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Auras, Empires, Frankenbros, and 42 new jobs

I think we need to have a serious sit down about the content we're creating, who its for, and what we (and they) want from it. Because if it isn't really building connection, loyalty and passion it isn't doing anything.

Auras, Empires, Frankenbros, and 42 new jobs

Hello and welcome to Future Community. I want to shout out new folks. Here we GO!

😄 Great to have you here Eve, Janelle, Sara, Mike, Hunter, Oscar, Peter, Olivia, and Raymond.

⭐ Welcome Brooke, Sarah, Amal, Jo, Benjy, Susie, Danielle, LH, Iram, and Lokyee.

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What even is the point of content? Of a website?

I was reading a BlueSky or LinkedIn post this morning about how AI-powered browsers are enabling people to directly solve problems, find answers, build tools within the browser. (don't ask for the link...it was early and I don't have it saved)

I have no idea where this all goes. And I'll dismiss those who say they do. Easy.

But I know that the conversations about how AI is changing SEO are upending news and nonprofit sectors. And really anyone whose livelihood involves content. If you heard about the Go Fund Me kerfuffle this week you may know that one reason nonprofit folks were (rightly) upset is that Go Fund Me created SEO/AI optimized pages for 1.4 million nonprofits. They had a good shot of taking away search traffic (and direct donations) from organizations.

Take all this a little further, though. One could say that the purpose of an AI browser is to help you figure IT all out right there in the browser. You need not ever read a compelling news article or nonprofit's blog post or case study about an issue. You'll be able to get your news, do your research, give your donation or take an action right there in the the (AI controlled) browser. All while the AI agent is planning your meals for the week and doing your grocery shopping for you.

So what's the point of creating content? Is it to simply hope that OpenAI or some other agent will find it, deem it worthy, and suck it into the "model" where it might someday get shown to a human who asks a relevant question?

What's the point of having staff if an organization isn't needed to do research, storytelling, advocacy?

Does this sound crazy yet? Maybe.

Sara Jeong's piece, American politics has devolved into shitposting and aura farming, gets into this from a different angle (and with one of the best article titles of the year/decade). We don't just need to know who the audience is and create content for them. That's not news. We need to really and truly get to know the audience and their needs as people because loyalty and trust are essential in a world where content has a 10 second lifecycle.

My hope here is that more (and more) of our time and effort can be oriented towards listening to people and creating content and programs that don't just meet actual needs but craft relationships.

Send fewer emails. Run more live Q and A sessions.

Stop asking people to sign petitions. Get them into volunteer training and leadership programs.

Don't ask people to email the Rep. Get them a daily or weekly newsletter and video update on what's happening to the bills, laws, regulations that affect their utility rates, health care costs, air quality.

We're going to need to do much more to get in front of and alongside people IRL. Because brands, case studies, impact reports and so much more are getting lost in soulless shitposts and AI optimization.

Bright Ideas

A few good reads...

I've talked to a lot of folks who are picking up freelance work. And a few who are committing to full-time consulting. In either case, Sam Landenwitsch and community have put together this brilliant round up of tools and best practices for independents.

Decolonizing the Future: Karen Hao on Resisting the Empire of AI is a conversation between Karen Hao and Justin Hendrix of Tech Policy Press. They cover a lot of Hao's reporting and writing on how the AI industry has relied on and exploited low wage (and low agency) workers around the world.

The infrastructure of meaninglessness by Angelo Arni is a useful exploration of just how much energy, time, money, and other resources are going into AI powered slop.

Zoe Amar asks if charities need a new communications playbook. Yes. Yes. Yes. Less talk about yourselves. More talk with real people. Less storytelling. More storytalking (I just made that up...does it work?).

Resisting, Refusing, Reclaiming, Reimagining: Charting Challenges to Narratives of AI Inevitability is an academic paper that offers frameworks for challenging AI narratives and returning agency to communities. Via Michelle Shevin.

We propose a taxonomy of such efforts, which are instances of Resisting, Refusing, Reimagining and/or Reclaiming AI. The taxonomy serves as a conceptual framework for those challenging the power dynamics underpinning AI technologies, and illustrates that there are many ways individuals and collectives can influence how technology is developed and used.

I love the form of this "conversation:" Performative Saviorism in the AI Infrastructure: A Conversation on Closing the Gap Between Promises and Community Harm by Tiffany Ryan

Reading an article online? It's now a coin flip whether it was authored by a human or AI by Tom Jones at Sherwood News.

Guillermo del Toro on generative AI and tech bro Frankensteins via a conversation with NPR. Emphasis is mine.

My concern is not artificial intelligence, but natural stupidity. I think that's what drives most of the world's worst features. But I did want it to have the arrogance of Victor [Frankenstein] be similar in some ways to the tech bros. He's kind of blind, creating something without considering the consequences and I think we have to take a pause and consider where we're going.

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