All this and more in this week’s edition of The Hypha Wire, from Hypha HubSpot Development.
Welcome back to The Hypha Wire! I hope everyone had a great week.
We have a dedicated section below for book, podcast/video, and newsletter recommendations, but I wanted to do a specific shoutout up top for a podcast I’ve been listening to lately called “Acquired.”
Here’s how it’s described on its website: “Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.” The podcast goes deep into the history of a particular company, its founding, key early players, funding deals, acquisitions, you name it.
I started with its three-part Google series, and it’s been fascinating to get to the roots of the behemoth that, for better or for worse, controls our lives (slight hyperbole, but not really).
They were once a scrappy startup—albeit filled with some of the most brilliant people—that had a big dream and set their minds to it. One of the most interesting parts, IMO, is learning about all the key players on the road to success. In Google’s case, many of them names that we’re quite familiar with today (Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt, Sheryl Sandberg, anyone?).
It’s also “funny” to see how missions have changed over the years. Innocuous at first, many of the aforementioned key players have gone on to work at or lead companies that are destructive, whether it be environmentally, labor-wise or on the product development front.
I’m jaded, I know, but the podcast isn’t. If you like long-form podcasts and are interested in our current tech landscape, I do highly recommend giving the show a listen. May we take the lessons learned along the way and apply them positively to our businesses.
-Sage Levene, VP of Marketing, Hypha HubSpot Development
Open Mic
Don’t Let HubSpot Be Your Weak Spot—Secure Your Account Now
By Amy Dodge, HubSpot Platform Specialist, Hypha HubSpot Development
If you haven’t focused on it yet, cybersecurity should be a priority for your business as the website Have I Been Pwned, a popular breach notification system, has added 2 billion breached email addresses to their database this week. Your passwords could be public record, and all a hacker has to do is try to use them to log into your accounts.
This highlights the fact that passwords are a gamble, and the best way of safeguarding the information in your HubSpot account is by implementing these additional security options:
1. Set up a Passkey and then enforce it as a login method for all of your users.
2. Set up 2FA for yourself and, if you are a Super Admin, require it for all of your users. Choose to use an authenticator app over SMS as this will provide the best protection. (Don’t forget to download those backup codes!)
It’s good to tune into the yearly prediction blogs when they start rolling out. Obviously, not everything will come to fruition, but I like learning what’s on other people’s minds heading into a new year.
“Main takeaway: Optimize for influence to grow your online visibility in 2026. To succeed in 2026, SEO needs to evolve into influence optimization.
“Understand how your brand is perceived across AI search platforms, LLMs, and new browsing environments. Build authority through thought leadership content and credible third-party signals. The brands that win the next evolution of search are those that AI platforms recognize and prefer to cite.”
This is a fact many know, but having the concrete data is super helpful to decide where to prioritize comment management.
“[Buffer Data Scientist, Julian Winternheimer] pored over nearly 2 million posts from over 220,000 accounts on Threads, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X, and Bluesky. His conclusion was a clear and consistent pattern: Posts where creators and brands reply to comments perform better almost every time.”
Platform Engagement lift (vs. baseline)
Threads: +42%
LinkedIn: +30%
Instagram: +21%
Facebook: +9%
Twitter/X: +8%
Bluesky: +5%
Hypha Highlights
Content marketing builds trust by answering customer questions at the moment they’re searching, making it a cost-effective way to generate qualified leads and brand awareness. The landscape has evolved beyond traditional SEO—AI systems now shape how people discover content, which is why companies need both search optimization and AI Engine Optimization (AEO) to appear in AI-generated answers.
With AI overviews appearing in over 13% of Google searches, content must now be structured for citation across platforms like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. Well-crafted, strategically deployed content remains essential for attracting prospects who already understand your value.
“Join Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot and Nicholas Holland, Head of AI & SVP of Product, as they open GROW Europe with insights that matter. Kipp will share meaningful trends in AI, including a new growth playbook for marketers. Nicholas will show you the latest innovations from across the HubSpot platform, with tools that will help you bring the new growth playbook to life.”
