Monday 12th June: Big Noises: Search expert Barry Adams on why AI will not kill SEO

June 12, 2023

Good morning! Today's newsletter is brought to you by Peter, from the lobby of the Grand Villa Italia hotel in Cascais. I’m not staying here, but OMG, I wish I was.

Thanks to Glide Publishing Platform for sponsoring this newsletter and our ‘Big Noises’ season. Glide is an industry-leading SaaS tailored to let publishers do more and spend less by removing CMS costs and problems. Publishers using Glide direct more resources at their audiences and products, and focus on building things that make them money. You do the content, Glide does the management.

Glide have created 3 expert guides to getting much more from a new or headless CMS, created for editorial, technology, and product teams. You can get the whitepapers here.

voices.media/big-noises-barry-adams-on-why-ai-will-not-kill-seo

In this latest episode of our Big Noises series, we hear from SEO Capo Barry Adams. Barry is a tech guy that moved into SEO more than 20 years ago, seeing it as the perfect hybrid of technology and marketing.

He was at the Belfast Telegraph when it was known for punching way above its weight in search, taking advantage of the Google algorithm’s quirks. Since then he has worked for some of the world’s biggest media organisations, fixing their SEO and explaining that, these days, there are no quick fixes or silver bullets when it comes to search performance.

We spoke about the mystery that is Reach’s consistently good search rankings despite its horrendous UX, the difference between journalism and SEO content and how getting it wrong can damage trust, and of course his thoughts on Google, AI and the future of publishers in the search ecosystem.

OpenAI hit with first defamation suit over ChatGPT hallucination

OpenAI LLC is facing a defamation lawsuit from a Georgia radio host who claimed the viral artificial intelligence program ChatGPT generated a false legal complaint accusing him of embezzling money.

news.bloomberglaw.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-hit-with-first-defamation-suit-over-chatgpt-hallucination

It had to happen… AI going off on its own little artificially stupid fever dream and spitting out something actionable. In this instance, a US radio host is going after OpenAI for making up an embezzlement complaint about him, but you can just see the lawyers queuing up to bring cases for unhinged product reviews and false medical advice. If publishers needed any more encouragement to be very careful with AI, this is a good one.

Netflix password crackdown boosts new subscribers to highest level since Covid began

Early results indicate Netflix’s new plan to crack down on password sharing is working.

edition.cnn.com/2023/06/09/business/netflix-password-sharing-results/index.html

Who could have guessed that stopping people from stealing content using other people’s passwords would have such a beneficial effect on your bottom line? There are people way smarter than me when it comes to broadcast media and streaming (👋Charlotte Henry) but it does strike me that once Netflix finally got focussed on revenue instead of scale, things were bound to get better.

A. G. Sulzberger on the battles within and against the New York Times

The paper’s publisher discusses bias in reporting, the Times’ financial comeback, and criticisms of its coverage of Trump, trans issues, and the war in Ukraine.

www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/a-g-sulzberger-on-the-battles-within-and-against-the-new-york-times

The New York Times might be the global poster child for digital transformation, especially in reader revenue online, but that doesn’t mean management are sat twiddling their thumbs. In this wide ranging New Yorker Q&A, publisher A.G. Salzburger talks about the good bits around finances, but also criticisms the paper has faced for its journalism on issues from Trump to trans rights.

More from Media Voices

Big Noises: Amy Kean on why media needs more weirdos

Amy Kean talks about about fear, ego, jargon and how to spot a good weirdo rather than someone that’s going to be an HR problem.

voices.media/big-noises-amy-kean-on-why-media-needs-more-weirdos

Content is king? ‘Complete b*ll*cks; says media veteran Neil Thackray

If content was truly king, Neil believes the starting point would be a content-focused publishing strategy, but he doesn't see that.

voices.media/content-is-king-complete-bllcks-says-media-veteran-neil-thackray

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