Welcome to another edition of This Week in Blogging!
Today, we'll double click on Google's most up-to-date stance on AI, look at how you can use Buy Me a Coffee as a creator, track the news in the world of social and blogging and, of course, share a few opportunities at the end.
Let's get to business - and thanks again for being a TWIB subscriber.
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What Exactly is Google's Stance on AI?
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By far the loudest conversation in the content creation world as of late has been around AI. Morality aside, we wanted to head straight to the source, and look at Google Search's current guidance on AI generated content.
We've had a lot of questions about this as of late, as well as discussion in our Facebook group, so it seemed only right.
- First off, Google notes that they're more concerned about the quality of the content rather than exactly how it's produced. They continue to yell from the rooftops that, right now, it's all about E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness - something you can learn more about here).
- Let's be clear - they do not condone automation being used to game search results. Whether or not their algorithm has a real handle on that right now is another thing, but they're patently clear on their stance.
- They note, however, that they're not against site owners using AI where it makes sense. They give the example of generating up-to-date sports scores, weather forecasts, and transcripts.
- If you use AI in any way, basically, you can't let it get in the way of producing original, high-quality content that is focused on benefiting your reader first over anything else.
- They seem very confident that they can adjust with the times. "Poor quality content isn't a new challenge for Google Search to deal with. We've been tackling poor quality content created both by humans and automation for years."
- They're especially focused on combatting AI in the arenas of health, finance, and other "critical" information subject areas.
- *Here is the main takeaway - "If you see AI as an essential way to help you produce content that is helpful and original, it might be useful to consider. If you see AI as an inexpensive, easy way to game search engine rankings, then no." To expand on that, maybe you're using AI to help generate topic ideas, to do some creative research, or to see what Google already knows about a topic, and where you might be able to expand. We interpret their stance as being, essentially, "use AI to help you create your list, but for the love of all that is holy, please don't get it to create the list, not read it over, and then hit publish."
- If you do use AI, Google is not also focused on automation disclosures, not altogether dissimilar from what they expect if you're using affiliate links. They want writers to use these disclosures where it can be "reasonably expected." They don't necessarily want you to give AI a byline, but more make it clear to readers that AI was, in fact, part of the creation process.
AI in the world of content creation is very much a moving target, but this is where we're at right now. As always, we'll continue to track this carefully, so you don't have to.
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- We all knew this day was coming, and Meta is ending its Reels Bonus program. Those currently enrolled in a 30-day promo will want to make this last one count!
- Meta's new flavor of the week is a rumored decentralized Twitter alternative. This one could get interesting, especially if it is truly decentralized (although we're not holding our breath there).
- Twitter is moving in the opposite direction and is said to be working on long-form tweets up to 10k characters. Currently, Twitter Blue subscribers can have up to 4,000.
- They're also drastically raising API access costs with the new base package starting at $42,000/month. With prices like that, we're preparing to say goodbye to many 3rd party Twitter tools.
- Reddit's Clubhouse copy, Reddit Talks, had a good run but is shutting down on March 21st.
- Although we thought the security concerns over TikTok were over, it looks like the US and EU are mulling over potential bans due to renewed privacy concerns.
- TikTok is making moves in the advertising market with tests into search ads. This is thought to be a novel way to reach younger demographics who use the network.
- WhatsApp is also facing potential restrictions in the UK due to encryption concerns.
- Detailed shares a rather depressing piece about how 16 companies take up a good chunk of prime search results in Google.
- Bing Chat now exceeds 100 million daily users, and rumors are swirling that they may replace Bing Search answers with Bing Chat responses.
- OpenAI GPT-4 is said to be launching any day now and is said to have a robust multimodal model incorporated. Things are going to get even more interesting in a hurry!
- The Verge has an interesting piece about how Custom AI chatbots are becoming popular- particularly in gaming fandom. Whether or not this is useful for bloggers is one thing, but hey, you can also talk to Super Mario now if you want.
- To end this short news week, we have some guides! First, Search Engine Land has timely tips for using AI in content creation.
- Problogger breaks down the 4Rs of actual influence.
- Moz takes a detailed look at researching long-tail keywords.
- Finally, Ahrefs has a few this week, including important keyword types and marketing automation tools.
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How Does Buy Me a Coffee Work?
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If you've read many of our past editions of TWIB, odds are good you've seen us plug our virtual tip jar, Buy Me a Coffee (which we have been operating as the much more on-brand Buy Me a Beer variant).
This tool has been a great way to help us monetize our content for one-off tips from readers who may want to share the love (in beer form) when we cannot get together in person.
In this one, we thought we'd take a deep dive into Buy Me a Coffee as a service, how to set one up, what we love about it, and more!
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What We're Digging This Week
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AppSumo
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AppSumo has tools galore for bloggers and creators, many of which we've had the pleasure of playing around with. Take, for example, how we've used software like KingSumo in the past to create a buzz/virality around giveaways. If you haven't checked out what they have on offer, their products are extremely cheap for what you get. Their motto is literally "never pay full price for software again." Check it out.
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That's it for the week! Check your inbox next week for another update from This Week in Blogging.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to reply directly to this email. Jeremy is doing taxes this week and needs an excuse to do literally anything else instead. So shoot over a burning question to help him procrastinate!
-Chris and Jeremy
PS: Our Buy Me a Coffee ☕ is always available if you'd like to chip in too!
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