Blog

Some things don’t change

Realised today that I started my blog just over 20 years ago.

Here’s my first blog post (27 June 2004):

Except for the slightly colder winter we’re in now, I could write this exact post today. So much has changed in that time, and yet the foundations are still the same.

And I am very thankful.

Modalities

I’m pretty sure most people who use the word ‘modalities’ in a sentence don’t know what it means.

Exhibit A: this post you are currently reading 

Back to basics

Consider the following annualised generative AI revenue comparison: Accenture (a consulting company, advising on AI): $3.7B OpenAI (an AI provider): $3.4B (And further, OpenAI is selling more AI services than Microsoft.) People are spending more on AI advice than they are on the actual AI. (Sure, there’s lots of other AI companies besides OpenAI. There’s also lots of other consulting companies.)...

AI is the microwave oven of gourmet cooking

Saw this description of AI somewhere on Threads recently (wish I could find and credit the source) where they described AI as: AI is to business, as the microwave oven is to gourmet cooking ie it’s handy, saves time, provides ideas (preprogrammed settings), it’s available to most people, and anyone can get started using it and benefitting from it. But it’s not going to replace...

Musicians, robots and AI

I was recently reminded of the Music Defense League case in the late 1920s, organised by the American Federation of Musicians to combat the threat of music recordings. Here’s the quick summary: before the 1930s when you went to see a movie at the theatre, it had no sound music was provided by live singers and musicians but ‘technology’ was improving => music and sound was recorded and then...

He sets people up for success

I was listening to Pivot last weekend and a passing comment (around the 3:18 mark: Spotify link) from Scott caught my ear. Scott was discussing recent shows and podcasts he’s been on, describing his nerves before some, and how enjoyable others are. Regarding his chat with Chris Wallace he noted how he’s a great interview and ‘he sets people up for success’. I really like...

Internet strategy

An interesting read from Noah Smith, usefully summarising the demise of the internet as we have known it. Now it has degraded into a hot mess of ads, misinformation, laughable summarising and walled gardens. So long beautiful, open internet. How to respond then? Good question, and one I’m pondering at the moment. I don’t have the answer yet (or perhaps won’t ever) but it does...

HubSpot Content Hub Deep Dive

Ian and I recorded HubShots episode 307 last month. It was a monster episode (close to 2 hours) where we walked through everything in HubSpot’s Content Hub launch, with a focus on building beautiful sales and marketing websites. We also produced a beautiful PDF guide with all the content (10,000 words, 75 screenshots). It’s a free download (no signup required) – get your copy...

Responsiveness

Michele and I recently moved home. If you’ve moved places, then you know the pain and stress it brings. Even though we only ended up moving a few suburbs, the whole process meant we interacted with a number of suppliers, including: Buyer’s Agent Real Estate agent Mortgage broker Moving companies Packers/Unpackers Packing suppliers (boxes) Solicitors Electricians Plumbers Cleaners...

Deepfake scams

You may have seen this recent deepfake scam, attempting to scam WPP. It’s easy to dismiss these threats thinking it only affects the ‘big companies’ – after all why would anyone bother going to all that trouble to target ‘a small company like ours’… But it’s only a (short) matter of time before these deepfake processes are easily emulated and can be...

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