Chris Wink thinks a lot about journalism, technology, democracy — and friction.
“I think we all should want to be told things that annoy us sometimes,” he says. “I think if we go through our day seeking frictionless experiences, we miss out on life and we get more unhinged from reality.”
These are topics he knows a thing or two about. As the CEO and co-founder of Technical.ly, Wink has seen a lot since he started the company in 2008: The decline of journalism, local and national; the digitization of our daily lives; intense polarization in America and the connection to where people get their information; the rise of AI; and, not least of all, a growing tech and entrepreneurship in Philadelphia that punches well above it’s weight.
On the latest episode of Currently, Wink chatted with Eletric Kite’s Kevin Renton to talk about information as a human necessity; Tehnical.ly’s humble origins; the use of AI in journalism; why he doesn’t buy all the AI hype — and, most importantly, his controversial take on the best cheesesteak in Philly, from his particular vantage point as someone who used to drive tourists around town in a horse-drawn carriage.
- ✅ How Geography Defines Journalism (2:14)
- ✅ The Decline of Local Journalism (7:00)
- ✅ Technical.ly’s ’08 Recession Roots (09:22)
- ✅ Telling the Story of Tech Entrepreneurship in Philly (13:17)
- ✅ Tehnical.ly’s Investment Expertise (19:54)
- ✅ The Business of Information (26:17)
- ✅ How to Monetize Local Journalism (31:09)
- ✅ AI and the Future of Journalism (35:51)
- ✅ The Best Cheesesteak in Philly (and Other Philly Favorites) (44:45)
Watch the full episode or check out individual chapters on YouTube.