AI in Action
News, updates and tools from the AI industry.
Anthropic announced plans to invest $50 billion in U.S. AI infrastructure, starting with data centers in Texas and New York, with the first sites launching in 2026. In separate news, the company disclosed it detected and stopped what it believes is the first major AI-driven cyber espionage campaign, where Chinese state-sponsored hackers used Claude Code to attack around 30 global targets with the AI performing 80–90% of the work largely on its own with minimal human oversight.
OpenAI released GPT-5.1, an upgrade to its flagship model that aims to make ChatGPT “warmer” and more personalized, adding eight personality presets including options like Quirky, Nerdy, and even Cynical for users to choose from. The update comes after GPT-5’s August launch left users unimpressed, forcing OpenAI to bring back GPT-4o as an option.
Google is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit claiming the company turned on its Gemini AI assistant by default in Gmail, Google Chat, and Meet last month without asking users, potentially giving the system access to their entire communication history and violating California’s privacy laws. On a different front, Google rolled out new AI shopping features for the holidays, including conversational product search, an option to have Google call local stores to check inventory for you, and an automatic checkout feature that can buy items you’re tracking when prices drop to your target range.
Firefox is building an AI Window, a new optional feature that lets users chat with an AI assistant while browsing, but staying true to the company’s philosophy that “you’ll never be locked into one ecosystem or have AI forced into your browsing experience.” The feature is completely opt-in and users can switch it off anytime, with Firefox building a waitlist for people who want to be among the first to try it and share feedback as the company develops the tool.
LinkedIn rolled out AI-powered conversational search that lets users find people, pages, and posts using natural language queries like “ex-coworkers who became founders in healthcare in NY” or “Spanish-speaking school counselors in Austin focused on learning differences.” The feature is currently live for LinkedIn Premium subscribers in the U.S. and will expand to all members soon, adding to the growing list of AI features that parent company Microsoft has been integrating throughout the platform.
Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine partnered with AI audio company ElevenLabs to create AI-generated versions of their voices. Caine joined ElevenLabs’ newly launched Iconic Voice Marketplace, which allows companies to request approval to use celebrity voices for projects, though the move sparked criticism from actors and commenters who argued it undercuts working voice actors and pushes real talent out.
1x Speed
The podcasts Team Hypha has queued up.
Co-founder, Board Member and former CEO of HubSpot, Brian Halligan, has a new interview podcast! Check out the first episode.
“I didn’t think Parker Conrad would get up off the mat when he got ousted from his previous startup, Zenefits. No one in Silicon Valley did. Instead, Parker let his rage propel him into an all-consuming mission to prove the haters wrong and build Rippling, a $17 billion juggernaut that blows his prior success out of the water.
“Parker has advice for founders: from productively harnessing the chip on your shoulder, to maintaining fast operational velocity, to why you need founder-minded people on your team instead of manager-minded people—even among your managers. And yes, he spills the dirt on Deel. Parker is one of the new greats who is tearing up the old CEO rulebook and writing his own.”
How can we help you?
Case Study: Mobile-first Design on HubSpot
A regional family entertainment venue had grown from a local favorite into a destination for parties and group events, but their single-page website couldn’t keep up. Parents searching on phones struggled to find essential details about attractions, packages, and booking options, while the internal team had no visibility into what drove engagement or conversions.
We rebuilt the site from the ground up over two months, structuring it around how families actually decide—exploring attractions by age and interest, comparing party packages side by side, and booking without friction. The new mobile-first design included a dynamic package chart that syncs directly with their booking platform, analytics that show what’s working across every page, and local search optimization that now drives top visibility for party-related searches. The platform supports their multi-location expansion plans while giving families a clearer, faster path to booking.
Operating a venue that’s outgrown its digital presence? Contact Hypha to build a scalable foundation that keeps pace with your growth.
