Live from Tralee · It's...

THE V SPOT

with Vinny O'Brien

A V Spot Network Production

Ecommerce, retail, and AI with a cross-Atlantic squint. Satirical on the surface, analyst-grade underneath.

V Spot Studios backlot at night: the theatre marquee, searchlights, and the blimp
V Spot Studios · Backlot, duskThe blimp is non-negotiable

Tonight's programming

The Nearly News desk, on air
Weekly · Video

Nearly News

The ecommerce news round-up, seen through the eyes of a madman. Everything is true except the bits that are funnier.

On air
The Ostrich Report anchor at his desk
Long-form · Editorial

The Ostrich Report

Heads out of the sand. Deep essays on the infrastructure of commerce, with Hendrik Laubscher.

Publishing
The Struggle Bus outside the stage door in the rain
Podcast · Operators

The Struggle Bus

Real talk, real stories, real struggles. All aboard, mind the gap between plan and reality.

On air
The Saturday Satire stage between shows
Saturdays · Video

Saturday Satire

The week in commerce, roasted gently over a red neon flame.

In development
The Sunday Supplement interview chairs
Sundays · Guests

The Sunday Supplement

Guests and marketing minds. Balanced lighting, unbalanced opinions.

In development
A candlelit map of Kerry with a red pin on Tralee
Always on · Essays

VINLAND

The map of standalone editorial art-objects. Friction as Currency lives here.

Migrating in

The monologue

Cue card 01Amazon says its new shopping agent knows what you want before you do. So does my mother, and she doesn't need a data centre in Virginia.
Cue card 02A retailer announced "frictionless returns" this week. The friction isn't gone, folks. It's just been promoted to work in the warehouse.
Cue card 03The EU fined a marketplace four hundred million euro on Tuesday. Or as the marketplace's finance team calls it, "Tuesday."

On location

New York skyline at night
New York · The Other DeskWhere half the stories happen
A winding road through the Kerry mountains at night
County Kerry · The CommuteOne road, no traffic, allegedly
Vintage microphone graded in navy and brass
The Monologue MicPhoto: RichardBowen, CC BY

Your host

Vinny O'Brien speaking at NRF in New York

with Vinny O'Brien

Fifteen-plus years in ecommerce operations and consulting, one foot in Tralee and one in New York, and a firm belief that technology should amplify empathy, not just remove friction. Some friction is the product. He will explain this at length whether you ask or not.

Meet the host

From the agency

Murt Moriarty, talent agent, on the phone at his cluttered desk

Murt Moriarty

The kid's agent. Handles bookings, sponsorships, and two telephones simultaneously, with mixed results. Murt describes this website as "the deal of my career, which my client insists he built with a computer. Sure."

Book a call through Murt

Now showing

A lit APPLAUSE sign hanging over the studio audience

This is where you subscribe

One welcome email, then only the good stuff: essays, episodes, and the occasional perfectly deployed GIF.