Blog Posts: Content marketing

Newstex Blog

March 12, 2024
The plagiarism pandemic: safeguarding intellectual property online

YouTube recently wanted me to watch a video about the ancient Egyptian bureaucrat-turned-demigod Imhotep. I knew it was going to be a hot mess from the thumbnail alone. Obviously AI-generated, it made poor Imhotep look like he’d just visited the face-painting booth at the county fair. The actual content, such as it was, featured an artificial voice reading out nonsensical statements like “Imhotep lived in the ancient Egyptian period 267 BCE AD 648” (he actually lived around the 27th century BCE). Unfortunately, schlock like this has become all too common as many creators try to churn out as much content as possible with the least amount of effort. But while the Imhotep video was just cringy, there is a darker side to low-effort content. YouTuber Harry Brewis (aka hbomberguy) recently put out a four-hour video exploring the increasing prevalence of plagiarized content on the platform.

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March 7, 2024
Balancing AI and human values: the Vatican's call for ethical AI

The other day I stumbled upon an interview that POLITICO did with Fr. Paolo Benanti, a Franciscan friar who advises Pope Francis on matters related to artificial intelligence. Until I read that article, I had no idea that the Vatican was paying such close attention to AI. But I’m glad they do because they can offer a unique and valuable perspective that’s often overlooked. Benanti’s core argument is that we need to have “human-centric” AI that operates within carefully prescribed limits. As he told POLITICO, “[s]ome people treat AIs like idols, like oracles, like demigods. The risk is that they delegate critical thinking and decisional power to these machines.”

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February 28, 2024
The myth of never working a day: finding balance as a creator

I recently stumbled upon a video about all the YouTubers who are either quitting the platform entirely, taking an extended hiatus, or pivoting to different types of content. This includes creators like Tom Scott, Matthew Patrick (aka MatPat) of The Game Theorists, and Jordan Maron of Captain Sparklez. While they straddle many different niches, they’ve all been wildly successful–many of them have subscriber counts in the millions. But they’ve ultimately decided that it’s time to move on. But what caught my attention was the fact that many of them said they simply didn’t enjoy the act of creating content like they used to. Or in the words of MatPat, “I miss the days where I could just sit down on the couch with her and play video games and it's not for content, or I'm playing a game and I'm not thinking about what theories are gonna come out of that. I miss it.” This hints at an unpalatable truth of life as a creator: no matter how much you enjoy making your content, that doesn’t mean you’ll live happily ever after. 

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February 15, 2024
Pick a path and stick to it

Last month, I talked about how I came up with my personal brand as a specialist blogger. Today, I’ll be talking about what it’s like to live with that decision. Identifying your brand is only the first step in the process. You need to sustain your brand on a day-to-day basis. This can be challenging when we’re constantly bombarded with unfiltered content, from eccentric relatives ranting about fringe political theories to celebrities who seem determined to prove that they have more money than sense. But if you’re looking to make a name for yourself as an authoritative content creator, you’d be well advised to resist the urge to share whatever crosses your mind and stick to the brand you’ve chosen for yourself.

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January 31, 2024
Everybody wants to cancel somebody

Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of hand-wringing about the effect of ‘cancel culture.’ Hardly a day goes by without some well-known person or company being excoriated for something they’ve done or said, whether it’s Lizzo being condemned for her alleged treatment of her backup dancers or Bud Light being criticized for working with a trans influencer. It’s easy to be angry on the Internet. Whatever your beliefs, you can find plenty of people who seem to stand against everything you hold dear, and it can feel cathartic to share your rage with the world. For creators, this can be an intimidating environment, and it can feel like you have to walk on eggshells to avoid ending up in the digital pillory. But the good news is that it’s possible to be authentic without constantly having to look over your shoulder.

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January 18, 2024
How to build your publication's brand without feeling like a phony

If you’ve read any advice for content creators, chances are you’ve seen countless discussions about the importance of creating a personal brand. Now the word ‘brand’ may conjure up images of lavish marketing campaigns and influencers hawking their latest merch. But branding doesn’t have to look like that. On the contrary, it’s possible to have a perfectly serviceable brand without those things. In this post, I’m going to talk about my experiences developing my own brand as a specialist blogger. 

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January 11, 2024
Why you should care about primary sources

The other day, a friend was complaining that their blog posts weren’t getting the level of attention they wanted. As I learned more about their content, I began to see why they might struggle to stand out from the crowd. They only seemed to use secondary sources while leaving primary sources untouched. I think there are a lot of content creators like my friend. They know research is important, but they don’t understand the importance of using a balanced array of sources. In this post, I’ll be talking about primary sources and how they can help you produce better, more authoritative content.

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December 20, 2023
Insights for specialist bloggers (part 3): research

This post is the third installment in our series aimed at specialist bloggers. In the past two installments, I’ve talked about choosing topics and editing. Today, we’ll be looking at research. This can be a daunting prospect for a lot of creators. Many people have told me they never did open-ended research projects when they were in school. In many cases, they worked with curated lists of sources provided by their instructors. But when they have to scope out sources entirely on their own, they feel more than a little unprepared. Hopefully, by explaining my research process, I can make it a lot less mystifying and intimidating. 

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November 19, 2023
Insights for specialist bloggers (part 1): choosing a topic

The Vicar of Dibley is one of my favorite TV shows. It’s about a female Anglican priest named Geraldine Granger (played by Dawn French) who serves a parish deep in the English countryside. I was recently rewatching “The Christmas Lunch Incident” and there’s a scene where Geraldine is freaking out because it’s Christmas Eve and she still doesn’t have her sermon written. “Right, now some frightening facts,” she says. “It’s the biggest gig of the year. It’s a one-woman show. There’s 12 hours to go. I have no ideas at all.” 

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October 23, 2023
Digital literacy and the mastery of communicating (part 2)

This is the second installment of our two-part series on digital communication (you can read part 1 here). In this post, we’ll be looking at challenges in digital communication, its social/emotional aspects, and the importance of being a good digital citizen. 

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October 16, 2023
Digital literacy and the mastery of communicating (Part 1)

Despite being a fundamental part of human existence, it can be easy to overlook the importance of communicating. After all, it’s all around us, from the fussing of a hungry baby to a billboard selling fulfillment through consumerism. It wasn’t long ago that most of humanity lacked any kind of platform beyond the people in their immediate vicinity. Now, however, many of us are just a few mouse-clicks away from being heard by the whole wide world. But while this affords us a wealth of opportunities, it also requires creators to demonstrate new levels of agility in order to succeed.

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