Taking the DSI Community to the Next Level, with Jamie Clapper, Community & Content Manager at the Digital Shelf Institute

Transcript

Our transcripts are generated by AI. Please excuse any typos and if you have any specific questions please email info@digitalshelfinstitute.org.

Lauren Livak Gilbert (00:00):

Welcome to Unpacking the Digital Shelf, where industry leaders share insights, strategies, and stories to help brands win in the ever-changing world of commerce.

 

Peter Crosby (00:22):

Hey everyone, Peter Crosby here from the Digital Shelf Institute. After one of the first gatherings of some e-commerce leads that I helped put together around 10 years ago, I will never forget what one of the attendees said to me. Thanks to this, I found my people. From that sentence, the seeds of the Digital Shelf Institute were born. The desire to unite a community to figure all this stuff out together. Now, the DSI is most fortunate to have another leader from e-commerce join our ranks to put her expertise, passion, and energy to work on growing and inspiring the DSI community. Our guest today is Jamie Clapper, who brings almost two decades experience in omnichannel commerce to the DSI as our new community and content manager. And she has some things to say. We're so excited to have you on the show and the team. It's really thrilling to have you here.

 

Jamie Clapper (01:17):

Thank you. Thank you, Peter. I'm so excited to be here.

 

Peter Crosby (01:21):

You have such a great background and it's going to bring so much to our community. And you were actually a member of the DSI community before you joined us. Yes, I

 

Jamie Clapper (01:31):

Was.

 

Peter Crosby (01:32):

Did we do any good?

 

Jamie Clapper (01:34):

Yes, absolutely. 100%.

 

Peter Crosby (01:37):

So really tell our listeners a bit more about your career and how you got into commerce.

 

Jamie Clapper (01:43):

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for the introductions. I'm so excited to be here. I have spent, I would say, the majority of my career within the e-commerce space. It wasn't always that way. Originally, I lived on the brick and mortar side, and that's where I was going to stay. I originally turned down my first role in e-commerce and said absolutely not. This is the dotcom days. There was no career path. I wanted nothing to do with the digital landscape. And eventually push came to shove. I took the leap and I've never looked back and it was probably one of the best decisions that I made. So I spent about 13 years with a little company that some people might know called Joanne Fabrics. Unfortunately, they are no longer around, but spent a lot of my great years there, made a lot of colleagues along the way, learned a lot of things on the D2C side of the business, managing a website with over a hundred thousand SKUs prior to the day of having a PIM and all the additional tools to be able to support.

 

(02:47):

So the OG days of. Com as I call it. From there, I transitioned into B2B for a lighting company and had my first exposure to Amazon and a lot of the big box retailers in the home improvement side. And it was quite a change. So obviously on the D2C, B2C side, you have a little bit more control over what you're doing, especially on the D2C side. You want to change something on the website, go for it. B2B, you're kind of at the mercy of your merchant teams and you can give suggestions, but they don't always listen to you. And rounded out with some experience in the plumbing industry, shifting industries, but still within the B2B space and continuing with home improvement and landed at the DSI thanks to Lauren. I fangirled her at a conference and had seen her work on LinkedIn, loved what she put out there, had utilized all of her research to be able to support some different initiatives that I was pushing for along my career journey and actually told her, "If you ever hire, I'm coming to work with you on the DSI and here we are, the universal-"

 

Peter Crosby (03:54):

She took that as a threat and here you are.

 

Jamie Clapper (03:59):

I think she knew that we were two peas in a pod even before I did, and she knew it was probably a good decision.

 

Peter Crosby (04:06):

I think it's the shared gluten allergy myself.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (04:09):

And dairy. Who

 

Jamie Clapper (04:10):

Had

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (04:11):

The gluten and dairyology?

 

Jamie Clapper (04:13):

We were meant to be.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (04:14):

Yes.

 

Peter Crosby (04:14):

Amazing.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (04:15):

You never know who you're going to meet at a conference. I will never forget that moment where we bumped into each other and it blossomed into something awesome. So go to conferences. It's important.

 

Peter Crosby (04:23):

It definitely is. And I'm of course looking forward to the Digital Shelf Summit this year and that you will be there, Jamie, representing the DSI. So that's super exciting.

