Exploration #139

Hi all. I’m still catching up on a lot of news from the past few weeks, so this exploration is on the husky side. We’ve got think pieces on the fear that using AI is “cheating” at work, and a classic piece from HBR on strategic planning. Then we’ve got newsier piecs on OpenAI’s new models, a kid’s series (from the producer of Peg + Cat, no less) that will come with a crypto wallet, and stats on the importance of video to podcasting. And finally, do you know what stream sniping is?

But First…

Thanks to all who joined us last Thursday for our April webinar AI for Journalists and Content Creators. We had another great turnout, and also announced our May webinar: Applied AI for Public Media: Marketing, Social, and Digital Strategy. This one in in collaboration with our colleagues at NETA’s MarCom Peer Learning Community and you can read more about it in the Learn section below.

Normally we do these on Thursdays, but to accommodate schedules (not to mention the PBS Annual Meeting events, May 19-22) we’re going to do this one on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 12 noon ET/ 9 AM PT.

You can catch the video the April 17th webinar here.

And you can register for the May 13th webinar here.

No column this time around, as I just wanted to focus on sharing some the backlog of content piling up in my reading folder. So, on to this week’s links…

Learn…

Applied AI for Public Media: Marketing, Social, and Digital Strategy 
Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 12 noon ET / 9 AM PT
Looking to make your workflows faster, your content sharper and your social media posts more impactful? This hands-on session is designed for public media professionals working in marketing, communications, and digital strategy — from social media managers and digital content curators to marketing leads on any-sized team.

Join the Public Media Innovators and MarCom PLCs as we showcase real-world examples of how our peers are using AI today, including how to:

• Generate SEO-friendly descriptions for web and video platforms

• Draft social media posts that fit your tone and goals

• Create alt text for images to support accessibility

You’ll walk away with downloadable prompts, links to custom GPTs, and plenty of inspiration to take back to your teams. This is a practical session built for doers—bring your curiosity, your questions, and maybe even that caption you’ve been staring at too long. Register here.

Think…

AI Phobia Is Just Fear That ‘Easier’ Equals ‘Cheating’ (Katie Parrott - Every) 
Key Line: "Why do these businesses care so much? I suspect they aren’t really worried about AI—they're clinging to an old belief that if work isn't visibly difficult to produce, it must be less valuable. When we dig beneath the surface of "no-AI" policies and detection tools, we find an age-old assumption that worth must be measured in struggle. This mindset shows up again and again, from “hustle culture” and the “rise and grind’ mindset that defined the 2010s to recent return-to-office mandates that prioritize presence over performance. In a culture that values butts in seats and availability on Slack, it becomes easy to mistake friction for effort and effort for worth....[AI] holds up a mirror to our culture’s deeply rooted belief that struggle equals value—and in that reflection lies a rare opportunity: to reimagine work in terms of outcomes, not optics; human flourishing, not performance theater."
Why It Matters: In the end, what matters is the work. Is the craft worthy of pride? Is the end result impactful? Is the process ethical? Focusing on the 'how' has always seemed like a waste of managerial effort to me, especially if you trust the team you've assembled (and if you don't trust them, well, then, something there needs to change).

The Rise of Vibe Coding (Mark Eaves - FastCompany) 
Key Line: "Vibe coders are the natural descendants of this lineage. They’re working with AI the way early skate culture worked with architecture—not as passive users, but as instinctive reinterpreters. They’re pushing limits not by following a manual, but by making one up as they go. The outputs might look a little glitchy. A little offbeat. But that’s part of the point. The future rarely starts with polished perfection. It starts with side quests, zines, garages, and basement experiments. It starts with people making things that feel right, even if they can’t yet explain why."
Why It Matters: I go back and forth as to whether I think vibe coding deserves to be slated into the pantheon of DIY culture. But I do think we need more of that DIY energy in public media, and if vibe coding helps introduce that then I'm here for it.

The TAKE IT DOWN Act Is Poised To Become Law. But Will It Provide Justice To Victims? (Jasmine Mithani - Tech Policy Press) 
Key Lines: "The bill has, relatively speaking, sailed through Congress....But even if the bill passes, a larger question looms: Can it be enforced? By whom? Enforcement of the act falls squarely to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the independent agency that has shouldered most of the responsibility for holding tech platforms accountable. But the FTC, like much of the federal bureaucracy, has been caught in the crosshairs of the Elon Musk-led effort to streamline the government. The agency already saw layoffs as a part of the purge of probationary federal employees shortly after Trump took office. Several outlets have reported that as of last week, DOGE officials have begun work at the FTC, usually a premonition of further staff reduction."
Why It Matters: Nonconsensual Intimate Imagery (NCII, aka deepfake nudes/porn) is a problem that only gets worse as generative AI tools improve. Laws providing justice to victims are absolutely necessary, but this piece raises a good question about whether any of these laws will have teeth.
Related: Deepfakes are now being employed by law enforcement as well, as reported by Emanuel Maiberg & Jason Koebler in 404 Media's This ‘College Protester’ Isn’t Real. It’s an AI-Powered Undercover Bot for Cops 

Signals and noise (Brian Morrissey - The Rebooting) 
Key Line: "The content itself isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. It prompts action, commentary, remixing, memes, cheering on your side, shit talking your opponents....Media organizations stuck on producing tidy 700-word articles are missing the shift. The opportunity isn’t just to inform. It’s to involve. The most compelling media now gives people something to do with the information, not just something to read."
Why It Matters: There are multiple provocations in this post, touching on IP, AI and marketing. The ideas are mostly quick bites, but still interesting food for thought.

