Entering The Age of Compression with Ben Hadley

June 23, 2025

In this fast-paced and thought-provoking conversation recorded live at ASOTU CON 2025, David Spisak sits down with Ben Hadley to explore what he calls “The Age of Compression.” Ben breaks down how innovation cycles, attention spans, and consumer expectations are all accelerating—and why traditional automotive processes are struggling to keep up.

Listen On

This episode dives into the psychological and technological shifts reshaping how businesses must think, build, and serve in an era of instant gratification and continuous iteration. Learn more about SpaceAuto at https://space.auto/ TIME STAMPS: 0:00 Intro 1:01 What is the “Age of Compression”? 2:20 Attention spans have dropped to 1.4 seconds 3:25 TikTok’s rise shows compressed innovation cycles 5:07 Auto retail lags behind due to data and API bottlenecks 6:09 Speed Layer helps websites load 50% faster 8:19 Consumers never go back to inferior solutions 10:08 Effort and meaning still matter in digital experiences 11:43 Direct mail and personalization are making a comeback 13:21 Luxury = decompressed, high-effort experiences 14:47 Budget 15% of ad spend for R&D and experimentation 16:19 Most tech stacks are outdated and need disruption