AI Isn't Very Good At Writng

Use at Your Own Risk

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When I was in Grade 12, I took an English class where often the assignments involved writing what you wanted. Many of the English classes I took previous involved trying to drill home some sort of lesson; rarely did involve writing from the heart. In grade 11 the English teachers thought it was a good idea to grade another classes work for one essay. I got a 90. My current teacher say the grade and wrote: “Cundill? Pretty Good… For you.”

That teacher was a nice guy who probably was just scribbling comments on a Saturday afternoon to acknowledge he looked at it but it was clear to me I was in the wrong class with the wrong teacher. The next year I got to choose, and I chose the teacher who gave me the 90. It opened my world up to writing. 

As years went by, most of the writing and creative I constructed found its way on to radio, or into published “letters to the editor”, and the odd published piece. When I worked with Jeff Woods in 1994, my job was to write the 6 O’clock Rock Report. He showed me the value of a powerfully written sentence and how communicate it to people on the radio.

I learned that writing is everything.

In the years ahead I would ask candidates about their writing experiences. I might ask them to write a short 300 word essay on things that mattered to them. The exercise was about brevity and words…. Those who failed went on to have some remarkably shitty radio careers 

And that brings me to AI. It’s all the rage!

It is the perfect tool for people who hate to write or can’t write. What’s better than some amorphous tool scouring the internet to reproduce the work for you?

The good? AI generated writing can help with your Google SEO. That’s cool.

The bad? Anyone who reads it is going to think you are boring, your content is irrelevant and you have you heart. Check out this AI generated shit about this week’s podcast episode:

The live music industry faces challenges such as rising ticket prices, declining traditional venues, and ticket buying/selling issues. A lawsuit between Live Nation and Ticketmaster is imminent, with debate on whether breaking them up would benefit the industry. Radio stations play a crucial role in introducing new artists, and the documentary aims to showcase their importance. Discussion on the impact of cancel culture in the music industry emphasizes the need for proper evidence and due process.

First off – Live Nation and Ticketmaster are not suing one another – the U.S. government has opened up an anti-trust lawsuit against them. And here is how someone with a brain would write it to encourage you to listen.

Back in August of 2020, I had Alan Cross on the show to talk about the issues facing the music industry in the wake of the pandemic. In 2022, we could have declared that music was back but we still didn't have any real numbers with so many people trying to make up for lost time, missed shows, and those forgotten tickets stored somewhere on the internet.

In this episode, music geek Alan Cross sits down to tell us about some of the latest trends in music, why concert tickets are priced the way they are, who sets the prices and why some tours are being cancelled before they get started. Yes we talked about two of the biggest stories surrounding concerts: Taylor Swift's success and the U.S. Goverment's Ticketmaster/Live Nation Anti-Trust lawsuit. We also discussed two Canadian based music documentaries that radio junkies might be interested in, including Hate To Love: Nickleback and the CFNY: The Spirit of Radio.

Yes there are some excellent uses for AI that might revolve around research, but if you care about your work – write It yourself from the heart

Take a (Free) Writing Class

Speaking of which, there is a podcast I produce that can help you do just that. They also have some classes that you can participate in over Zoom 12-1 Eastern on Tuesdays. You write to a prompt and a few of you will share your stories. The first class is free!

STOP DOING THIS!

Stop thinking you need seasons for your show or podcast. Unless you are a production with some sort of continuing saga, you don’t need “seasons”. Want to know who doesn’t know or care what a season is? Your audience. Yes great you took the summer off and are enjoying a well deserved break; but stop with the “we have a brand new season coming”! Just enjoy you summer and pick up where you left off.

Best Thing I Heard This Week…

But Wait, There’s more… My Other Show!

Aside from the Sound Off Podcast, I also have another show with my podcast friends called, The Podcast Superfriends. We spoke about all the cool podcast equipment out there, and what people are using these days, based on a survey release from The Podcast Host.

And if you don’t feel like watching an entire show – you can also skim through the transcription which you can find toward the bottom of the episode page.

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