 

Jamie Clapper (04:35):

Absolutely. I'm excited. It is my first DSS and I'm excited to be there.

 

Peter Crosby (04:41):

I love the array of categories that you've worked in and sort of selling motions. It must have given you quite a perspective on best in class and how to bring brands that you join up to that level.

 

Jamie Clapper (05:03):

Absolutely. I think there's one thing that remains consistent, I will say in the digital world are those basic fundamentals. And that is something that continued throughout the roles that I saw in my career. As I shifted in my roles, the biggest kind of takeaway was always like, "Hey, we hear you grow e-commerce teams and you help build e-commerce categories." And that was kind of the way that folks knew me within the space. And so that was exciting because I think going in and starting to help a company that might not have their foundations in place is the biggest bang for the buck. And you can just see the biggest results, but you can also have so much fun with it. As opposed to say someone that's been in the industry for a while, it's a little bit harder, right? It's more challenging. And so I think being able to utilize those tools that I acquired throughout my different roles, that definitely helped with the landscape of what was happening across the different channels, if you will.

 

(06:08):

But I always say, if you don't have your basics, if you don't have your house in order, your foundation's in order, AI is cool, don't get me wrong, but those basics are what's going to help build that foundation, what's going to help that seamless customer experience, and that's going to help you be recognized in the industry or in your categories, depending on where you sell.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (06:28):

I also like that you started in brick and mortar because I think that sometimes gets lost. E-commerce is super important and you need to understand it and people need to be educated on it, but it's also important for people who grew up in e-commerce to know brick and mortar. Did you find that that was super valuable to be able to translate across both sides of things?

 

Jamie Clapper (06:48):

Absolutely. Because I think at the time, and this is going back 20 years now, even though I'm only 29, I don't know how

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (06:56):

That happened. Obviously.

 

Jamie Clapper (06:58):

But going back to that timeframe, there was a lot of unfamiliar territory with. Com. And so there was this fear of stealing sales or stealing the revenue instead of it being more of a shared partnership. And so I think having that exposure to how people shop in store and what they're looking for and then trying to translate that online, it gave you the purview of being able to kind of see the whole ecosystem, if you will. And so I think having that background, one, helped you figure out how to build your customer experience online based off what they were looking for in the stores, especially coming from a craft and fabric company. I mean, the fear was fabric. How do people buy fabric online if you need to touch and feel it? And so we really had to make sure that our content was 100% what was needed, that we were providing the data and the accuracy.

 

(07:53):

Otherwise, they were heading right back to the store to return it. And so I think by being able to see both sides, it helped build a stronger understanding for me as well as my team as to what was important to bring into that. And I think that carried on, right? Because now you see a lot of obviously the pure plays, the marketplaces and things like that. But even looking at the wholesaler and the distributor side and everyone's selling everywhere now, it's this whole ecosystem of how is this evolving? And so it kind of started as brick and mortar, but how do you continue that trend? How do you have that seamless omnichannel experience? Which I think at the time, I don't even know if omnichannel was a word then. So definitely helped bridge the gap, I think to help with what we were trying to grow and the explanation and education we were trying to do.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (08:43):

I miss Joanne. I used to walk in and touch all the fabric. It was my favorite thing as a kid. Craft stores are the best. So Jamie, you've been in D2C, B2C, B2B. And like Peter said, you've seen kind of almost every side of it. I'm curious, similarities and differences between the areas, because I think it's great for people listening who might be in one area could kind of learn something from another. So where do you see some of the similarities and differences between the different channels?

 

Jamie Clapper (09:10):

Yeah, absolutely. I think I touched a little bit on it, but from the difference side, obviously on the D2C versus B2B, you have a little bit more control on the D2C side. Well, actually, you probably have a lot more control on the D2C side. You're able to update navigation, taxonomy, keywords, search, all that good stuff to be able to support what you're selling in the space. And based on customer feedback, based on analytics, you can change it on a dime, right? On the B2B side, you're kind of at the mercy of that merchant relationship or that big box retailer or even the Amazon of the world. Yes, you can update it, but I think we've all had the pain point of content disappearing on Amazon from time to time. So you have less control, but I think at the end, you're still kind of putting your best foot forward as to what you can do there.