The Big Lie of Strategic Planning (Roger L. Martin - Harvard Business Review)
Key Line: "...if you are entirely comfortable with your strategy, there’s a strong chance it isn’t very good. You’re probably stuck in one or more of the traps I’ll discuss in this article. You need to be uncomfortable and apprehensive: True strategy is about placing bets and making hard choices. The objective is not to eliminate risk but to increase the odds of success."
Why It Matters: If your organization's current strategic plan took into account the events of the past three months, then for God's sake share that thing around. But since I'm assuming most of you didn't hopefully you are revisiting your plans in light of an uncertain future. Hopefully this classic from 2014 will provide some timely guidance.

Know…

'The Next Paw Patrol Will be Born on YouTube': Nickelodeon Shifts Strategy (Natalie Jarvey - Like and Subscribe News) 
Key Line: “And while there’s no guarantee it’ll be the next Cocomelon, there are signs that it’s off to a good start. The first 10 “full-length” episodes — which run about 13 minutes each — are averaging 200,000 views each. (For comparison, the full episode of Paw Patrol, uploaded to YouTube two weeks ago, has 1.4 million views.)”
Why It Matters: Full disclosure, the link goes to the pre-paywall content, but that's enough for you to get the gist. Of course, PBS Digital Studios has been working YouTube as a direct destination and IP incubator for years, and some stations have followed suit. Who else is willing to take the plunge?

A new kids’ show [from the producer of Peg + Cat] will come with a crypto wallet when it debuts this fall (Lauren Forristal - TechCrunch) 
Key Line: 'While it’s clear that this show has all the ingredients to resonate with viewers and hold their attention, there will be challenges, including convincing parents to manage a crypto wallet for their child. Parents may worry that introducing kids to this ecosystem, even indirectly, could expose them to financial manipulation or loss, even if the parents are the ones in control of the wallet....“It’s a big topic of discussion. It’s like, ‘What permissions do we need in place around it?’” Lamina1 CEO Rebecca Barkin said, adding, “I won’t tell you that we have the perfect answer right now…we’re going to learn real fast as this develops, what protections need to be put in place.”'
Why It Matters: I can hear typically open minds slamming shut on this one. I'm not suggesting we'd want to get into this space now, but I do think we should be tracking this experiment. Crypto will eventually not be quite so sus, such is the nature of emerging tech.

Fingers on buzzers: how quiz shows are evolving for gen Alpha (Michael Savage - The Guardian) 
Key Line: ‘According to quizzing experts, the trend comes from the enjoyable process of logic puzzles, which avoid the black-or-white nature of knowing a piece of trivia. “TV quizzes featuring brain teaser puzzles certainly seem to be experiencing something of a surge in popularity at the moment – and long may it continue,” said Robert Dean, who produced 20 series of Eggheads and has written thousands of questions for shows including The 1% Club….“A show like 1% Club can be played by anyone of pretty much any age as it requires little to no knowledge. That was at the heart of why it was commissioned: to create a quiz that anyone can play,” he said."‘
Why It Matters: I feel like there's an angle for a public media digital series here, but, like, not something that involves a full studio crew. Putting this one out there for inspiration in the “lifelong play” category.

Pivot to Video: The Big Business Behind the Rise of Podcasts You Can Watch (Sean Burch + Tess Patton - The Wrap) 
Key Line: 'The rise of video podcasts has led to YouTube, not its audio competitors Spotify or Apple, becoming the top destination for American podcast listeners. YouTube pulls in 31% of weekly podcast listeners in the states, compared to 27% for Spotify and 15% for Apple, according to data from Edison Podcast Metrics. To compete with the social video giant, Spotify recently unveiled a new program to foster the creation of more video podcasts on its platform. The raw figures are illuminating: Spotify is home to 330,000 video podcasts — more than triple the amount it had just two years ago. “I don’t think you can make a podcast today without video,” Claudia Oshry, co-host of “The Toast” podcast, told TheWrap. “The only podcast that cracks the top five [on the podcast charts] without the video component is ‘Smartless.’ They’re an anomaly.”'
Why It Matters: It feels a bit like they are mainly referring to chat casts, where sticking a camera in the booth (or using Zoom) is a minor workflow enhancement. Other types of podcasts are still being made that certainly don't lend themselves to video (otherwise, they'd just be docs).
Related: This piece from Caitlin Huston in the Hollywood Reporter: Netflix Sees Potential For Video Podcasts, More Creator Content on Platform

