When seismic change happens, a lot of us say, “I’m not bloody having that!”. Have you noticed something similar with genAI? Creatives are grumpy about LLMs (Gemini, ChatGPT et al). I’m not saying their fears are unfounded but let’s cool our jets coz something wonderfully sedate is happening——and it’s called the Slow Content Movement.
What is the Slow Content Movement?
The Slow Content Movement is a quiet, understated protest against the fast churn of AI. The message from these leisurely revolutionaries is clear: what’s the fucking rush?
To ram home the point, the Slow Content Movement opposes nonsense like this: “…leverage AI to enhance productivity, producing high-quality content at scale…” (That’s a quote from a real job ad. Depressing, isn’t it?)
Truth bomb: high-quality content takes time, but rather prosaically, time-saving is ChatGPT’s key value proposition. Is speedy content what your clients want? Is lack of pace their number one concern? That’s not the feedback I’m hearing. Clients have yet to complain about my project timescales and deadlines.
Slowing down allows us to think. (Thinking is good, btw, it’s to be encouraged.) Measured thought reduces mistakes——that’s what a writing process does. Publishing content quicker than my brain can think, or my fingers can type offers no personal or professional benefit. So yeah, I’m a proponent of the Slow Content Movement.
The state of things.
2024 has been wild for a lot of industries, particularly mine. Since the big push towards genAI, Google’s endured weekly meltdowns. And whaddaya know, blogging is dead, again. (Said by twats with a certainty that only comes with divination or stupidity.) Yes, everything SEO is dead——again. Yawn.
>>Blogging is dead: the lie that won’t die<<
What is certain is genAI is shaking shit up. And nowhere is it more evident than in the job market. I receive notifications about freelance writing gigs. Most of the jobs are utter trash (peanuts per word, 20 blog articles required each week——all the usual low-rent low-value crap). But since LLMs hit the scene, companies have set the quality bar so low, a champion limbo dancer couldn’t clear it.
Marketing agencies have boarded the genAI train, never to return to the station of human creativity. These are the same agencies claiming to be different.
>>BREAKING: digital marketing agency Not Like Other Girls<<
Businesses love a bandwagon. Content writers simply must ‘harness the power of AI’. They should ‘demonstrate AI literacy’. There are even jobs for ‘AI trainers’ and content writers/copywriters reluctantly pivot into these roles. Fair play, we’ve all gotta put food on the table but I can’t help but wonder if all this scrambling to add ‘AI’ into job titles isn’t slightly premature.
Take a breath.
We tend to get all ‘end of days’ with new tech. We react like Senna the soothsayer in Up Pompeii——woe, woe and thrice woe!
There’s a general feeling that things get worse when in reality, the opposite is true. Broadly speaking, our lives steadily improve but in the relatively short term, things are cyclical: peaks and troughs, boom and bust.
AI technology has been around for a long time. It’s already automating so much of modern life that we no longer see it. However, the scope for LLMs is far-reaching and that brings genuine concerns. Intellectual property violations and the environmental impact of genAI are two monumental concerns. Beats me how AI developers overcome these seemingly insurmountable hurdles——but they need sorting coz AI is here to stay.
No matter how innovative and potentially destructive LLMs are, their future progression is speculative.
GenAI thoughts and predictions.
The novelty of what LLMs offer now, creatively speaking, is wearing thin. GenAI as a content creator is so dull——honestly, the output these bots spew forth is unoriginal, and therefore, fucking boring. AI’s ‘artistic expression’ is limited because it feels nothing and experiences nothing. Until ChatGPT can live, laugh, love, let’s hold off gushing praise because it made a joke.
>>Should content writers launch a Luddite rebellion against ChatGPT?<<
Nothing like the real thing.
GenAI is a bit like a sex doll. It performs a function adequately. LLMs help those who can’t create, in the same way a sex doll is a passable shagging substitute. If you’re a picnic short of a Melton Mowbray (or an incel), you might prefer Vinyl Vera to the real thing but for most of us, even transactional sex requires more than the creak of plastic limbs. Human connection is a chemical exchange, firing synapses. Biology is where it’s at.
The Slow Content Movement is significant because we prefer humans to impart knowledge (hell, a lot of us don’t trust the sponsored ads on a Google search). AI’s source material is often suspect because AI pulls its intel from the internet. (Let that be a warning to anyone not fact-checking.) This calls into question AI’s credibility. People are thirsty for dependable information that’s derived from real-life experience.
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The ‘content at scale’ model is running out of steam. The purveyors of it are content mills (AKA content farms) that don’t understand content marketing (if I type ‘content’ one more time…). These ‘agencies’ are desperately trying to hack Google and con their clients. Until AI’s creative capabilities improve, to the point where we can’t tell the difference, I think that side of things will remain a novelty.
But…
There are a lot of people who can’t tell the difference. To the untrained eye, they don’t have a scooby. Does that matter? If no one’s getting hurt (having their work stolen), maybe. Even if it was guaranteed that AI didn’t steal, can you imagine someone complimenting your content, thinking you created it? Only to realise you prompted an LLM? That’s if you tell them. Maybe you’ll lie and pass it off as your own but doesn’t that make you a fraud? Wouldn’t that compromise your integrity? Wouldn’t it jeopardise your reputation?
Working with the enemy.
I don’t think my job is dead (yet).
AI is intuitive. I think it’s clear the current made-to-measure potential of search will only improve. Our broad-level thinking, in terms of traffic, will focus solely on the microcosm that is our audience. The ‘select few’ will replace the ‘more is more’ mentality. This is already a thing and it’s called dynamic content:
“Dynamic content is content that changes automatically based on user data, preferences, and behaviour. It adjusts in real-time in response to factors like the user’s profile, location, search terms, or browsing history.” – Semrush
LLMs are already integrated with our devices——people are personalising their online experience now so search intent continues to lead the way. And it will only grow in sophistication, understanding the pain point behind each query. (So if you don’t know what makes your clients tick, now’s the time to figure that out.)
>>Smash your keywords with user intent<<
ChatGPT will likely remain a third-rate content creator. But understanding search behaviour and user data——that’s AI’s real power and writers can work alongside LLMs to showcase their skills. Well, I’m optimistic in that view. I guess we’ll wait and see.
>>SEO in 2025: trends to look out for<<
Creating beautifully crafted content for your unique audience is the Slow Content Movement. There’s love in that, dare I say, there’s soul in it, and it rather suggests someone gives a shit.
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