 

(10:04):

From a similarity standpoint, I always say this, the experience needs to be seamless. So whether you're selling D2C or B2B, that relationship, the trust, the experience, it's all kind of rolled up into one and that's what you really need to be able to support. So whether it's the trust of the customer shopping on your website or it's the trust of the merchant that you're saying, "Hey, we're going to put this on your website. We think it's going to sell really well." The other piece of it is even the internal trust of the cross-functional teams you're working with to say, "Hey, we want to test this product online first." And then from there, the goal is that we promote it and we support it so well that you gain that in- store in Isle Shelf to be able to put your product there. And so I think there's a lot of similarities to be able to support.

 

(10:52):

And also, again, I think it goes back to the omnichannel initiative, right? So everything is so much more interconnected than it ever was. And I think if you're not paying attention to that, then you're missing out on what the true picture and the total experience could be for a brand or a specific product.

 

Peter Crosby (11:13):

When you talk about trust with your merchant team, and probably, and tell me if this is true, you have to build that trust even further than the merchant team. One, when you are the growth area, but it's on a smaller base and the physical shelf is really still driving it, building the connections to be able to invest the way you need to for digital to be that new way of working. And now with the Agentic Shelf being added, you've got to build those relationships across all of these organizations that you entered into, I'd imagine. And what were your secrets to building that level of trust and earning the investment in moving your business forward?

 

Jamie Clapper (12:01):

Yeah, I think it goes to transparency. As a leader, I think one of my greatest qualities, and maybe some people say it's not your greatest quality, is the transparency. I'm a straight shooter when it comes to what's working, what's not working, having ... I just don't like to beat around the bush. So having the discussions upfront and what our goals are versus what their goals are, I mean, obviously if you're working with a merchant team, you should have some level of similarities as you look at the goals and what you're building together. But to your point, Peter, it's not just having the merchant, it's having the supply chain, the operations team, the distribution teams. It's everyone kind of internally as well as externally on that customer side to be able to support it. And so I think having that open dialogue is what really helped support different initiatives.

 

(12:51):

I remember an example that will probably live with me forever where we were, in a good way, I should say, but we were onboarding Home Depot and we were going live on homedepot.com first versus going into brick and mortar. And our CEO at the time, I think this is probably a few months into us being live, he joined a quarterly business review or a call that we had with them. And afterwards he called me and he said, "I have never seen such a relationship work so well as it did between a customer, especially as someone as big as Home Depot and all of us on the internal side." And I said, "Yeah." I said, "Because we've aligned with what the goals are and we're transparent and we have that open discussion where they realized if our product's selling well, which is a win for us, it's also a win for them." And then it kind of builds into something greater, right?

 

(13:48):

We start with a smaller assortment, so then it's a bigger assortment, then we're gaining more space. And so I think if it kind of goes back to that transparency, if you have that all along, I think that goes so far, especially now and even then. And that was something I was like, wow, we really did something and it was easy. The relationship was easy in a good way and it felt right. And I think it was part of having that transparency and that trust along the way.

 

Peter Crosby (14:16):

That is amazing. You don't really hear those words used with customer relationships in retail.

 

Jamie Clapper (14:25):

You don't. And I think for me, again, with my personality, I was like, why do we have to ... We don't have to make this hard.This shouldn't be hard. This shouldn't be hard. We're selling lighting. We're here to find our consumer base and we're here to help this customer sell our product and vice versa. And we're investing in programs and they're supporting what we're doing with testing and learning different marketing initiatives. It was just the whole thing aligned. The stars were aligned on that one for sure.

 

Peter Crosby (14:57):

So Jamie, you've really stuck with the digital shelf throughout your career. And one of the things we've talked about is that you really do think of it as a growth engine because of ... I think sometimes in the data slog, we can lose track of the fact that it's where your growth is coming from. And I believe the addition of the Agentic Shelf, while it won't on its own, necessarily drive incremental growth together, you have to play and it's a different thing. So I'm just wondering how you think of it as a growth engine, what that means to you. And then also maybe how you think of the new Agentix Shelf's role in that if you were sitting in the seat or certainly as you're advising people at the DSI.

