Benoit COUETIL 💫- Initial thoughts
- 1. The influence of your intentions
- 2. Understanding reader engagement
- 3. Leveraging original content to surpass AI
- 4. Laziness? Achieving greater impact with limited time!
- 5. Less human content? Prioritizing quality over quantity!
- 6. Quality content has been concealed? Search tools will evolve!
- 7. Wrapping up
- Further reading
This article on the future of tech writing is dynamic and continuously evolving to reflect my changing perspective. Your comments are highly valued and have already influenced significant revisions to the content.
Initial thoughts
"I believe AI is bad, prove me wrong. For over a month now, I have been thinking, what is the value of a post if AI has become this excellent and web scraping AI programs are copying content and shunning them out in large numbers, more people are becoming lazier, and some of us who put in hard work are getting lesser and lesser value."
These words, shared by a fellow tech blogger publishing articles almost every day, encapsulate the growing concerns surrounding the impact of AI (Artificial Intelligence) on the field of tech blogging.
While some may share this sentiment, we can approach this topic from a radically different perspective, shaped by our collective experience in the context of this revolution. As a time-limited tech blogger, I view AI not as a threat, but as a catalyst for innovation and growth. Allow me to elaborate on why I believe AI is not only beneficial, but essential for the evolution of tech blogging.
1. The influence of your intentions
if your goal is JUST a broad audience, create listicles on any Javascript subject 😅.
For those wanting to positively impact people with their articles on any other subject, several factors determine a wide readership, including:
- Advertisement strategies on popular writing platforms, self-promotion efforts, paid plans, and reaction bots
- Reader needs, whether actively searching for content on search engines (traditional or AI-powered)
- Social sharing by enthusiastic readers
- Accessibility considerations, such as readability, language clarity, and compatibility with assistive technologies
On the other side, for tech bloggers who primarily write for personal reasons, such as showcasing their skills to superiors or close peers, the reach is less important. These writers are less likely to be significantly affected by advancements in AI.
For the rest of this article, we will focus on tech blogging that aims to have a meaningful impact on fellow developers.
2. Understanding reader engagement
How can we make our tech content engaging?
Drawing inspiration from Aristotle's modes of persuasion, readers are influenced by logical reasoning (Logos), the credibility of sources or blogger experiences in the field (Ethos), and emotional connections (Pathos). As a writer, address at least one of these elements to effectively engage your audience.
For example, opinions gain significance when backed by logic (Logos) and presented by a credible writer (Ethos). Writers lacking established reputation may struggle to make a substantial impact, resonating primarily with less discerning readers. Establishing credibility (Ethos) is essential for broadening your audience. However, it is worth noting that emotional appeals (Pathos) can also be highly effective, as most individuals are responsive to them.
Understanding and effectively incorporating the principles of Logos, Ethos, and Pathos in your tech blogging can elevate your content, engage a wider audience, and establish your reputation as a knowledgeable and persuasive writer in the field.
3. Leveraging original content to surpass AI
AI has undoubtedly revolutionized content creation by synthesizing existing information in a matter of seconds with impeccable precision. Some argue that it is not, but it is a matter of months before it will be. Blogging posts saying that it is not perfect, like Is Blogging Dead After ChatGPT?, will not age well. Let's consider a state where AI has been perfected to the point that content cannot be distinguished.
Where AI falls short is in providing genuine novelty and unique insights. While it excels at aggregating existing knowledge, it lacks the ability to generate truly original content. AI may soon become the best content synthesizer tool of all time.
We must then acknowledge that not all human content is created equal. Articles that simply regurgitate information or offer generic opinions are quickly becoming superseded by AI. Instead, it is the articles that bring fresh perspectives, personal anecdotes, or profound insights that stand the test of time.
Consider the following content that will not be contested by AI anytime soon:
Original Thought Leadership: Articles that dig into unexplored topics or offer groundbreaking insights are inherently valuable. By being the first to tackle a subject or presenting a unique perspective, writers can capture readers' attention and establish themselves as thought leaders in their respective fields.
Credible Opinion Pieces: Readers place a premium on the opinions of credible individuals. As experienced tech bloggers, we have the opportunity to leverage our expertise and credibility to offer valuable insights and recommendations.
Emotionally Engaging Narratives: Stories have the power to evoke emotions and create lasting impressions. By infusing personal anecdotes or captivating narratives into our writing, we can forge deeper connections with our audience and leave a lasting impact.
