Reading Whitney

Working in digital marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what it can and should be used for is all the rage right now. If you want to understand AI better, the best source is really Chris Penn– who has an excellent set of videos and regularly explains what’s happening in AI in his superb newsletter.

What it is- and isn’t

AI models like ChatGPT, Bard and Microsoft’s version are all based on large language models- and essentially what AI does is take parameters you set and use algorithms to essentially predict the next word in a sentence- based on everything it knows and has been fed from its database. It’s better at editing than at text generating, to be honest, and while we’ve been experimenting with it for putting together outlines for blogs or generating content ideas, the results are only as good as the prompts, and are limited by the parameters you set to begin with. You still need to think carefully what you want, just like giving a new employee really good instructions on what you want,- and then be prepared to edit the crap out of it afterwards.

AI for Art

AI can also create art, pictures and more, based on what you feed it. I recently used an AI headshot generator, to test it out for my kid, and for the candidates I work with- to see how good it was. The picture here is based on 20 pictures of me I fed it- and frankly it’s done a better job of making me look polished and together than I look on any given day. Which lipstick color did they use? Join these shots up with a Sephora link, and I’d probably give a go at looking this polished more often. Probably only a matter of time until this feature is available 🙂

How to Tell What’s Real

My biggest concern with AI is how we’re going to be able to tell authentic, human-created content- the stuff that moves people emotionally, and builds relationships- from facsimiles. I can see complete campaigns for office being run with virtual headshots, AI generated campaign lit and websites- full of bland positions that are good enough to get someone into office- but what happens after that? And how in a world where this stuff is being pumped out at scale with proper SEO, will we ever know the difference?

AI Leaves Time for….What?

I’m excited about what AI can do at at speed- but are we going to get to a point where machines are talking to machines and it’s no longer about the human to human connection which is what the internet was supposed to be about? Will the goodness and kindness of people win out over the more avarice and base instincts we all have? If I can do half of my job faster than ever before, what do I do with the time? Do I get better at what I do, or am I looking for that time to free me up to explore new tasks? Does it give us time to be better and move up Maslowe’s Heirarchy, or are we going to get caught worrying about the bottom levels we never get to the top?

Serious limitations

AI is being used for a lot of parlor tricks right now- but take one example, a website called Consensus that can summarize academic papers and give you a sense of where the science on a particular subject is. That sounds great, but what happens if a doctor is using this as a basis to make treatment decisions for your loved one? Sounds like a great way to know what to rely on- but you also have to know that the language model Consensus is pulling from is date limited to early 2021. That means the most recent science and discoveries- which could be important when we’re talking about treatment decisions, especially when new therapies are coming out for treating all sorts of conditions-are not included. You need your doctor to be consulting journals, the NIH and more to find out the standard of care- not what the standard of care has been for the last 20 years.

But I see the nuance of people understanding what AI can do and what it can’t- or what it’s limitations are, being rapidly drowned out by the “Go-Go-GO” fast impulse we all have to play with new toys and get them to do amazing things. I was shocked how good the AI pictures were- but that’s also because I fed it the pictures of me I like best- so it’s a sliver of me, but not the whole story, to be sure.

I worry what happens when deep fakes and AI are used to create untruths at scale- because the machine doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not- if we thought Russian Bots were a problem before- now disinformation can spread amazingly quickly at scale, and will we be able to tell truth from reality? And who will decide? We know plenty of people have been persuaded by disinformation put out by the “news” in recent years- what happens when this can scale even faster? How do humans have a chance to counteract the deluge of information that is “truthiness” rather than the truth, and how can we get a handle on this before it spins out of control?

I don’t have any answers here, clearly. I’m also playing with this technology and trying to learn what works well, what doesn’t, and how to best deploy what works well- like any tool- a computer or a pencil- you need to use the right tool for the right job at the right time. And I am worried in the rush to adopt these new technologies, we’re too focused on moving fast rather than being thoughtful- at our peril.

Let me know what you think!

What do you think? How is AI affecting your life so far? What are the best uses you’ve found and which are less reliable?

A small group of us, die hards from Podcamp Philly and Podcamp East, came together this past weekend for Podcamp 2023 in Philadelphia.

There were amazing sessions talking about how AI and Chat GPT will pose challenges to those of us who are involved in digital marketing, or looking to build brands for passion projects in the age when getting digital attention is going to get harder unless you are willing to pay for it.

We talked as a group about how making your voice heard is critical, especially in local government- and how to try to pressure people to make change- and the pushback from people like Gov. DeSantis who is looking at laws to make bloggers register if they want to talk smack about him. (But somehow, registering your guns is a problem? Maybe the keyboard is mightier than the sword…)

Learning Together

Podcamp 2023 proved once again that having smart people in a room, questioning and exploring things together makes all of us smarter. Somehow, Zoom calls alone don’t foster the same give and take, and learning from others. It works in a pinch, but being around friends in a space where exploring and sharing new ideas is the cornerstone – is a different, and compelling thing.