 

Jamie Clapper (15:48):

Yeah, absolutely. I think the biggest thing is I've had discussions and presentations in the last couple years that have been really straightforward. It's like, why is digital important? Why is e-commerce important? And that sounds probably wild and crazy to say as we're sitting here in 2026 when all this agentic AI, e-commerce, all this stuff is floating, right? But I think the biggest takeaway is folks have to be able, especially if you're not in the digital day-to-day. And I say that, meaning your role isn't super digital. I kind of challenge them to take a step back and think about how they shop. What do they use for a search engine? I think I did one time in a conference show of hands. How many folks have shopped on Amazon this week? How many folks just researched on Amazon? What other BOPUS style activities have you done?

 

(16:44):

And I think as the conversation and the hands are going up, I think there was this realization of, wow, I need to start thinking of digital and why digital is so important because it's everywhere, right? And the way that we shop is not going backwards. If anything, it's propelling faster than any of us can keep up with anymore. And so I think myself, the biggest driver that I did with understanding the importance of commerce and e-commerce and digital was continuing to educate the different parts of the organization that might not be as familiar with it. And I don't think people realize how close they are to digital until you start to have those basic discussions. They're like, "I'm not a digital person." I'm like, "Do you have the Amazon app on your phone? How do you shop?" And so I think as you kind of break down those discussion points, they start to realize that they do use it a bit more.

 

(17:39):

And the other thing is, I always challenge people to say e-commerce is, while it's its own channel, it's its own sales driver, we are a support system too. E-commerce has always been a support system because of things like buy online pickup in store, because of paid media, because of online content that anyone can access. How many times have you researched something online, but maybe you don't like the website that popped up that you read about it on, and maybe you want to go to your tried and true neighborhood store, or maybe you want to find it on Amazon as opposed to a home improvement store. I think folks have things that they love and they're tried and true ways of shopping, but I think there's also that realization of, again, how interconnected it is. It's what I would say to our wholesale guys, "Hey, we're here to support." Somebody might research the heck out of it online, but I might not get the sale.

 

(18:36):

They might come in through the counter space and continue to purchase it that way because that's the way they've always done it. And so I think by not siloing it so much and realizing how more incorporated it is with everything, I think that's where the wheels really start to churn and the opportunities happen within that space.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (18:57):

But that's also challenging from an attribution standpoint, right? Because you did the work, but the sale may have been attributed to the in- store team. So I'm curious in any of your roles, how did you figure that part out? I know that was probably a journey.

 

Jamie Clapper (19:12):

It was, but I think on the flip side, there was also, for example, again, OG.com days where I didn't necessarily have a budget for inventory that was greater. And so inventory would come in and I would take from, I say take air quotes from the store and I would sell it online. And that's what started the, wait, you're using my inventory, but the sales are going over to your P&L and your sales channel and your goals for the year. So how does that work? And so I've seen it both sides, Lauren. I've even seen in my latest roles, again, where somebody's traditionally a wholesale customer and they have a online store and those sales shift into there. And so I think again, for me, as long as we're seeing the growth, as long as the sales are going up and we're hitting where we think we want to be, I don't care where it lands just as long as we're able to support it.

 

(20:12):

So if we're still able to drive with budget to support things like paid media and advertising and great content, and we know that this is like a shared parenting of this customer, then that's totally fine. I think there's others that probably get a little bit more nitpicky and they want it under their umbrella. For me, again, my experience and kind of my journey, the numbers are there. The sales are there. So that's all that matters. It doesn't necessarily have to live under the umbrella, just as long as we know that we're supporting it and we're having the open conversations.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (20:47):

I like the co-parenting analogy.

 

Jamie Clapper (20:50):

It is. It's like

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (20:50):

Mom and dad. You cover some brick and mortar. Mom and dad, let's come together and have a co-parenting situation. I love it. So what's one of the biggest challenges you think brands are facing today? And how did you then think about that in your current role? Because I know there's a lot going on right now.

