Sam Blum
@samblum.bsky.social
Sr. Writer at Inc Magazine. Tech, startups, billionaires, outsiders, investigations. Dad on the loose. Currently on parental leave.
Proton: Sam_Blum1905@proton.me
Signal: Sammblum.89
Proton: Sam_Blum1905@proton.me
Signal: Sammblum.89
Pinned
Baby's first baby arrives this week so I am officially on parental leave. See you in two months—after Dad mode is fully engaged.
Was there ever such a clear signal of societal decay when the Roman Empire collapsed?
Who's up for an official U.S. government video showing RFK Jr. working out with Kid Rock and doing a cold water plunge in jeans
February 17, 2026 at 10:42 PM
Was there ever such a clear signal of societal decay when the Roman Empire collapsed?
Reposted by Sam Blum
Prediction market traders are “seeking alpha” by buying TV antennas for a millisecond of speed, timing the Super Bowl national anthem rehearsal in person and uncovering not-yet-public press releases hiding in the HTML of websites. Anything for an edge!
www.npr.org/2026/02/17/n...
www.npr.org/2026/02/17/n...
TV antennas and Super Bowl rehearsals: How prediction market traders seek an edge
As prediction markets boom, competition is heating up. So traders go the extra mile for a fraction-of-a-second advantage or to sleuth out information nobody else has. It can lead to a huge payday.
www.npr.org
February 17, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Prediction market traders are “seeking alpha” by buying TV antennas for a millisecond of speed, timing the Super Bowl national anthem rehearsal in person and uncovering not-yet-public press releases hiding in the HTML of websites. Anything for an edge!
www.npr.org/2026/02/17/n...
www.npr.org/2026/02/17/n...
Baby's first baby arrives this week so I am officially on parental leave. See you in two months—after Dad mode is fully engaged.
February 17, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Baby's first baby arrives this week so I am officially on parental leave. See you in two months—after Dad mode is fully engaged.
Get ready for an influx of MIT and Yale grads attempting to stunt in Bugattis
lol
*PALANTIR: WE HAVE MOVED OUR HEADQUARTERS TO MIAMI, FLORIDA
*PALANTIR: WE HAVE MOVED OUR HEADQUARTERS TO MIAMI, FLORIDA
February 17, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Get ready for an influx of MIT and Yale grads attempting to stunt in Bugattis
Re-upping the last story I published before parental leave!
A new prediction market seeks to make millionaires by letting users bet on online trends like stocks. The monetization of everything is underway—and VCs are lapping it up.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
A new prediction market seeks to make millionaires by letting users bet on online trends like stocks. The monetization of everything is underway—and VCs are lapping it up.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
With Prediction Markets Attracting Billions, a New 'Stock Market for Trends' Could Mint Millionaires Fast
Noise users can bet on the popularity of everything from the Labubu craze to ChatGPT. It could be the first prediction market for the attention economy.
www.inc.com
February 16, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Re-upping the last story I published before parental leave!
A new prediction market seeks to make millionaires by letting users bet on online trends like stocks. The monetization of everything is underway—and VCs are lapping it up.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
A new prediction market seeks to make millionaires by letting users bet on online trends like stocks. The monetization of everything is underway—and VCs are lapping it up.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
My barber keeps telling me I need to take a trip to Turkey. I feel like Rodney Dangerfield.
February 14, 2026 at 4:46 PM
My barber keeps telling me I need to take a trip to Turkey. I feel like Rodney Dangerfield.
Clavicular Mogs The New York Times Magazine is a real email I received this afternoon
February 13, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Clavicular Mogs The New York Times Magazine is a real email I received this afternoon
Reposted by Sam Blum
NEW: Your average prediction market user can soon bet on the popularity of trends, brands, concepts and ideas. Everything is becoming increasingly monetized and financialized. VCs are eating it up.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
Prediction Markets Like Kalshi Are Attracting Billions. A New 'Stock Market for Trends' Could Mint Millionaires Fast
Noise users can bet on the popularity of everything from the Labubu craze to ChatGPT. It could be the first prediction market for the attention economy.
www.inc.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:15 PM
NEW: Your average prediction market user can soon bet on the popularity of trends, brands, concepts and ideas. Everything is becoming increasingly monetized and financialized. VCs are eating it up.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
NEW: Your average prediction market user can soon bet on the popularity of trends, brands, concepts and ideas. Everything is becoming increasingly monetized and financialized. VCs are eating it up.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
Prediction Markets Like Kalshi Are Attracting Billions. A New 'Stock Market for Trends' Could Mint Millionaires Fast
Noise users can bet on the popularity of everything from the Labubu craze to ChatGPT. It could be the first prediction market for the attention economy.
www.inc.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:15 PM
NEW: Your average prediction market user can soon bet on the popularity of trends, brands, concepts and ideas. Everything is becoming increasingly monetized and financialized. VCs are eating it up.
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/pre...
Reposted by Sam Blum
A federal government MAHA website, advertised during the superbowl, is directing users to Grok to "get real answers about real food"? (Via @almsnatalie.bsky.social)
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
Trump’s nutrition website directs users to Elon Musk’s Grok
The inclusion of Elon Musk’s chatbot in the government website follows backlash over the chatbot creating millions of sexualized images of women and children.
www.nextgov.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:43 PM
A federal government MAHA website, advertised during the superbowl, is directing users to Grok to "get real answers about real food"? (Via @almsnatalie.bsky.social)
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
You ever email someone with the exact same name as a high-ranking White House official thinking you have a scoop and then it turns out they're a different person? It sucks I wouldn't recommend it.
