Generative SXSW
Not everything you see on your feeds is real anymore, and some of that is my fault...
South by Southwest (SXSW) starts tomorrow, and you’re going to hear A LOT about generative A.I. in your feeds and in the press coming out of the conference.
With all the buzz about generative creativity tools (e.g., Midjourney, Dalle-2, ChatGPT) — and the possibility and implications of “synthetic media” — I took my own advice and got deep into understanding them by getting my hands dirty, practicing, failing, and trying again.
Quick: go give @generative_sx a follow on Instagram. I’ll wait.
Okay, cool. Thanks for doing that. I mean it. Here’s how it came about…
Since writing about this trend here in Social Signals multiple times last year, I’ve spent well over 100 hours in practicing creating visual and written content, learning the prompt-based coding language, and spending time getting inspired by how artists, developers, and even brands are using this new technology to push beyond the fad and get into the utility.
It’s clear from the integration of this technology into search (Bing), desktop tools (Microsoft Office), and apps (a lot of apps), this is not a fad and is something we need to get learn so we can lead our brands and ourselves.
This account showcases some of that homework applied to something tangible: SXSW.
My friend Patrick texted me a couple of weeks ago: “I’ve been trying to generate images from SXSW - like what if I decided to only post fakes images from SXSW as part of the experience.” And from that conversation, we decided to make an Instagram devoted to the same. Boom.
The result is @GENERATIVE_SX, with all content generated by Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, ChatGPT, and other A.I. tools and as inspired by our 32 years combined of attending SXSW in March each year.
It’s been a really fun, real-world experiment celebrating (and yes, poking some fun) at one of the most important communities in my life. Thanks for checking it out, sharing the content, and DM’ing us ideas. This will be a fun week both IRL and in the generative universe!
Want to hang out at SXSW (but like, for real)?
It’s not too late to RSVP for the Minnesota Nice Meetup happening at SXSW in Austin, TX this Saturday from 3-5 pm. Ping me directly or email sxsw@thesocial-lights.com to get the link and password! More on the event here.
If you’re attending, and it’s your first time I wrote you a guide right here!
Not going to Austin? Follow me on Twitter for real-time SXSW updates, follow @generative_sx for fake updates, and sign up for the TSL newsletter here to get our recap from the event.
Social Signals
LinkedIn turns 21 years old this summer, and its 2004 pitch deck is an amazing, nostalgic time capsule.
Researchers are using AI to generate images based on brain activity (ahem, finally we can see “what’s on your mind”).
Mr. Beast sent his followers to the store to clean up his retail displays and then engaged with them before/after. And it may have backfired. This is fandom.
Samsung filed a trademark for augmented reality “Galaxy Glasses.”
Twitter is reportedly going to expand to 10,000 characters. It’s time to rethink your channel strategy for Twitter. Again.
YouTuber Zach King shared his YouTube Shorts monetization total, and it’s more than TikTok and Reels. I’m still very bullish on YouTube Shorts in the long-haul of vertical video social video wars.
TikTok of the Week: Watch this husband present a content strategy for what to watch on TV tonight.
See you on the internet!
Greg