 

Jamie Clapper (21:09):

Yeah. Again, somebody might listen to this and be like, she's so basic in these answers, but I think it's over complicating things. The foundation needs to be built. I see this all over LinkedIn too, and I'm usually the one that's using the clap emoji. I'm like louder for those in the back if you see me comment. But I think a lot of folks, they get excited over the different things that are coming out in the digital space and they're so fast to jump on the train or at least try to get a piece of it when their house isn't in order yet. And so I think the biggest mistake I see is where you don't have those foundations in place. You're still getting fined by Amazon for basic things that could be fixed in your distribution center and your supply chain. Your content isn't accurate.

 

(21:58):

You still have bad data. Yes, bad data is still a thing and it's still talked about and it's 100% a foundational challenge that customers even and brands to this day are still facing. So I think for me, it's always like, go back and make sure that your basics are in place. And if they are in place, I'm not saying that you can't go out and view this new evolving digital landscape that's happening. You can't play in AI, but it's kind of like make sure you're ready to go and then you can start to layer these different tactics on top of it. And I will always say that's 100% the key. Every role I've been in and everyone's been at a different stage and where they are in their e-commerce journey as an organization or as a brand, there's always stuff that needs cleaned up. There is always stuff that needs to be fixed.

 

(22:47):

And so if you don't have a plan in place to support that, I mean, it's not a one and done, right? It's what we always talk about. Content's not one and done. Data's not one and done. Things change all the time. How are you supporting those changes? If you don't have that in place, then I don't want to say you have no business playing in AI, but you have no business pursuing all these greater tactics if you don't have the basics down pat. And I think that's an easy, I don't want to say easy win. It's challenging to get done. But I think if you build that strong, I think you're less likely to have challenges down the road where other organizations might. And maybe your customer experience is a heck of a lot more seamless than theirs is. You might not have all the latest, greatest bells and whistles, but you're getting it done.

 

(23:32):

That's all that matters for the customer.

 

Peter Crosby (23:35):

I think Rob Gonzalez and I have been working on a new white paper that's coming out about this whole shift and essentially the new omnichannel, where's the growth coming from and what role does product content play in the fuel of doing that? And when you talk about the basics, we talk in this paper about the brilliant basics, and there's this thing in baseball called the Mendoza line, which is there was a baseball player named Mendoza and his at-bat skills were not as strong as perhaps some of his others, but as long as he got up to a 200 ERA or something like that, then he was fine. He was going to keep his job because he was so great in the field. And right now what's really happening is that the Mendoza line for content is rising and it's rising in two ways. One, it's rising in, you're going to need more of it, you're going to need all the context of a sale for an agentic agent to be able to have a conversation with a shopper about what it is that they're looking for.

 

(24:45):

So you need a more breadth of content. At the same time, one of the opportunities for growth, and so that means two things. One is that agents don't care whether it's your top 10 product that the consumer's asking about or your top hundredth product. So the sort of, I'll take care of my top 20 and the bottom 80%, I'll touch once a year or something. That's just not going to fly anymore. And so the coverage over your product line, one, to hopefully drive more sales from your hundredth product, as long as it's not a lot of manual effort to do so. So I think the opportunity in AI in this case is that it can make the brilliant basics at the new sort of Mendoza line. It makes it actually possible. And I was wondering, tell me if that's ... I shouldn't curse. Is that a bunch of bull?

 

(25:39):

Or when you're sitting in the seat, is that what you'd be thinking of? How do I raise the game and how do I get more catalog coverage? And do these things resonate with you in your head based on where you've been?

 

Jamie Clapper (25:54):

Absolutely. I think the challenge too, to your point of the level of content rising,

 

(26:00):

I think we're also seeing that from the expectations of different organizations. So Amazon's requiring more, Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, all of our favorites, right? They continue to require more. I think the challenge or maybe where you need to go back and think about it is, does it make sense? And again, this is where AI could come into place and make things more efficient and build the content for you and all those discussions that keep swirling, but are you going to go back and invest in content for your bottom 100 SKUs? Does it make sense? Do you think that by doing some of these things to support it and raising the content, is it going to drive the sales? And so I think that's the discussion that really has to happen between almost like your e-commerce team and your product team to say, "Hey, did we invest enough in our top?" And those are still thriving and they're going.

