A Marketer Who Is Thankful

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It's been a difficult few weeks here in the United States for me. I'm not going to get into that, but IYKYK.

But with Thanksgiving tomorrow, I'm thankful for some things.

First off, my community. Ever since the Pandemic, I've been part of an amazing co-working community (virtually, in my case), Indy Hall. They have a "Club House" in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia, but also have a thriving online Discord and online contingent from across the globe.

Being a WFH person and due to the nature of my job, digital marketing, I'm usually in my basement office and not socializing. Having the Indy Hall community available to me when I need them has been great.

Second, my carefully curated Mastodon/Bluesky people. I've always been a curator, as you can tell from these newsletters and the link goodness below. This expands to social media. I actually like compiling lists of people on Mastodon and Bluesky and when a network comes out that doesn't have that functionality I can't really deal with it mentally (looking at you Threads!)

I have some great lists over at my Bluesky account that you can all follow (I'm s3th.me on there) and I'm starting to make Starter Packs as well for quick and easy following of my curated peeps. ADHD laser/hyper-focus FTW!

Third and final thing I'm really thankful this Turkey Day season is my family. I'm lucky that the majority of the family that I talk to regularly are on the same political and societal spectrum as I am. I don't really have a politically incorrect and racist Uncle Bob (sorry to all the Bobs out there that aren't this person).

How about you guys? What are you thankful for this year? I know it can be tough when things can look so bleak. But it's a good exercise and brightens up your day even for a little bit.

The Latest From The Entrepreneur's Enigma Podcast

Web Jawn

How to Thrive as a WordPress Freelancer - The WP Minute

There’s been a lot of talk about “thriving” in WordPress. It originates from Josepha Haden Chomphosy, the project’s former Executive Director. Her address at WordCamp US 2023 was a call to action to ensure a successful future. Yes, it seems like eons ago, given the current tumult within the project.…

The WP MinuteEric Karkovack

Eric Karkovack is an experienced WordPress freelancer so he knows a thing or two.

Yes, That Viral LinkedIn Post You Read Was Probably AI-Generated

A new analysis estimates that over half of longer English-language posts on LinkedIn are AI-generated, indicating the platform’s embrace of AI tools has been a success.

WIREDKate Knibbs

So this article claims that LinkedIn's AI efforts have been a success, because of the amount of AI-garbage going viral? Come again? How the ever-loving-BLEEP is this a good thing?

From Attendee to Contributor: My WordPress Journey

Akshaya Rane from Mumbai, India writes this week about her path to becoming a WordPress contributor and WordCamp speaker.

HeroPressKrupa

I love HeroPress and love the essays posted there. This essay is no different. It's worth a read.

Anthropic raises an additional $4B from Amazon, makes AWS its ‘primary’ training partner | TechCrunch

Anthropic, OpenAI’s close rival, has raised an additional $4 billion from Amazon, and has agreed to make Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon’s cloud

TechCrunchKyle Wiggers

I like Anthropic and their Claude LLM. It's interesting to see different AI companies partnering up with different big tech companies.

Taking a cue from X, Threads tests AI-powered summaries of trending topics | TechCrunch

As Bluesky sees a significant surge in users, Meta’s X competitor Threads has been rapidly building out its platform, likely in response.

TechCrunchAisha Malik

Another good reason why I could never get into Threads. It's to algorithmic and big tech focused.

American Airlines is deploying new tech to shame boarding line cutters | TechCrunch

American Airlines has a new tactic for shaming boarding line cutters: A loud beeper.

TechCrunchKyle Wiggers

I actually chuckled when I read this in TechCrunch.

Google’s site reputation abuse policy is a band-aid for a bullet wound

Dive into the challenges of parasite SEO and why Google’s algorithmic shortcomings make this policy a temporary fix for a systemic issue.

Search Engine LandChris Long

I tend to agree. But it's nice to see Forbes not rank #1 for CBD products anymore.

DOJ plans to push for Chrome sale after Google antitrust victory

The DOJ is preparing to force a sale of Google’s Chrome, among other sweeping remedies, after winning its antitrust case.

Search Engine LandAnu Adegbola

As much as I think this would be a good thing. It's never going to happen. Google will get a HUGE fine and a slap on the wrist. But that's it.

Wix Rolling Out AI-Powered Site Planning & Visualization Tool

Wix is rolling out an AI-powered site visualization tool that simplifies site planning and accelerates the transition to site launch.

Search Engine JournalRoger Montti

AI is everywhere and Wix is capitalizing on it.

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber says X rival is ‘billionaire proof’

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber told CNBC that the social media app’s open design could thwart potential acquisition efforts.

CNBCJonathan Vanian

I wouldn't go that far, especially if it never gets beyond one central server. Mastodon is distributed and billionaire proof. Now don't take this as me hating on BlueSky. I really like it. Just saying it's "billionaire proof" is a little bit of hyperbole, right now. -> Here's a follow up academic piece (translated) talking about this very topic.

Microsoft at 50: An AI Giant. A Kinder Culture. And Still Hellbent on Domination

When Satya Nadella took over as CEO, the company was lumbering and uncool. He cleaned up a toxic culture, crafted the deal of the decade, and put Microsoft back on top.

