Hi ,
Something has been bugging me for a good long while, and I'm finally being flooded by articles and podcasts that confirm my feelings - the internet is a shitty place now.
I know you've seen it. Facebook is the absolute worst (how often do you see posts from people you actually know instead of ads or stuff from strangers?), Instagram isn't much better because every third post is an ad, and
I'm sure you know I haven't been on Twitter/X basically ever. Even LinkedIn, which used to be at least somewhat okay, is now flooded with AI content.
Then there's the fact that Google search has gotten worse just to force us to search more for what we need so they can show us more ads. And
if the AI companies aren't careful with their training data, their chatbots will get worse, not better. Even this newspaper published a summer reading list generated by AI with books that don't even exist!
(All of this has a name, by the way. It's called enshittification or platform decay. When something used to be good for users, but then it becomes good for business, until finally it becomes only good for the shareholders. We really shouldn't be surprised.)
Remember when the internet used to be fun? And useful?
Listen, I get using AI to make work go faster, and I get using social media to market our businesses. I really do.
But the thing that is actually bugging me is this: If you're a business using AI to create content (blog posts, newsletters, courses, opt-ins, e-books, etc.), then your business will become obsolete. Why? Because if you can use AI to create it, everyone else will just skip using you
completely and go directly to AI. I don't want to open my email and read something AI wrote. I don't want to sign up for a course AI created. I certainly don't want to pay for those things.
Using it for editing? Great. Translation? Amazing? Sales pages? Fine. Creating a graphic? Smart. But if you're claiming to be a trusted expert or advisor, don't flood the internet with stuff that didn't come from your own brain. I doubt it
will serve you in the long run.
(Wow, that rant came off harsher than expected! Guess I'm more fired up than I thought!)
So I do my best to follow and listen to people who are really smart. Who are thought leaders and critical thinkers. People who are thoughtful, trustworthy, and kind. Not all of them share my views of the internet, but we align on the things that are really
important.
One of those people is fellow coach and friend, Val Nelson. In addition to being one of the most lovely people, Val is a career and business coach for introverts and highly sensitive people.
As a way to celebrate her birthday this week, she said I could share a Friends and Family discount on two
of her courses as a way to make her work even more accessible for more people (discount available until June 4th).
One course is for those needing some clarity about their career or business direction, and the other one is about how to make self-employment work in a way that's aligned with your personality.
Even if this isn't for you, you may know someone who could really benefit from being in Val's orbit. She comes highly recommended.
Thanks for sticking
with me for however long you've been subscribed here, and thank you for all the replies I get to these emails. It really makes me feel like I'm contributing meaningfully. I do, and will continue to, not take your attention for granted.
Have a wonderful day,
Stephanie Wasylyk