Skip to content

ai

Members Public

I was wrong about AI

I updated my principles for creating with AI to find out if anything’s changed since I wrote it in 2023. I got pretty angry about a prediction I got totally wrong — never make predictions within a principle — lesson learned. I go in-depth about it all in an upcoming episode

Members Public

Principles for Creating with AI (update)

Back in April 2023, I posted a list of principles for creating with AI, attempting to separate fact from fiction and find some universal truths about working with AI. How did it hold up?  For the most part, I think it stood up well. But there’s one thing I

Members Public

The best things in life don’t scale.

The best things in life don’t scale. I wrote this past week about how the same is true in marketing. I’ve come up with a list of examples since writing that post, but I’d love to hear yours. Feel free to respond and I’ll share the

Members Public

Do shit that doesn’t scale.

I get questions from marketers all the time about what to do as more and more of their work is eaten by AI. They see their clients happy with AI content, even if conversion rates and sales go way down. Why? The amount of cost-cutting involved is so massive, the

Members Public

Blogs aren’t quite dead yet.

According to long-time content strategist (and 2025’s YouTube viral breakout) Pat Flynn, SEO is dead. According to newsletter guru Matt McGarry, ad-based newsletters are dead. So, what’s alive? If you’re an AI company, it’s the lowly blog. According to NP Digital, blog posts are the #1

Members Public

Stop asking me if I exist.

Is this true for you? I keep getting emails from newsletters asking me if I’m still around. Maybe it’s because I use Apple products, which emphasize privacy, and mask a lot of opens and clicks that newsletters (still?!) use to determine engagement, as if we were living in

Members Public

Be weird. Save Lives.

We don’t deserve dogs.  So, I got a new puppy. I figure the lack of sleep and constant cleanups will eventually get me close enough to deserving this dog.  This past week I wrote about how the rest of the newsletter world is waking up to the fact that

Members Public

Surviving Advice Season

The new year is almost upon us, which means we’re about to enter advice season. Yay! My only advice for surviving advice season is to add the following caveats to everything you’re told: * If it’s about AI, add: “…for now.” or “…yet.” * If it’s about productivity,

Members Public

AI Burnout

One of the most beloved Italian restaurants in the Chicago area has a different take on menu technology. No QR codes. No over-the-top printing costs. The menu is written on the wall. If you want it on your phone, you take a photo. Humanity is underrated. Does AI decrease productivity?

Members Public

Does AI decrease productivity?

From a new survey conducted by The Upwork Research Institute: “77% [of workers] say AI tools have decreased their productivity and added to their workload in at least one way.” Meanwhile, upstairs: “81% of leaders at companies that have deployed AI report an increase in workforce productivity in the past