 

(26:59):

And then what does the second or third layer look like? Because I'll be honest, in past roles, and I'm not going to name names here, but some organizations, the level of content that is required and expectations is unreal at times given where the sales sat for particular items. Now, is that shame on us for trying to push products that are just not going to do great in this space or was it the push of like, "Hey, this is an endless aisle, everything goes online regardless of where it is. " But I think there came this point where you had to say, "Listen, we're not going to invest in more content on these because we have new products that are coming out that we're going to want to put that investment in there to see where we can run and go with these." And so we're going to leave these guys where they are.

 

(27:49):

And so to your point, Peter, with that line moving, if you will, I think organizations have to have the discussion that says, "Are these products still valid? Do they still make sense for what we're doing or should we invest in the content? Do we think they're really going to move the needle?" Because I think

 

(28:10):

I've seen it both ways where we've thrown everything online and then you're peeling back because things aren't selling the way you want them to, or you don't have the content to support it and you are limited with budget. We can't all have an open checkbook. So that's why I said you almost have to draw the line between, am I investing in new products and maintaining the standards for my top sellers and then these bottom sellers, what are we doing to support them? And so I think there's some test and learning that probably has to happen, but it all makes sense. I mean, we are an inpatient society. We have very high expectations when it comes to shopping online. And I mean that lovingly because I'm one of those people as well. But at what point as a retailer or brand do you draw the line or do you go back to the drawing board to revisit what you're putting out there?

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (29:00):

I like that because I think everything shouldn't be sold online, even if you can create content for it. So it should be an exercise that every brand needs to go through to say, should this be sold online? Should this not be sold online? And if we are selling it online, what is the basic content? How can we use AI to maybe optimize this or create content for this set of products and then maybe not for these and prioritize it. But it is a prioritization game, especially if you have a hundred thousand SKUs like you used to have at Joanne's.That's a totally different ballgame. I can't imagine that.

 

Peter Crosby (29:34):

A hundred thousand schemes.

 

Jamie Clapper (29:35):

And always adding, always adding and no PIM.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (29:40):

Oh, I bet. I bet you have some war stories for that one. It

 

Jamie Clapper (29:45):

Was a fun time back then.

 

Peter Crosby (29:49):

She didn't even use air quotes there, folks, just so you know. No,

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (29:52):

Pure pump.

 

Peter Crosby (29:55):

So tell me, as you sort of Move in your career from advocating on behalf of a particular brand to now advocating on behalf of all brands and to being in the, how can I help you period in this community? Just wondering why the heck did you come here?

 

Jamie Clapper (30:22):

And Lauren is laughing. You

 

Peter Crosby (30:24):

Might

 

Jamie Clapper (30:24):

Want to cry a little bit. She's like, thanks a lot, Peter.

 

Peter Crosby (30:29):

No, I would say, I mean, anyone who's listening right now can tell that you're somebody that just wants to make lives easier for people to make community work. I recently, I got an email the other day that Rob Gonzalez sent me, which was the email from, my recap of our very first executive summit. It was before the DSI even existed. And there were 22 people there. And I was laying out the results of it. And the most important takeaway was that people came and they found their people and you just don't feel alone anymore and you're putting all of your best ideas together. So I was wondering what drew you to this role and what is it you're plotting to do while you're here that ... And it will take time, 30, 60, 90, and then after that. But what's on your mind? Yeah, what's going on?

 

Jamie Clapper (31:32):

Yeah, I love that. I think that the biggest thing is there was some envy of Lauren and what she did. And I mean that in the sense of, and her and I have talked about this, in previous roles and folks that are in leadership roles, it can be really challenging to be able to dig into the analytics of what's kind of happening because there's so much of it. And whether you have 100,000 SKUs or 500 SKUs or 10 top customers, it's always you're inundated with meetings and other things happening. And so seeing Lauren's material that she would put out on LinkedIn and through the digital shelf was really reviving for me at times because everyone experiences that burnout and just kind of like that, what am I doing? Or I don't have time to dig into this. And so I think one, being able to take a step back and maybe not being committed to just one brand and having this community that I can support and help was really exciting for me.