WIREDSteven Levy

Steven Levy is one of my favorite tech writers. And his retrospective of Microsoft at 50 is so well written. It's worth a read.

Threads Takes First Steps To Separate Itself From Instagram

Meta’s now looking to separate your Threads and IG interest graphs.

Social Media TodayAndrew Hutchinson

I'll believe it when I see it!

Analysis of WP Engine Data Sparks Debate as Automattic Disputes Leak Claims

Web developer Dumitru Brinzan’s analysis reveals key trends in themes, plugins, and site management among WP Engine customers, and has drawn mixed reactions.

The RepositoryRae Morey

Oh the controversy that keeps on giving!

Pokémon Go Players Have Unwittingly Trained AI to Navigate the World

Niantic says it is using data generated by Pokémon Go players to create a “Large Geospatial Model” that can navigate the real world and power robots.

404 MediaEmanuel Maiberg

Not surprised by this one bit.

AI Companies Are Trying to Get MIT Press Books

The non-profit, university press asked its authors for input on how they’d prefer to see any hypothetical AI training deals handled, and plans to base future decisions on what they say, MIT Press told 404 Media.

404 MediaSamantha Cole

I can only imagine what AI would do with a treasure trove of MIT Press books. I'm kind of surprised it isn't happening already. Instead the Press is asking for imput from the authors.

The Implications of Spotify for Creators - Sounds Profitable

Bryan Barletta talks about the short and long-term effects of Spotify’s big push for video.

Sounds Profitable - The business of podcastingKnow the Author

This is worrisome. Especially since Entrepreneur's Enigma is hosted on Spotify's Megaphone service with other Marketing Podcast Network shows.

Leaving Twitter for Bluesky

After 15 years and 50,000 tweets on Twitter/X, I’m moving to Bluesky, which (in the last month) has become 1,000x more fun than X.

Justin Jackson

So many are leaving Twitter/X for Bluesky and some are even finding Mastodon/Fediverse clients as well. This makes me so happy.

Without Sky: Social Media and the End of Reality

People are flocking to Bluesky in droves, but creators and users should think critically about the risk of capture by potentially hostile investors.

America 2.0Dave Troy

I agree with Dave a little. But to be honest, the decentralization that "can" happen and "should" happen would prevent this from happening. Who knows.

WP Engine Escalates Legal Battle With Automattic and Mullenweg

WP Engine escalated its lawsuit, citing Automattic’s WP Engine Tracker website as evidence of harm and exposing customers to cybercrimes

Search Engine JournalRoger Montti

The #WPDrama keeps going!

Self Hosting is an Unhelpful Term

Mathew Duggan has a brilliant post called “Self-Hosting Isn’t a Solution; It’s A Patch”. In it, he (correctly and convincingly) argues that compelling people to run their own computer services is a complex and distracting crutch for the current problems we face. It’s expensive to self-host, there are moderation problems, and the difficulty level is […]

Terence Eden’s Blogedent

Terence makes some good points when responding to Matthew Duggan. But I disagree a little. Self-hosted blogs have been around since the dawn of the Web in 1994, maybe before. I think it's more the fact that self-hosting is difficult and a bit unattainable in the social media landscape. Thoughts?

Coping with burnout in tech | Alex Hyett

Burnout is becoming increasingly common in the tech industry. A lot of this is due to the fast-paced, hamster wheel of delivery that is all to common in most tech companies.

Alex Hyett

Alex wrote a good piece on coping with burnout, especially focused on the tech industry. Definitely worth a read.

Snackbar Studio Raised $2.15M Using SparkToro’s Funding Model (and we’re open sourcing the docs) - SparkToro

Since SparkToro’s founding in 2018, I’ve been been passionately loud about our unique funding model (becase it’s a really good idea.) The model focuses on

SparkToroRand Fishkin

A new way to raise money. Rand has done it the old fashioned way too. This way seems better.

Threads is testing the option to choose your own default feed

Giving up some control in the face of competition.

The Verge

Too little, too late? Yep!

X’s Objection to the Onion Buying InfoWars Is a Reminder You Do Not Own Your Social Media Accounts

“X CORP. OWNS THE X ACCOUNTS.”

404 MediaJason Koebler

I've been saying this for... EVER!!!!! Own your media!

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Web Finds & Other Fun Stuff

Netlify Celebrates 5 Million Developers | 3D Game

Netlify has reached 5 million developers! Travel through the journey to see how we got here and where you played a role (pun intended) in our story.

3D Game

This is pretty cool. Marble Madness on the Web!

SparkToro Office Hours

Get the most out of SparkToro and uplevel your marketing strategy. Twice monthly live sessions with Rand Fishkin and Amanda Natividad.

SparkToro

If you haven't seen Amanda Natividad and Rand Fishkin's Sparktoro Office Hours series you need to.

Sill

Sill streamlines your Bluesky and Mastodon feeds to give you a clear picture of what’s happening.

Remember Nuzzel for Twitter back in the day? Check Sill.social out!

That's It For This Week! Keep Rocking It!

-Seth

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