In-depth Analysis: Articles that offer in-depth analysis or explore complex topics in detail are highly sought after. As experienced writers, we possess the knowledge and analytical skills to dissect complex subjects and provide valuable insights to our readers.
4. Laziness? Achieving greater impact with limited time!
Laziness is prompting ChatGPT and publishing the result as-is. But leveraging automation to handle repetitive and time-consuming tasks is a sensible approach. As tech bloggers, we are familiar with tasks that require repetition. It may include keyword research, generating topic ideas, formatting content, translation, optimizing SEO, banner prompt ideas, and even moderating comments.
Additionally, writing efficiently enables us to produce a greater number of articles within the constraints of our limited time. When coupled with high-quality content, this results in an increased volume of original material being shared with the global audience, making knowledge more accessible to all.
5. Less human content? Prioritizing quality over quantity!
When our blog posts revolve around rehashing existing material or, worse, generating content without a thorough understanding of the existing literature, we find ourselves competing with AI in its area of expertise. This is a futile endeavor, regardless of the level of effort exerted.
In the era of AI, we may encounter peers feedback suggesting "ChatGPT could have produced superior content in mere seconds." While this feedback may seem harsh, it raises the bar; it contributes to collective improvement and encourages writers to invest their time efficiently.
6. Quality content has been concealed? Search tools will evolve!
Jon Randy made a well-articulated statement in the comment section:
AI has absolutely trashed all tech blogging websites (that I know of). It's extremely difficult now to find anything at all interesting to read on these sites.
The innate laziness of human beings combined with the social media age's creation of a craving for 'likes', and the weird insistence that creating an online presence/brand is somehow 'essential' has resulted in a tidal wave of generated/assisted rehashed content that has been published a million times before - all in a weird style that makes you feel like you've actually learned nothing from reading the article - about the subject, or the author's actual thoughts about it.
Generative AI has unfortunately drowned out most of the good content that still exists, simply because the majority of people seem to be using it as a pure 'content' producer rather than an assistive tool.
Generative AI has overshadowed quality content as many use it solely as a content generator rather than an aid. This trend is not new or irreversible.
Understanding reader experience in tech blogs
To comprehend the current state of tech blogs, we can analyze the reader experience using Peter Morville's User Experience Honeycomb. Blog content value can be categorized into six facets: Desirable, Accessible, Credible, Findable, Usable, and Useful.
We can draw parallels with Aristotle's concepts: desirable/Pathos, credible/Ethos. The connection to Logos is more abstract.
Tech blogging evolution: from scarcity to overabundance
Let's focus on content that is credible and accessible. Valuable tech blogging content is what users also find usable, useful, and/or desirable. Today, findability is the challenge.
Blogging history can be divided into several eras:
- Early Internet: Valuable content was primarily found in books, limiting accessibility. Valuable content was scarce and not easily findable.
- Blogging Golden Age: Valuable content was readily available online, with authors sharing unique insights.
- Inflated Online Presence: There was a push for creating an online brand, and consequently valuable content was not easily findable. This issue predated the rise of AI.
- Generative AI Domination: AI now produces content effortlessly, more and more blurring the line between human and AI-generated content. Original content is increasingly difficult to find.
The future will certainly bring the Post-Google Search Era: Tech websites relying on AI-generated content are fading, and platforms like Medium and Dev.to are combating redundant articles. Tools are emerging to identify and limit low-value ones. AI could assist in evaluating an article's novelty compared to existing knowledge.
Valuable content will soon becoming findable again! Investing in it is surely not a waste of time.
7. Wrapping up
As tech blogging evolves with the rise of AI and ChatGPT, it's crucial to distinguish ourselves by focusing on valuable, original content that offers groundbreaking insights or unique perspectives. By investing our time efficiently and prioritizing quality over quantity, we can create a lasting impact in the era of digital information saturation.
The future holds exciting possibilities: advances in search tools will make high-quality, valuable content more discoverable, and platforms are emerging to combat redundant articles. As tech bloggers, we have an opportunity to invest our time wisely and contribute valuable insights to our ever-curious readers.
Illustrations generated using Stable Cascade on HuggingFace.
Further reading
This article was enhanced with the assistance of an AI language model to ensure clarity and accuracy in the content, as English is not my native language.