It was disappointing that we had fewer people show up than signed up- the co-pay model for these small conferences helps get some people to come, but others – it’s not enough to compel attendance. However, organizers have to plan for the max number of people that sign up, leaving them holding the bag for things like extra catering or rented space, and that’s a drag, and a deterrent when planning future events.

If you have any ideas on how to get more people to sign up and show up for organic events, especially those where sessions are planned the day of rather than weeks in advance, let me know.

Preplanning, or Ad Hoc?

I think the pre-seeding of sessions and signing up in advance for spots may be what’s needed, as we all seem to want everything to be more predictable, especially in a world that seems more and more uncertain. We went full bar-camp day of sign up this time, nd I think it may have led more people to stay home, but I don’t know for sure.

Or it could be the era for the small, community-based unconferences has passed, and everyone wants a big event or nothing.

The magic of podcamp was always that people from a variety of backgrounds, industries and experience got together and shared ideas and expertise in a pace, at low to no cost- making it available to everyone. This also fostered sharing and community, in a very quaker-values way- everyone has something to contribute, so we should honor everyone and let them decide what to share, providing space for the conversation to the place.

The space isn’t brand new any more, and many people have “niched up” – developing expertise in areas, and the number of “newbies” is fewer as well- so maybe the value proposition also needs to change.

What I do know is this weekend was like returning to a place where I felt immediately at home- it was kind of like having a high school reunion- seeing people you haven’t seen for forever, but fall back in with like no time at all has passed- and post-pandemic, this was a real balm for my soul.

When we got together and played “Battledecks”- memories flooded back, and seeing what a great tool all of these early experiences were that helped make me a better presenter in my professional life. Podcamp made me a better and more confident public speaker, and it made me better as an elected official later on as well. I will be forever grateful to everyone I’ve met at Podcamp and for every experience, as they all continue to pay off for me in the long term.

Question for you

Are you interested in Unconferences? What is the appeal? Why this vs. a normal conference? What’s your ROI for coming? And how do we intriduce these community-centered conference to a new generation?

Looking forward to your comments!

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is getting into trouble because he spoke his truth, saying he’s looking forward to a time when he’s not mayor. As someone who was a Township Supervisor for 6 years, I understand this sentiment perhaps as much as anyone.

Being a local elected official may look great from the outside. You get to show up in places, they announce your name, you wave to the crowd. People seem to pay a little more attention when you say something. People ask your opinion. You have the opportunity to make changes, and work on things you care about. You can help people in your community by helping them navigate the government, and even by teaching them how to make officials like you uncomfortable, so they listen and make change. Those parts of the job are great.

However, much of the job is like a customer service job. People yell at you, for things that are not, and cannot be your fault or responsibility. They assume you have much more power and authority than you do. They assume everything that happens, good and bad, but especially the bad stuff, is your personal fault and incompetence. If you have to raise taxes because you need to balance the budget and make sure the staff gets paid, then you are a spendthrift taking money out of the mouths of their children. If you put in a new stop light or traffic signal, you are only interested in making money off of your citizens. Here in Kennett Township, people like the fact they have a better and quicker police response, but conversely, they think its too expensive and think somehow we live in Mayberry where nothing ever happens, yet they want to be assured that a prompt police response will happen if something like the Uvalde school shooting happens. (You can’t get a quick response unless you have officers in place already…)

There’s no winning in local politics. Everyone in the public seems to think you are a moron, and somehow benefitting from the job. For Township supervisors, the pay is $2,500 A YEAR, codified in state statute, so there’s no way we can give ourselves a raise. For the time required, I once worked it out that we were getting about $5.00 an hour- way less than minimum wage to be sure. You only run for this office if you care about the community and have something you want to do. The amount of stress is incredible. You certainly don’t do it for the pay.

In my case, during my term, we discovered the Township manager had been stealing from the Township. It went on for years before I was elected, and I actually took time off my “day job” in order to put all my effort into helping the investigation and the huge amount of work required to fix everything the previous manager broke. It was incredibly stressful, and because there were ongoing investigations that would see the manager eventually sentenced to jail, I couldn’t talk about it to anyone. It was horrible to have people assume we were all stupid and negligent, when most of it happened before I even hit the door. Yet at re-election time, people wanted a change, and I was not re-elected.

At first, I was disappointed. Who wouldn’t be? But then I started to understand the scope of the constant stress and how it had been affecting me. Since leaving office, my blood pressure has dropped over 50 points. I have remembered what it’s like to be happy, and to have free time. My family says I’m no longer angry all the time. My quality of life has improved in immeasurable ways.

So when Mayor Kinney says he will be glad when he’s not mayor, I know that means that he will longs for the day when every problem doesn’t end up on his desk; that he will no longer be held responsible for things and random acts of violence and stupidity over which he has no control, nor the ability to forsee; that while being a Mayor is an important job, it does not grant omniscience and let you prevent pandemics, national recessions, take control of our health care system and more.

Being a public servant and elected official has its up sides. But it also means living under a spotlight, under a magnifying glass where you often have no hope of winning and somehow, the voices of the critics always seem so much louder than the supporters. I even had a “stalker” for a bit, who was trying to say he had no responsibility for paying taxes because he was a sovereign citizen, and kept trying to contact me personally. It was a little scary, to be honest, not knowing this person, or what their intentions were.

