FIR #406: Alas, SEO, We Knew You Well

Among a flood of AI announcements in the last week -- including remarkable advances in ChatGPT -- Google's move to produce narrative results called "overviews" instead of web links caused the most consternation. Neville and Shel break down all the news and focus in on Google's overviews in this long-form episode for May. Also in this episode, a Baidu executive wound up in hot water after remarks that offended employees and customers; Australian media manipulated a photo of a member of parliament, launching conversations about ethical use of AI when it comes to photos; Apple misfired on both an advertisement and its apology, but Bumble's apology is a prime example of how to apologize for a miscalculation; and a lot of venture capital money is going to companies offering apps that provide people with AI companions. In his Tech Report, Dan York, looks at evolutions among social media alternatives, a renewed interest in online communities, and Google's new AI=generated answers.
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The post FIR #406: Alas, SEO, We Knew You Well appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.

Among a flood of AI announcements in the last week — including remarkable advances in ChatGPT — Google’s move to produce narrative results called “overviews” instead of web links caused the most consternation. Neville and Shel break down all the news and focus in on Google’s overviews in this long-form episode for May. Also in this episode, a Baidu executive wound up in hot water after remarks that offended employees and customers; Australian media manipulated a photo of a member of parliament, launching conversations about ethical use of AI when it comes to photos; Apple misfired on both an advertisement and its apology, but Bumble’s apology is a prime example of how to apologize for a miscalculation; and a lot of venture capital money is going to companies offering apps that provide people with AI companions. In his Tech Report, Dan York, looks at evolutions among social media alternatives, a renewed interest in online communities, and Google’s new AI-generated answers.

Links from this episode:

Introducing GPT-4o (YouTube video)
Hello GPT-4o (OpenAI announcement)
Introducing GPT-4o and more tools to ChatGPT free users
OpenAI debuts GPT-4o ‘omni’ model now powering ChatGPT
OpenAI’s latest chatbot jokes and pretends to blush
OpenAI debuts GPT-4o ‘omni’ model now powering ChatGPT
ChatGPT’s new voice welcomes interruptions
With OpenAI’s Release of GPT-4o, Is ChatGPT Plus Still Worth It?
Claude is now available in Europe
Amazon-backed Anthropic launches its Claude AI chatbot across Europe
Google IO
Google’s broken link to the web
Everything Goole Announced at IO 2024
Google rolls out AI Overviews in US with more countries coming soon
Google Takes the Next Step in Its A.I. Evolution
Google rolls out AI-generated, summarized search results in US
It’s the End of Google Search As We Know It
Google unleashes AI in search, raising hopes for better results and fears about less web traffic
Google is redesigning its search engine — and it’s AI all the way down
Google’s New Search Engine Is Bad News for the Web Economy
Google is “reimagining” search in “the Gemini era” with AI Overviews
OpenAI’s Long-Term AI Risk Team Has Disbanded
Baidu executive tells staff: ‘I’m not your mum’
Chinese PR boss says sorry after glorifying work-till-you-drop culture
PR executive reportedly departs China’s Baidu after comments glorifying overwork draw backlash
PR executive at Chinese tech firm Baidu apologizes for comments seen as glorifying overwork
Meet the woman taking on AI, its ‘fake’ models and alarming beauty standards
Monique Zytnik’s LinkedIn post on AI manipulation of images
Apple’s ‘crush’ advert annoys people across the generations – that’s why it misfired
A rare misstep by Apple – “we missed the mark”
Why Apple’s ‘Crush’ ad is so misguided
Apple apologizes for iPad “Crush” ad that “missed the mark”
Apple’s Crush ad (YouTube)
Bumble apologizes for its anti-celibacy ad fiasco
Artificial Intelligence ‘Friends’

Links from Dan York’s Tech Report

Threads tests Tweetdeck-like interface
Bluesky to add DMs, video support, and in-app custom feed curation
Bluesky product roadmap
Trunk Tidbits from the Mastodon Blog
X Pushes More Users to Communities
Reddit Reintroduces Its Awards System
Maven Is a New Social Network That Eliminates Followers—and Hopefully Stress
Google’s broken link to the web
Google’s new “Web” search gives text-only results

The next monthly, long-form episode of FIR will drop on Monday, June 17.

We host a Communicators Zoom Chat most Thursdays at 1 p.m. ET. For credentials needed to participate, contact Shel or Neville directly, request the credentials in our Facebook group, or email [email protected].

Special thanks to Jay Moonah for the opening and closing music.

You can find the stories from which Shel’s FIR content is selected at Shel’s Link Blog. Shel has started a metaverse-focused Flipboard magazine. You can catch up with both co-hosts on Neville’s blog and Shel’s blog.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are Shel’s and Neville’s and do not reflect the views of their employers and/or clients.

The post FIR #406: Alas, SEO, We Knew You Well appeared first on FIR Podcast Network.