I first experienced the internet in the 90s via a 56k modem.
Downloading music or video was SLOW, therefore most of the media I consumed was text-based.
There was no other choice.
That familiarity led me to create content in text format, and it’s done me very well to date.
I’ve been able to run a business of small blogs that has kept the lights on and allowed me to travel and work simultaneously.
However, I predict that things are about to change quite rapidly.
Why?
Reasons for Change
1) Generate Search Results – historically Google would answer your question with a list of websites that may hold the answer. Now, with LLMs (AI), it can simply answer the question on their search results page. For many queries, that will be enough for the end user – and they won’t want to visit other websites.
How does this affect myself and other site owners?
When the vision of generative search results is fully realized, the number of times users leave the LLM (Chat-GPT/Claude/Google etc) is going to be quite limited.
2) AI Writing Ability – the speed at which LLMs are increasing their ability to manipulate text into coherent content is… frankly, insane.
While I don’t see them replacing human content anytime soon, it will 100% be a synergistic, combined effort. From worst to best:
- AI (solo)
- Human (solo)
- Human + AI
So, just looking at that you could say – what’s the big deal? Humans still have a key role, you just need to learn to utilize AI.
True, but I think a couple of other things are going to happen:
- The amount of content that gets created is going to continue to increase
- A number of average writers are going to be able to level up in combination with AI, so the total number of good writers will increase a lot
Ultimately that leaves a larger number of people fighting over a shrinking pie.
I still think good writers have a place. 100%.
My Personal Changing Habits
In addition to the above, I’ve noticed I massively consume more video content than text.
Text requires concentration and single-tasking, whereas video can be consumed under many scenarios that involve other tasks:
- Walking / running / exercising
- Cooking and eating
- Driving / commuting
Therefore, if I’m consuming a lot of video, I feel encouraged to attempt to play in that space.
It’s a very different medium for story telling, one that requires more work.
Throwing up a blog post like this can be quick, but with video there’s so much more to consider.
However, just because something is hard, isn’t a good reason not to try it.
The power of brands
As it becomes easier to create AI based text articles and even videos, there’s a potential for people to feel even more flooded with information.
When this happens, people look to sources they trust for truth.
These sources act as a kind of brand.
From single-person brands to big companies.
So as brands become even more important, I think the power of video increases.
With video, you can develop a connection and rapport with people you haven’t yet met.
They can see that you’re a human, and analyze you like humans have done to other humans for millennia.
Sure, creating a brand through video is a long shot, but, it doesn’t hurt to have vision.
How I’ll start to execute on this
Currently, creating videos is a real edge for me.
I grew up scared of speaking to groups of people. Presenting to a large audience is terrifying, and I’ve only done it once or twice.
Fortunately, with video, you can shoot it without an audience watching, and then edit out any mistakes.
But it’s still an edge.
So, what I’m doing is to create video slowly, and sharing it with the small group I have on Instagram.
The feedback loop is quick, the time constrain of 3 minutes helps, and it’s a good way to learn the craft.
Let’s see how it goes, but so far I’m enjoying it, and excited to continue.