 

(32:34):

Completely different than what I've done in my previous roles. But I've always loved the camaraderie and being a leader and being a support system. I will do anything I can to help folks out there. And so I think one, being able to help support the community. And to your point, Peter, finding our people, that's one of the greatest things when you do attend conferences or you hop on a round table call or a virtual event and you're like, oh my gosh, I'm not the only one that's having challenges with this. There's other people or they can kind of lean into and ask questions too and build that network. I think that's huge. I think the other piece of it that is personal is I was laid off and I was looking for an opportunity that would revive my passion and bring me back to life.

 

(33:27):

And I felt it when Lauren and I first connected and I wasn't kidding when I told her that I wanted to come work with her. And yes, the universe did listen, but I think also being that support system for other individuals, I mean, I think we all know the job market's a tough place right now. And so the number of networking and colleagues and community members that are looking for roles, I see it as like, can I be a support system for them? Can I help them in ways that other folks help me navigate a layoff in trying to find a role that would be a good fit for them? And so I think some of it is just that community and being able to connect and chat with people as well as learn things because everything I've done throughout my career, I've picked up some new educational learning opportunity throughout it.

 

(34:19):

And so I saw this as a similar kind of experience. And so don't get me wrong, there's going to be a lot of activities coming up for the community and the network. And if you aren't following the Digital Shelf Institute on LinkedIn, please, please, please take a follow because I have been actively posting like a Mad Woman, but we have a lot of exciting things happening. And so I envision that we'll continue to grow this community and connect with folks more. And I love it. I love connecting with people. It's one of the things that just makes my heart happy.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (34:53):

I may or may not have a tear in my eye from after that. We're so

 

Peter Crosby (34:59):

Excited to have it. Seasonal allergies. Maybe

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (35:02):

Seasonal allergies could be what's happening and because Jamie joined, but truly Jamie, it's been so, so cool to have you on board and you're so passionate about it. Everybody who's listening can hear that. And it's just super exciting to have someone who understands it and gets it and was a part of the community now help and foster the community. So thank you for being a part of it.

 

Jamie Clapper (35:24):

Thank you for having me and thank you for accepting and offering me a job.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (35:30):

No problem.

 

Peter Crosby (35:32):

So Jamie, the first kind of exciting news that we have to share of your activities besides the LinkedIn channel is you will be doing a monthly B2B podcast when focused on the B2B sector and with advice just for that audience. And that is super exciting. It will be starting up in summer 2026, so hopefully any day now, because I need me some summer. So do you want to just give a little shout for how people should pay attention so they're not missing that? They'll get it on their regular stream anyway, right?

 

Jamie Clapper (36:10):

Yeah, absolutely. So we will definitely be hitting the ground running after DSS with our B2B podcast. So stay alert, stay tuned. A lot of great topics and guests that we are lining up to talk B2B. As I always say, let's talk e-comm. This time I'm saying let's talk B2B. Lots of exciting things coming for our community, as well as additional folks that might be in the B2B space. Check it out. It'll be here soon. And I agree, Peter, I want Summer to be here as soon as possible.

 

Peter Crosby (36:42):

Well, I'm sure this will urge it on. It'll bring the warmth with it. Jamie, I just can't tell you, Rob and I started the DSI many, many years ago now, 2018 or something like that. And Lauren came along and catapulted it into a new era. And to have you also join, to have some of the burden that Lauren has been carrying on her single strong shoulders to be here and to bring your humanity and smarts and empathy to the DSI is just a gift. And so I'm so glad to have you on your inaugural podcast and can't wait to see what you come up with while you're here. So thank you.

 

Jamie Clapper (37:29):

Thank you, Peter. I appreciate that. I am honored and excited to be here. As I affectionately say, I am Lauren's plus one now. So hopefully, yes, she can share that burden with me and we will continue to rock and knock this out of the park.

 

Lauren Livak Gilbert (37:45):

I love it. Thanks so much for coming on the show, Jamie.

 

Jamie Clapper (37:47):

Thank you.

 

Peter Crosby (37:48):

Thanks again to Jamie for joining our small but mighty DSI team. If you haven't already, you should join the DSI right now to make sure you don't miss a thing that Jamie does to inspire and educate. Digitalshelfinstitute.org. Thanks for being part of our community.