Join me as I sit down with Jonathan Courtney to host the second annual “Sippy Awards,” the most prestigious award show in tech for the products, games, and tools that shaped 2025. We crown our most-hyped products for 2026, favorite games of the year, best productivity tools, and best products under $100. We also dive into analog tools like Traveler’s Notebook, hi-fi systems, Japanese dinnerware brands, and simple clothing uniforms as ways to make everyday life better and de-fragment your brain.
*Timestamps*
00:00 – Intro
03:23 – Most Hyped Product of 2026
14:43 – Game of the Year 2025
19:49 – The Way to Innovate
25:41 – Premium Domains
29:56 – Best Productivity Product
42:02 – Favorite Product of 2025
54:10 – Best products under $100.
*Key Points*
* The Sippy Awards are a playful but serious way for Greg and Jonathan to highlight the products and games that genuinely improved their lives in 2025.
* They argue that cult classics (Wind Waker, Pinkerton, Kid A, Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring) come from creators who put the audience last and follow their own taste, even at the risk of initial backlash.
* Distinctive visual identities and premium dot-com domains are framed as both trust builders for users and commitment devices for founders.
* Their favorite productivity and lifestyle tools—ChatGPT, Things, Endel, Traveler’s Notebook, YouTube Premium, Japanese porcelain—show how small, well-crafted tools reshape daily workflows and rituals.
* Analog practices (morning pages, notebooks, hi-fi listening) and simple clothing uniforms are presented as ways to de-fragment your brain, reduce decision fatigue, and focus on what matters.
Numbered Section:
1) Most Hyped Product of 2026
Greg and Jonathan pick Half-Life 3 and GTA 6 as their most hyped products of 2026, treating them as more than games—signals from ultra high-standard studios (Valve and Rockstar) about where the medium goes next. They see Valve’s Half-Life releases as rare, paradigm-shifting events and view GTA 6 as the culmination of a decade of polish, world-building, and cultural influence.
2) Game of the Year 2025
Their game of the year is a small, replayable title they call Ball X Pit, a tight-loop game built for short sessions that still feels endlessly compelling. They praise how it nails core mechanics instead of bloat, and use it as an example of how a focused, well-executed concept can stand up against massive AAA releases.
3) Best Productivity Product Stack
Their top productivity pick is ChatGPT, which they describe as the most broadly useful tool in their workflow, from research to writing to everyday problem-solving. They layer in tools like the Atlas browser (for agent-style browsing), Things (the only to-do app that truly stuck), Clear (a past favorite for its playful UI), and Endel (a beautifully designed soundscape app), emphasizing how each product earns its place by reducing friction rather than adding features.
4) Favorite Product of 2025: Everyday Objects
For favorite overall product, they gravitate toward analog, high-touch items like the Traveler’s Notebook and Japanese porcelain from Yumiko Iihoshi Porcelain Their opinion is that these objects quietly upgrade dozens of micro-moments every day—coffee, note-taking, planning—making them more impactful than flashier purchases that are rarely used.
5) Best Products Under $100
In the under-$100 category, YouTube Premium stands out as a clear winner for how dramatically it changes the YouTube experience by stripping out ads and unlocking long-form listening and music. They also highlight under-$100 basics like the Traveler’s Notebook inserts and simple clothing staples (e.g., Fruit of the Loom tees) as “unsexy” products that punch far above their price by being
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The Vibe Marketer – Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: thevibemarketer.com
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