by Deepak Selvaratnam, feat. Lisa Diehl, Brian Jeppesen, Matt Woody, and Jason Mercer-Pottinger. Register here.

Community as a Catalyst for Growth
April 29 at 4pm BST. Hosted by Led by Community, feat. Candace Grobler. Register here.

CMX Summit 2026
April 30-May 1 at Fox Theatre, Redwood City, CA. Hosted by CMX by Bevy. Get tickets here.