Vibe Check: OpenAI’s o3, GPT-4.1, and o4-mini (Vivian Meng & Katie Parrott - Every) 
Key Line: "With o3, GPT‑4.1, and o4‑mini all dropping at once, even AI-savvy teams are asking: Wait, which one are we supposed to use? We’ve spent the last few days running tests, switching between models, breaking a few prompts, and seeing what sticks. Here’s the gist: o3 is OpenAI’s most deliberate thinker and newest flagship model...GPT‑4.1 is a structured, API-only workhorse built for developers...[and] o4-mini is the efficiency engine."
Why It Matters: This is one of the better summaries of what the new models from OpenAI mean to end users. I also like that they compare them to the leading models from Google and Anthropic.
Related: Every’s Dan Shipper's reviews the o3 model in Vibe Check: o3 Is Here—And It’s Great, and offers up this recommendation: "But what makes o3 especially powerful is the integration between the model and ChatGPT. It has tools like web search, reminders, memories, and code interpreter that allow users to access more of its power with less hassle. This is a very valuable strategic position for OpenAI to be in, one that will further its lead as the destination chatbot of choice for this AI era.”
Also related: Not everyone's pre-release tests inspired the same response, as witnessed in Investigating truthfulness in a pre-release o3 model 
And While We're At It: Kyle Wiggers reports in TechCrunch that: ChatGPT will now use its ‘memory’ to personalize web searches. So just in case you thought that was tantamount to private browsing (which also usually isn't actually private, BTW).

Adobe Photoshop is getting its first AI agent - here's what it can do for you (Sabrina Ortiz - ZDNet) 
Key Line: "Agentic AI is the hottest AI topic because it takes AI assistance as we know it a step further, actually carrying out tasks for users. Adobe has millions of users who rely on its applications and services to carry out complex everyday business or creative processes. As a result, it is nearly a perfect candidate for agentic AI, and Adobe plans to go all in on it."
Why It Matters: Adobe has always been my example of the line between automatic AI (really, machine learning that makes your "manual" edits better) and generative AI (creating “original” IP from prompts). Agentic AI blurs that line, but Adobe's examples seem more like the machine learning on steroids than they do the evolution of gAI. So watch how this evolves.

Build Faster and Smarter with GenAI Tools in Meta Horizon Worlds (Meta) 
Key Line: “Today, we’re excited to follow up on that commitment by expanding access to the desktop editor and its GenAI tools into the UK and Canada in addition to the US. These tools dramatically reduce development time from weeks to as little as hours; accelerating the ability of creators to translate their visions into high-fidelity worlds that users love. But that’s not all — we’re also adding Mesh Generation and Texture Generation features to our suite of GenAI tools. Mesh Generation enables creators to easily and quickly create 3D meshes of any artifact or theme they want, while Texture Gen will allow creators to modify textures of any mesh, regardless of how it’s created. Now even more creators can accelerate their journey from ideation to monetization by using AI to generate quality 3D meshes, skyboxes, Typescript, sound effects and ambient audio with limited coding required.”
Why It Matters: A number of us have speculated that it's the intersection of generative AI with platform creation tools that could kick off the next wave of hype (and development) around the metaverse. While I'm still dubious that Meta can go the distance in this regard, I do think this announcement is a taste of the future.

Google Classroom gives teachers an AI feature for quiz questions (Lauren Forristal - TechCrunch) 
Key Line: "Using this text-dependent question-generation tool, which utilizes Gemini, teachers can either upload files from Google Drive or manually enter text for the AI to generate questions. They can then export the questions into a Google Doc or Google Form."
Why It Matters: Worth noting if you work with any educators that work with Gemini to Classroom (launched last year).

Wikipedia is giving AI developers its data to fend off bot scrapers (Jess Weatherbed - The Verge) 
Key Line: "Wikimedia says the dataset hosted by Kaggle has been “designed with machine learning workflows in mind,” making it easier for AI developers to access machine-readable article data for modeling, fine-tuning, benchmarking, alignment, and analysis. The content within the dataset is openly licensed, and as of April 15th, includes research summaries, short descriptions, image links, infobox data, and article sections — minus references or non-written elements like audio files."
Why It Matters: Bot scrapers have become a bit of a plague for site managers and sys admins. All the server load and none of the impact. So I look at this story and wonder if public media couldn't organize something similar.

College students in the U.S. are now eligible for the best of Google AI — and 2 TB storage — for free (Josh Woodward - Google) 
Key Line: "The best part: This offer isn't just for finals this semester. Sign up before June 30, 2025, and you’ll get free access all the way through finals in spring 2026. That’s this school year and next school year, totally free. Students can sign up for the Google One AI Premium plan via our website and learn more below about how each tool can help you."
Why It Matters: If you have college students in your lives that use AI, this could be a good deal for them. For the rest of us, it's a sign of how the competition for users is heating up (which is not atypical for commodity products like these).
Related: OpenAI actually kicked off this strategy in March, though their deal is (for now) way more time-limited (I can easily see them changing this to match Google): ChatGPT Plus is now free for college students through May

And finally…

Who is the Dr. Pepper Guy? Infamous stream sniper explained (Carver Fisher - Dexerto) - And finally, this one is for anyone who, like me, had no idea what a "stream sniper" is.

Have a creative, productive week!