Yes, running for the job and accepting it means you “asked for it”; but I would also say that there’s no way anyone can really anticipate what this will mean until you are in the position yourself. Just like no woman “asks for it” when she wears clothing that later, people say meant she was asking for an assault, there’s no way most people elected to public office for the first time can really understand the scope of the job before them. It’s always a lot more work and stress than it looks from the outside. Just because your name is in the papers doesn’t make you any different, or more important or smarter or dumber than you were the day before. All it does is make you more stressed as you try to do the job, when everyone is standing around like Monday morning Quarterbacks, telling you how they could do it better.

We really treat our public officials horribly, and we’re lucky anyone chooses to run for office in the first place. Should any of us really be surprised that we see more and more of the most crass attention seekers who are interested in the spotlight more than doing the actual job running for office? That’s what we get when we chew up and spit out the people who do really care and try to do the right thing.

So I hope that somehow, Philadelphia will get over the fact that Mayor Kenney let a truth bomb slip and let you know that being the mayor is really hard. He may like the job, but he’s also honest that being able to sleep at night because you no longer have to worry about everything that happens will be a great night indeed.

I’m back to sleeping through the night, and waking up refreshed, something that didn’t happen for close to three years. I’m getting the opportunity to spend time with friends and family, and have a life back. While I’m glad a got a chance to serve, I do not miss being the lightning rod for everyone’s anger and frustrations at the world, especially in this day and age. And I sincerely hope this is the case for Mayor Kenney when he eventually leaves office as well.

Being honest shouldn’t be a crime. And we should all recognize this as a symptom that perhaps, there’s a better and kinder way to deal with public officials than full frontal attacks 24 x 7. We’re just people. And we all have bad days too. But remember- Your personal problems are likely nothing compared to having to deal with a City full of problems every day, hoping you can make headway and make a difference, but knowing that solutions are hard and take a long time. And no one will ever think the solution is good enough, fast enough or cheap enough.

So let’s cut the guy a break, huh?

I lost my bid for re-election as a Township Supervisor.

Elections are like the world’s longest job interview. I knocked 946 doors, speaking with friends and neighbors; sending mail out to people about what I stood for, and what I believed. I chose not to attack my opponent, even though that seems like a given in most political races these days. Instead, I hoped that my years of service and hard work would be enough to earn the right to continue. It was not. And I totally understand. People weigh the good and the bad, and coming to a decision that a vote for me would encourage people to keep things as is, is a lot to ask from a community under these circumstances, regardless of degree of fault that could be implied.

In the end, the fact I was there when we discovered fraud that had been going on for over a decade was laid on my doorstep. We all deserved to be tossed out, many felt, and I certainly understand their disappointment- I was disappointed that I had not pressed harder on issues that may have helped discover the fraud earlier- when I suggested a forensic audit when I was newly elected, I was told we were having regular audits and it was expensive and unnecessary. Yet, that would have brought much of what was already going on to the surface sooner. But when someone is stealing from you, they don’t exactly make it easy to discover, and they actively discourage any and everyone from looking too closely.

Losing an election requires a bit of grieving, and Monday-morning quarterbacking- what would you have done differently? What didn’t you do? Is it personal? Is the other person really better? What went wrong?

This is an election where the factors at play pre-dated my tenure and I had little choice but to confront them head on when they came to light. By election day, the perpetrator was in jail; a majority of the money was already recovered and more was on the way, and we have a completely new professional team in place, who have been hard at work cleaning up the mess left behind by the former manager. The Township now has clear sight into its finances, and can make clear-eyed decisions about its future as well- rather than taking a view on accounting from before that can best be summed up by “I cannot be broke- I still have checks left” kind of thinking.

I started this post a week or so after election day. Now, in early February, I finally have a little more perspective on the before and after of having held public office.

Even on the local level, politics has become more contentious. There are people who are more interested in gumming up the running of government than in improving it, for purposes that aren’t always clear. This only causes local government to become even less efficient, and people get tangled in the weeds of spending more time justifying every step they make than actually doing the work that needs to be done.

I could not be any happier to be out of the daily scrum at this point.

I am remembering what happiness feels like. I have time to go to the gym, spend time with friends and family, and generally remember what joy is. This last weekend, we popped up to Boston and visited my son, met his friends, had dinner with another close friend, and the whole time, I kept saying to myself- this is what real life used to be like all the time! I missed so much in the misery of the last three years, and while I was in the middle of it, it was impossible to see the other side. Now, I can’t imagine how I got through it all in one piece.

So, thank you for everyone who supported me through this time. I learned how to ask for help, and got much of it when I needed it, even if it was just letting me talk to you and try to keep perspective when things were really bad.

And thank you to those who voted me out of office. You kept me from obsessing about things, many of which were beyond my control. You helped me see that sometimes, walking away from something is the best thing you can do – for yourself. And that it is ok to lose, and you can still end up being a bigger winner than you ever thought.

Those are hard won lessons, but ones I am very glad to have learned.

Onward.