I Tried A Bot-Generated Blog Post, And It’s Not Bad
March 14, 2023 by Dave Haynes
My son Scott is HEAVILY into AI-generated art and has been regularly sending me samples of work created, as well as raising my limited level of understanding of what this all is and how it works – including pointing me at Dall E and Midjourney and some ChatGPT set-ups.
My understanding and experience are still minimal, but I have been playing around a bit … and had a few minutes this morning to have a crack at an auto-generated blog post.
My impression: AI won’t replace me anytime soon, but it can knock out a serviceable piece that’s as good or probably better than what a vendor might get from a freelance writer who knows little to nothing about this industry.
I went after an oldie but goodie as the subject matter, with this prompt: “The importance of using commercial displays versus consumer televisions for digital signage projects”
This is what I got back, within 15 seconds:
When it comes to digital signage projects, choosing the right display is crucial. While consumer televisions may seem like a convenient and cost-efficient solution, commercial displays are designed specifically for digital signage applications and offer several advantages that make them a better choice.
In this article, we’ll explore the importance of using commercial displays versus consumer televisions for digital signage projects.
What Signage?
Digital signage refers to the use of digital displays to convey information, advertise products, or promote services. It has become a popular marketing tool in various industries, from retail and hospitality to healthcare and education. Digital signage can be used to display dynamic content, such as videos, images, and animations, and can be controlled remotely using software.
What are Commercial Displays?
Commercial displays are monitors or screens that are designed specifically for commercial use, such as digital signage. They are built to withstand continuous use, have a longer lifespan, and offer superior performance compared to consumer televisions. Commercial displays come in a variety of sizes and resolutions, and can be customized to fit the specific needs of the digital signage project.
The Advantages of Using Commercial Displays for Digital Signage Projects
1. Durability and Reliability
- Commercial displays are built to withstand constant use and are designed to operate 24/7.
- They are made with high-quality materials and components that ensure a longer lifespan.
- Consumer televisions, on the other hand, are not designed for continuous use and may fail prematurely.
2. Better Performance and Picture Quality
- Commercial displays offer superior performance and picture quality compared to consumer televisions.
- They have a higher brightness level, which makes them more visible in bright environments.
- They also have a wider viewing angle, which ensures content is visible from different angles.
3. Customization and Scalability
- Commercial displays can be customized to fit the specific needs of the digital signage project.
- They come in a variety of sizes and resolutions, and can be configured to display content in portrait or landscape orientation.
- Commercial displays can also be easily scaled up or down depending on the size of the project.
4. Remote Management and Control
- Commercial displays can be remotely managed and controlled using software.
- This makes it easier to update and manage content, the status of the displays.
- Consumer televisions do not offer this level of remote management and control.
5. Compliance with Industry Standards
- Commercial displays are designed to comply with industry standards, such as VESA, which ensure that they are safe and reliable.
- Consumer televisions may not meet these standards, which can pose a safety risk and may not be suitable for commercial use.
6. Cost-effectiveness
- While commercial displays may have a higher upfront cost than consumer televisions, they offer a better return on investment in the long run.
- They have a longer lifespan and require less maintenance, which reduces the total cost of ownership.
- They also offer better performance and picture quality, which can attract more customers and increase revenue.
Conclusion
Choosing the right display is essential for the success of any digital signage project. While consumer televisions may seem like a cost-effective solution, they are not designed for continuous use and may fail prematurely. Commercial displays, on the other hand, are built to withstand constant use and offer superior performance and picture quality. They can be customized to fit the specific needs of the project, and can be remotely managed and controlled using software. While they may have a higher upfront cost, they offer a better return on investment in the long run.
By choosing commercial displays for your digital signage project, you can ensure that your content is visible, engaging, and effective in conveying your message to your audience.
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So … there are things to quibble with in this AI-generated post, like the suggestion TVs don’t have VESA mounting support, and how pro displays are going to look better than TVs. But overall, not that bad.
I had a chat with a CEO last week and encouraged him to raise his profile by doing guest posts on Sixteen:Nine and on platforms like LinkedIn. He said he understood the benefit, but had no writing chops.
With AI, the platform strings the words together in a very readable structure and flow. The skill comes, I think, in the quality of the prompts, and information that can be fed in.
AI’s not really set up to do the bullshit filtering, added context and perspective, and loopy comments that I try to inject into industry coverage, but for a lot of small companies that would like to be producing more written material for their online and social presence, this AI content generation stuff is already very interesting … even if it is at the baby-learning-to-walk stage.
This, by the way, is the AI image I generated for this post (the commercial stock illustration at the top is much better, but power-users would, I bet, generate something pretty good).
mid-80’s talking to an accounting professor about how computers were going to do way with accountants. Very prescient man said just the opposite as computers were going to make more financial reporting available to more people…and these lay people were going to be more financially aware, and now seek out experts for more understanding. It has come to pass…within a couple of seconds I can pull any of 100’s financial reports from my company Quickbooks, just every so often I still need to consult with my accountant to understand them better.
A few years ago I built a product to post on my client TVs and social media their happy customers, from their supplying a photo and small amount of data. My template for generating the copy was pretty basic, and tended to be repetitive (we do 100’s of these each week). It requires someone to do a final edit on every post to make each customer feel their experience was unique.
ChatGPT gives me drafts that remove a lot of the repitition, and drastically reduce the need for editing.
The most interesting thing is the variation of output it can generate to narrow the result to most accurately fit the requirement.
It can recognize the difference of someone buying a luxury car vs. a family car, and provide output accordingly.
Dave…take your same request and change “importance” to “value” and see what you get; add “from the viewer perspective” at the end, or…you get the idea.
It doesn’t do away with the need for a “copy person”, but changes their value from providing output to being able to ask the right question.
A podcast recently discussed if ChatGPT will mean students will no longer write their own papers? Watch the recent SouthPark episodes for a great take on this and the bigger picture of how society might optimally integrate tools like these.
What these tools will provide is reduction of the drudgery of production, raising the skills and work required to understand the requirements as the real value.