Subprime AI & Launching Forums

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Welcome to this week's issue of the Niche Media Publishing Newsletter.

If you missed last week, check it out:

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Let’s get started with this week’s topics.

An AI Subprime Crisis?

I read and follow Ed Zitron’s newsletter because he has some good contrarian and anti-monopolist content. This week he’s out with a controversial take on a potential looming crisis for AI - and specifically OpenAI.

For AI maximalists, it’s hard to hear diverging opinions without casting these perspectives into some sort of antediluvian trope. But regardless of where you sit, this is worth a read….

It’s effectively the “bear case” against AI.

I’m not sure I agree with ALL of his dire warnings, but I do seem all the telltale signs of a bubble brewing.

The pro-AI / anti-AI construct is actually the wrong framework.

All bubbles have the seed of something true and enduring… maybe not the Tulip mania… but crypto, Web3, Dotcom, and even the housing crisis. And blockchain true believers will also tell you that we are just in the messy middle of a much larger timeline for crypto.

We’ve seen all sorts of companies rush to add “AI enabled” to their feature lists and seen massive amounts of capital fly into “AI for X” type pitches. All of this investment won’t be wasted, but a lot of people may can hurt when the bubble inevitably bursts and the true utility of AI is measured on a dollars to donuts basis.

Can Adding a Forum Save You?

Some interesting insights from Lily here:

I do see adding a forum (as a part of building true community) as a strategy that may be worth pursuing for many brands.

For the same reason I’m bullish on Reddit, I’m bullish on adding creative UGC elements on top of existing brands.

That said, adding forums as an SEO hack is probably not worth the hassle. Sure, you can probably synthetically generic AI activity and “seed” a forum, but to get genuine human participation (the digital “gold” of the next era), it takes quality and original utility.

If you can get that UGC engine going (100 true fans?), you’ve got something special. Authentic human attention in your own walled garden.

In a very roundabout way, maybe this is a model that can save the internet from itself.

As an aside, I’ll be watching closely to see what type of UGC tools emerge, beyond the old forum tech, in the coming months.

A Nice Outcome for Pack Hacker

Loved this write up on TGA on how this niche media brand navigated Covid and had a nice exit.

I’m particularly intrigued at how they were able to add subscription revenue and build a community in a relatively niche, purchase-driven market.

Need Traffic? Want to Build Community?

I’m “all in” on Reddit right now as the fastest way to acquire users and build community.

As such, my course is a fluid, evolving project. I’m adding new modules weekly!

Other Things I Read Recently

These are some articles I enjoyed, but don’t really have anything to add to!

Other Newsletters Worth Following

Here are some other publications I subscribe to, author, or co-sign.

If you are operating a newsletter (or even just interested), this next one is one of my “must opens” every week as a newsletter operator myself:

For some of the best breakdowns of creator success stories:

If you want to go deeper with Reddit (one of my favorite creator ecosystems right now), check out my sister publication:

And don’t miss Amy’s excellent insights into wants happening in the world of content marketers.

Interested in Booking an Ad?

I’ve put together a resource sheet over at Passionfruit here.

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OK, that's it for this week...

Please do reply to this email with any feedback or suggestions.

Ewen