😵💫 Are you seeing too much AI slop?
Issue #351
Economists would determine quality as a value judgement, so if you choose reels over Netflix guess where the quality lives? This hurts a bit but hey, you have to respect the audience, and to quote a long-standing aphorism, no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of people. Audiences still seek a human connection though. Short-form creator-led content is winning audiences in part because of the one-to-one connection, production values be damned. And as we see from the torrent of AI slop out there, what looks good isn’t necessarily what it appears. I feel like there’s trouble ahead for platforms that forget the human connections audiences seek. Happy Thursday, Simon.
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Will AI slop kill content quality?
It appears Pinterest is slowly becoming the home of AI-generated “slop”. Low quality and misleading content is destroying the platform’s value for users after new ideas and inspiration. The “slop” generally links to spammy websites designed to generate ad revenue. For creators this lazy AI generated spam could see potential audiences leaving Pinterest (and any other social platform). If there’s no authentic connection between creator and user then what’s the point?
How do you define content quality anyway?
It used to be that big production values and stars were the markers of quality content (obviously quality wasn’t always the end result). New analysis is finding that the definition of quality is evolving. Millennial and Gen Z audiences are increasingly finding social media content more relevant than traditional TV and movies, and feeling a stronger connection to short form creators. How you define quality is difficult, it’s down to personal choice. What’s clear is that audiences favour content that resonates with them and is easy to consume.
Make music on YouTube
Depending on where you sit in the creator universe, this is either great or depressing news. YouTube has launched a free AI-powered music generator directly within Creator Music. By typing in the vibe you’re after the function will create custom, royalty free, instrumental backing music for videos. Looks like AI slop isn’t limited to images and copy.
Cool Tools
It's always been a matter of time before someone comes up with a tool to film and stream live sport automatically. Now if we can get a few cameras working together , you'll have the holy grail for soccer mums and dads everywhere.
Hot Tips
Speaking of VFX tricks (and we've covered a bunch), here's a fun one: making objects magically pop through your phone. You just have your phone and an app. The tracking does most of the heavy lifting, so you can focus on making that reach-through moment look smooth.
Viral Hits
This guy on TikTok is giving us the content creator expectations vs reality we needed. One minute he's running around like a headless chicken, the next - instant zen mode as soon as the camera rolls. It's the most honest and hilarious look at content creation I've seen in ages.
Stuff from us
There's something quietly powerful about watching finance professionals share letters to their younger selves. Working with CFA Institute on this series reminded me that behind every career milestone are real moments of doubt, persistence, and unexpected turns. These feel different - more like conversations you'd have over coffee than something you'd see at an industry event. Watch the first set here and get inspired.