Laclau contributes the theoretical foundation for understanding unstable meaning, stable meaning, and the process by which meaning gets fixed; what this framework calls quilting, drawing directly on his concept of the empty signifier and the nodal point. For Laclau, meaning is never fully fixed; it is always the result of a hegemonic operation; an attempt to stabilize something inherently unstable. The nodal point is the signifier that temporarily anchors a chain of other signifiers to a specific meaning. In product terms: the "email killer" framing is a nodal point that anchors the entire Slack product; channels, the layout, the clean interface; to a specific meaning rather than leaving it to drift toward "team chat." Laclau's framework also explains why stable meaning in this framework is labeled "temporary." Meaning is always subject to dislocation by new signifiers, new events, new competitors, or shifts in the broader context. Managing meaning is an ongoing operation, not a one-time achievement.