Hold that thought

It was raining like crazy when I recorded the thoughts that became this week’s edition you’re reading. (Thanks for opening it, by the way).

I was sitting outside at an awesome independent cafe, mostly under cover, with people chatting at the next table and a pair of headphones that are definitely not studio quality.

Not ideal conditions for content. But I had an idea, and I wanted to capture it while the energy and inspo were both there.

So here we are.

Three kinds of content

If you’ve seen some of my social posts, you may have noticed that I’ve been exploring the balance between two kinds of content.

• There’s the organic, raw stuff: an a phone, a thought, maybe on a walk.

• There’s the polished side: scripted, planned and filmed professionally.

Both have a place, and the best content strategies usually make room for all.
But there’s a third category showing up more and more, and it’s neither.

• Content that has been almost completely automated.

There are several services now where you upload a few seconds of yourself talking, and suddenly there’s a digital version of you. Change the background, adjust the voice, hand it a script. Or, even worse, let it write the script for you too and have a fake you read it…

Who’s really saying anything?

So who’s actually speaking in that video?
What’s the message, and where did it come from?

If the face is generated, the voice is cloned, and the ideas are automated, I’m not sure what the real value of posting or consuming it is. It becomes showing up for the sake of showing up.

What I want to make, and help leaders make, is content that’s genuine and helpful. Content that shares real expertise, real leadership and an original point of view, because that’s what we need more of.

We just don’t need more generic content. There’s plenty being generated as you read this, with hundreds of hours of video uploaded every minute across platforms.

I saw a new report that 52% of internet-written content is AI-generated. And according to data tracked by Ahrefs, roughly 74% of new web pages contain some level of AI-generated content.

Finding your people

So how do we offer more value and stand out through all that noise?

For me, standing out has very little to do with going viral. It means reaching your particular audience. That audience can be small, it can be niche. Finding something that resonates with those people is the impact to be after.

The thing most likely to resonate with them is something only you could have said.

Protect the original thought

I’ve been testing some more organic, casual, off-the-cuff social content, and it’s been helpful because it comes out raw. Keyword: It actually comes out, and gets posted. (Case in point: The rainy recording that turned into this edition)

Good ideas are kind of fragile, though.

You get a spark and go to write it down on your phone. A notification pops up. You open an app, watch a few videos, and by the time you come back, the thought is gone.

Or it’s still there, but it’s been nudged and reshaped by everything you just scrolled past. It’s loud out there. Original thoughts need a bit of protection.

A small challenge

When you’re inspired or an idea shows up, do you capture it?

I’m here to challenge you to record it. Pull out your camera, whether you have a proper mic or just a pair of regular headphones like me.

Write it in your notes app. Leave yourself a voice memo.

The format matters much less than the timing.
Get it down before the noise gets to it.

Keep those thoughts coming, keep them original and keep them in your voice.

Any ideas worth sharing lately?

Thanks for reading!

By the way, I was back to that same cafe patio, on a non-rainy day and filmed this sitting in another corner: