Liz and Alex lay into their most despised words from the content mill industry, from "dynamic content" and "content management system" to "optimize" and "authentic." Also covered: video game DLC (that's "downloadable content," remember!), store brand sodas, and the 1990s web. Liz's siteAlex's blogThe “and yet you participate in society” cartoonMastodon post on “data”Rob Horning blog

Alex and Liz dig their claws into "AI," this time focusing on some recent hype-y conferences Liz attended in Chicago and Las Vegas. We also look at cyberlibertarianism, the difficulties that LLMs have with ambiguity (and why making them better at this could paradoxically make them worse overall), the costs associated with producing cutting-edge work, and the embedded biases of AI. Alex's blog Liz's site We don't need generative AI  At least the robber barons built things  Is a neural network like a pocket calculator? “AI” and epistemic injustice  Chatbot revolution?

Alex and Liz talk about what really makes digital content different from physical and analog equivalents, and what distinctive ideological concepts—"everything's binary, monopolies are good, technology itself is the agent, users should be treated with hostility"— are uniquely embodied by it. And even though everything digital seems ethereal and immaterial, it requires tremendous amounts of real resources—water, electricity, space—behind the scenes. We also dive into Leo Marx's famous "Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept" essay, discuss Martin Scorsese's dislike of Marvel (and what it says about "content"), how the Hollywood strikes were spurred by the content-ization of movies and TV, and spew some weird facts about vinyl records. Scorsese pieces: NYT (2019), GQ (2023)My old "content"pieces: A spin on Marx's piece and the 5 core assumptions of "content" as a term.Emma Thompson thinks "content" is a rude term.

Alex and Liz talk about the hottest topic out there—"AI," or "artificial intelligence" (quotes because we're a little skeptical of it being in any way "intelligent"), with a look at some recent essays that explore whether "AI" is agent or tool, its problematic uses in higher education, why Silicon Valley is so intent on building things ("AI" or otherwise) that they'd read about or seen in sci-fi (while also of course acting as if books, films, and other artistic endeavors are worthless, just like the rest of the humanities), and how Jonny Quest predicted the Apple Watch in 1964. Alex's recent blog post on "the economy." Liz's website. Check out Liz's book at Barnes & Noble. Rob Horning's essay, Pro tools. The Emily Bender profile in New York magazine. The empty brain.

Alex and Liz talk about their time at the content mill, how it was all about ghost writing, what techniques they honed by doing that (such as learning how to easily add 100-200 superfluous words to any article's intro), and how that overall experience influenced their personal writing. Liz talks about self-publishing her book and Alex talks about the histories and features of various blogging platforms. Alex's blog about social media post-2016. Liz's website. Buy Liz's book!

Alex and Liz talk about Mastodon, the open social network that uses a federated design that works somewhat similarly to email. We also explain ActivityPub, the W3C-sanctioned protocol that underpins Mastodon and other services such as Pixelfed. Ever wondered what an "API" is? Curious about what Facebook was like in 2004? We've got you covered on these questions and others! Alex’s site: content-lab.agency Liz’s site: lizmakesstuff.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit toosolid.substack.com

Alex and Liz talk about Jenny Odell's "How to Do Nothing," this time focusing on how information overload and context collapse make it difficult to do what you want to do. We also make a brief detour into "This is Water" (and its roots in "Infinite Jest"), discuss the toxicity of fandom, and how even works widely seen as "great" in a moment (your Booth Tarkingtons of the world, essentially) quickly fade from popular memory. Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe

Alex and Liz look at "How to do Nothing" by Jenny Odell, talk about Twitter, TikTok, and Mastodon and their respective effects on our mental health, and even spin out a hot take on David Foster Wallace's legendary 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon College. Liz’s blog: Lizmakesstuff.com Adam Kotsko’s stunning blog post, “The Moral Cost of Capitalism”: https://itself.blog/2023/02/28/the-moral-cost-of-capitalism/ David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” commencement speech: https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/ Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe

Liz and Alex dive deep into Mark Fisher's seminal 2009 surprise best seller, "Capitalist Realism." Topics explored include how society individualizes mental illness, why there's this widespread conception of "gritty" content as somehow "realer" than non-gritty equivalents, and how our ironic distance from capitalism allows us to participate in it—even when we know it's bad. Liz’s website: lizmakesstuff.com Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe

Alex and Liz talk about the coping strategies they witnessed from their managers at the content mill. Interested in doing the work of your direct reports for them? Want to work with clients who don't respond to emails for months? Wondering if you can get away with some games of StarCraft in between client calls? We give you the SEO content mill manager job spec covering all of that. We also touch upon how every "health" client at a content mill just wants you to write about their One Weird Trick That Definitely Doesn't Work. Shay Stewart Bouley’s tweet about how SEO is rigged: https://twitter.com/blackgirlinmain/status/1574783973737242626 Liz’s website: lizmakesstuff.com Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe

Liz’s website: lizmakesstuff.com Left Anchor: https://www.leftanchor.com Strunk and White’s Macho Grammar Club: https://www.thedailybeast.com/strunk-and-whites-macho-grammar-club Neil Patel, who doesn’t read: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ny-times-bestselling-author-torn-145614266.html Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe

Alex and Liz talk about the one topic you can never ever write about at content mills. Also included are two on-air readings of archetypal content mill content, except we break that taboo and write about He Who Shall Not Be Named. Liz’s website: lizmakesstuff.com Alex’s “Here’s what “content” from a content mill looks like” post: https://toosolid.substack.com/p/heres-what-content-from-a-content The legendary “knife alien” tweet: twitter.com/athleisure_monk/status/738618427909111808 Background on “The Fish Files”: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/fish-files-the/ Popula article (again): https://popula.com/2019/01/28/how-to-suck-at-business-without-really-trying/ Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe

Alex and Liz talk about algorithms and how they select and serve content, with an extended riff on an academic paper about bureaucracy (don't worry! we make it easy to understand). Also, if you've ever wondered what recursion is, we've got you covered with a simple definition and some basic examples. Liz’s website: lizmakesstuff.com Essay “The concept of algorithm as an interpretative key of modern rationality” (view-only; no PDF download without premium sub): https://www.academia.edu/6470892/The_concept_of_algorithm_as_an_interpretative_key_of_modern_rationality Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe

Alex and Liz talk about IMDb What to Watch, a new app for trying to find that one pearl in the sea of "endless streaming content," through gamification. Will it work? We’re skeptical. And wasn't consuming content supposed to be fun at some point? The thing is: When there's too much to watch, everyone falls back on their preexisting favorites, or gets trapped in a loop of algorithmic selection and decision anxiety. We also examine how tricky it is to find exactly what you're looking for via Google Search, due to similar issues, namely the dominance of opaque algorithms and the excessive amount of online garbage, er, content, that is constantly being churned out by content mills every day. Made with Forecast: overcast.fm/forecast Liz’s site: https://lizmakesstuff.com IMDb What to Watch: https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/5/23059025/amazon-imdb-app-games-fire-tv-exclusive Episode 002b, with a more in-depth look at algorithms, is coming next week! Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe

Welcome to Literally 2 Cents About Content!, the podcast about what it’s like to write thousands of words per day for literally two cents per word! In our first episode, Alex tells Elizabeth all about the origins of the content industry, what the word and concept of “content” really means, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the role of the (in)famous Microsoft founder in presaging (and creating!) the industry itself. We have so much content planned for this podcast, and we hope you enjoy our first foray into our literal two cents about content! Made with Forecast: overcast.fm/forecast Liz’s site: https://lizmakesstuff.com Jeff Jarvis on too much content: twitter.com/jeffjarvis/status/1525785035424546816 Bill Gates on “content is king”: https://medium.com/@HeathEvans/content-is-king-essay-by-bill-gates-1996-df74552f80d9 The internet as space vs. the internet as medium: http://screengrab.blog/2015/01/31/space-quest-6-and-the-internet-as-space-vs-medium/ AOL-Time Warner hearings transcript: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-106shrg78185/html/CHRG-106shrg78185.htm “A toiler on a content farm”: https://popula.com/2019/01/28/how-to-suck-at-business-without-really-trying/ Get full access to The Content Lab at www.content-lab.agency/subscribe