Power Hour Optometry – Episode Summary

Podcast: Power Hour Optometry
Host: Eugene Shotsman, The Power Practice
Guest: Anne M. Cooper, Editorial Director, Vision Monday & 2020 magazine
Episode: The Future of Eyecare Media: Anne M. Cooper on Trends, Technology, and Change
Date: September 10, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features a deep-dive conversation with Anne M. Cooper, editorial director for Vision Monday and 2020 magazine, about the evolving landscape of eyecare media. Topics include emerging industry trends, the impact of technology and AI, changes in media consumption, and the seismic shifts in industry events and conferences. With Anne’s unique perspective as a leading industry observer and influencer, the discussion explores not just what is happening in optometry, but why it matters and what’s next.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Anne’s Role and the Reach of Vision Monday/2020 Magazine

• Anne’s publications reach tens of thousands daily via various platforms: daily newsletters (VMail), industry calendars, and strong presence on social media (LinkedIn, Instagram, X).
• "[It's] a little bit mind boggling to recognize how many people are actually opening up those emails every day and reading what our team is putting together." – Anne (01:55)
• Events like the Vision Monday Executive Summit and the “Most Influential Women Luncheon” are central to their industry engagement (04:00).

2. Meta Trends in Eyecare

• The main trend is an intense interest in technology, especially AI and wearable tech.
• Industry professionals are highly curious about change—not just technology, but also expanding scopes of practice (e.g., myopia management, dry eye, diabetes-related eye disease), and broader access to care (06:11–10:30).

Technology Highlights:

• Artificial Intelligence:

  • Increasingly used in diagnostics, practice management, and improving patient access.
  • AI’s role: not to replace people, but to empower those who use it.
  • "It's not that the technology will replace anyone. It's that people who use the technology will replace those who don't." – Sam Jordan at Summit, cited by Anne (12:40)
  • Adoption is growing, but there are varying speeds and successes in implementation across practices (12:36–13:45).

• Wearable Technology:

  • High interest in products like Nuance Audio, which integrate hearing solutions into eyewear (08:30).
  • Adjacent trends: holistic patient care beyond just vision, including hearing and systemic disease management.

3. The Expanding Scope and Holistic Care

• There’s strong curiosity when new “adjacencies” (like hearing) emerge.
• The unifying mission: "The underlying goal that everybody has is to help people see through healthy eyes." – Anne (08:30)
• Scope expansions are driven by demographics (aging population) and patient needs (10:30).

4. Media Strategy: Multichannel and Audience Adaptation

• Media consumption is increasingly fragmented—print stalwarts and digital natives coexist.
• There’s significant agility in content delivery: newsletters, social posts, reels, longform articles, and print.
• Editorial decisions are made daily to match content, platform, and audience (16:26–20:03).
• "If you told me 25 years ago, graduating from journalism school, that these would be the conversations we were having… we kind of laugh..." – Anne (20:28)

5. AI’s Role in News Creation and Consumption

• No noticeable flood of press releases due to AI—humans still receive and evaluate all submissions (14:41).
• Growing industry discussion on future personalization of news: Could AI agents summarize or even deliver news directly to readers based on their habits and preferences? (21:34–23:07)
• Anne: "Ensuring that we're identifying where the readers are and we're meeting them there..." (21:58)

6. Acceptance and Management of Change

• The profession’s relationship to change is a constant; AI is the latest in a line of disruptions that include the pandemic and economic shifts.
• "Change is inevitable. It's a part of life. It's a part of business. And I think AI is one of those things. It's a seismic change." – Anne (27:19)

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On the industry’s core values:

  • "At the end of the day, we are all kind of driven by this noble mission to help people see. There's a very noble drive to the work that's being done and there's a very purposeful drive and it's different than anything I've seen across any real discipline." – Anne (44:12)

• On competing and collaborating:

  • "...there are people who compete with each other...but at the end of the day, those same businesses will put whatever that kind of competition is aside and come together in partnership to support a cause or to help each other or to help a patient." – Anne (46:36)

Major Shifts in Industry Events (30:05–43:00)

Changing Conference Landscape

• Deep curiosity (and debate) about the reshaping of major industry meetings (Vision Expo, Vision Council programming).
• COVID and tech adoption have transformed needs and preferences for in-person vs. virtual gatherings.
• "When we broke that story in VMail...it was almost like it was the equivalent of breaking our internet." – Anne (33:08)
• Stakeholders face ripple effects: pre-conferences, specialized groups, buying groups—all must reevaluate their approaches with the consolidation of flagship events.

Specialization and Risks of Echo Chambers

• Rise of niche conferences and content feeds creates opportunity—and risk.
• The need to balance highly relevant, specialized communities with opportunities for diverse perspectives.
• “We don't just want to surround ourselves with people who are exactly like us. We want to be able to learn from people who are super different than us.” – Eugene (41:51)

Reflections and Surprises from Anne’s Tenure (44:00–49:53)

• Surprising Depth and Complexity: Coming from outside optometry, Anne was surprised by the industry’s richness and multifaceted nature.
• Sense of Purpose and Community: Despite fierce competition, optometry professionals come together for shared causes.
• Internal Culture: The Jobson Optical Group's mission-driven team is both a pleasant surprise and a source of professional pride.

Important Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:43 – Anne introduces herself and Vision Monday/2020’s platforms
• 04:18 – Meta trends: technology, AI, and scope change
• 06:11–10:30 – AI, wearable tech, and holistic patient care
• 12:36–13:45 – Adopting AI: opportunities and human factors
• 20:03–21:58 – Multichannel strategy and the evolving definition of “news”
• 30:05–34:04 – Reshaping of industry events, Vision Expo changes, and community impact
• 38:23–41:24 – Specialization, echo chambers, and balancing breadth with relevance
• 44:00–49:53 – Anne’s surprises: sense of mission, collaboration, and internal culture
• 50:19 – Closing remarks

Conclusion

This thought-provoking conversation provides a panoramic view of the optometric industry’s direction. Anne M. Cooper shares unique insights from her "bird’s eye view" — spotlighting technology’s rapid ascent (especially AI), the necessity of adapting to change, the multi-platform evolution of news, and the shifting culture of professional gatherings. Yet, amidst all this change, the heart of the profession remains: a shared commitment to improving vision for all.

For more episodes and industry analysis, visit www.PowerPractice.com.