February 9, 2026 at 9:39 PM
You ever email someone with the exact same name as a high-ranking White House official thinking you have a scoop and then it turns out they're a different person? It sucks I wouldn't recommend it.
Martin you're writing an op-ed in a major newspaper how in the hell are you cancelled, mate?
February 9, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Martin you're writing an op-ed in a major newspaper how in the hell are you cancelled, mate?
Coinbase’s commercial was just the karaoke screen to a Backstreet Boys song i don’t even know what we’re doing here anymore
February 9, 2026 at 2:59 AM
Coinbase’s commercial was just the karaoke screen to a Backstreet Boys song i don’t even know what we’re doing here anymore
A lot of people say peak masculinity is Andrew Tate but it’s actually this guy doing exactly this
February 8, 2026 at 8:09 PM
A lot of people say peak masculinity is Andrew Tate but it’s actually this guy doing exactly this
Someone tell Pat that everything is fake and everyone is an actor so he never comes back
February 8, 2026 at 12:16 AM
Someone tell Pat that everything is fake and everyone is an actor so he never comes back
Reposted by Sam Blum
Jeff Bezos is more responsible than anyone—even Will Lewis—for the job cuts at the Washington Post.
The billionaire’s decisions led the paper to its current predicament (one he could pay for in perpetuity for a fraction of his wealth).
The billionaire’s decisions led the paper to its current predicament (one he could pay for in perpetuity for a fraction of his wealth).
The Bloodbath at Washington Post Is All Jeff Bezos’s Fault
Billionaires like Bezos have no real use for the free press, particularly when it runs the risk of alienating Donald Trump.
theintercept.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:47 PM
Jeff Bezos is more responsible than anyone—even Will Lewis—for the job cuts at the Washington Post.
The billionaire’s decisions led the paper to its current predicament (one he could pay for in perpetuity for a fraction of his wealth).
The billionaire’s decisions led the paper to its current predicament (one he could pay for in perpetuity for a fraction of his wealth).
Giannis Antetokounmpo is joining Kalshi as an investor, mere months after former NBA head coach Chauncey Billups was charged with rigging illegal poker games by the DOJ.
February 6, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Giannis Antetokounmpo is joining Kalshi as an investor, mere months after former NBA head coach Chauncey Billups was charged with rigging illegal poker games by the DOJ.
Reposted by Sam Blum
Glad to see more reporting back up our story from this week. www.inc.com/sam-blum/mas...
February 6, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Glad to see more reporting back up our story from this week. www.inc.com/sam-blum/mas...
Glad to see more reporting back up our story from this week. www.inc.com/sam-blum/mas...
February 6, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Glad to see more reporting back up our story from this week. www.inc.com/sam-blum/mas...
Reposted by Sam Blum
Laying off the tech reporter who was our smartest chronicler of internet culture and is brilliant on TikTok herself is one of the many, many decisions taken by Washington Post leadership this week that I will never understand.
Follow Tatum on both TikTok and now Substack, she is the best!
Follow Tatum on both TikTok and now Substack, she is the best!
Not that it'll stop me! -- you can keep following my internet culture coverage here on my new Substack. Please feel free to share.
bytatumhunter.substack.com
bytatumhunter.substack.com
Tatum Hunter | Substack
My internet coverage to your inbox. Click to read Tatum Hunter, a Substack publication. Launched 2 hours ago.
bytatumhunter.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Laying off the tech reporter who was our smartest chronicler of internet culture and is brilliant on TikTok herself is one of the many, many decisions taken by Washington Post leadership this week that I will never understand.
Follow Tatum on both TikTok and now Substack, she is the best!
Follow Tatum on both TikTok and now Substack, she is the best!
Reposted by Sam Blum
NEW: Day One Ventures founder Masha Bucher managed to amass a formidable portfolio despite widely known past ties to the Russian government. She introduced founders to Epstein in 2017 & 18. Just last week week she announced an investment in Sam Altman's Merge Labs
www.inc.com/sam-blum/mas...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/mas...
Masha Bucher Appears in Epstein Files as a Founder Fixer
The Day One Ventures founder continues to invest in hard tech companies, like brain tech startup Merge Labs, founded by Sam Altman.
www.inc.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:22 PM
NEW: Day One Ventures founder Masha Bucher managed to amass a formidable portfolio despite widely known past ties to the Russian government. She introduced founders to Epstein in 2017 & 18. Just last week week she announced an investment in Sam Altman's Merge Labs
www.inc.com/sam-blum/mas...
www.inc.com/sam-blum/mas...
I get some weird pitches
February 5, 2026 at 4:57 PM
I get some weird pitches
Counterpoint: No we are not
very weird “I am Spartacus” thing happening right now with the worst people on earth
February 5, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Counterpoint: No we are not
Reposted by Sam Blum
I talked with the owner of Modern Times, one of my favorite spots in Minneapolis, about making the entire menu free for everyone (except ICE) until ICE leaves the city.
Inside the Minneapolis restaurant that has stopped charging for food until ICE leaves the city
Owner Dylan Alverson explains why Modern Times is now donation-only to feed hungry neighbors and stop contributing to taxes that fund ICE.
www.fastcompany.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:41 PM
I talked with the owner of Modern Times, one of my favorite spots in Minneapolis, about making the entire menu free for everyone (except ICE) until ICE leaves the city.