Sunday Shuffle v. 16

Google trips over the goal line with Gemini launch, The NYTimes reinforces gender inequality in tech and KISS goes all in on AI

Happy Sunday, Shufflers!

Google had their time in the spotlight this week with their highly anticipated preview of Gemini, which (er) didn't go so great. The New York Times offended half of the planet's population with their "Who's Who in AI." And the OpenAI Board member at the center of the management scandal had a chance to tell her side of the story. Plus, KISS hands the mic to their avatars to immortalize them for generations to come. Let's shuffle, shall we!

Inside this week's Shuffle:

• Google fumbles Gemini launch

• Looking backwards and forwards
• State of B2B SaaS Demand Gen
• SaaS Marketeer's Toolkit
• The Immortal KISS
• Personal Branding Framework

Google Announces Gemini 1.0

Google unveiled Gemini 1.0 last Thursday in what it calls its “most capable AI model yet,” and the engine powering a range of products including Bard (their ChatGPT competitor). But the launch was a bit clumsy to say the least. After postponing the launch until early 2024 (due to challenges in handling non-English language queries), they pressed on with a "public preview" last week.

It seemed to be an impressive 6-min demo, but Bloomberg claimed the video was doctored and didn't use an actual spoken prompt. Making matters worse, social media erupted with frustrations from users claiming the new model failed to get basic facts right.

Why It Matters:

Google has a lot riding on Gemini to counter the OpenAI/Microsoft momentum. They're struggling to keep pace with the speed of innovation happening with ChatGPT. I give Sundar credit for pulling the plug on the launch, but for a company that touts responsible AI every chance it gets, it needs to be careful how shows-off its AI capabilities and ensure it does so with the utmost integrity.

Best of 2023 ??

'Tis the season for the "Best of 2023" lists.

• Morning Consult released its Fastest Growing Brands 2023, and who do you think topped the list? (Yep, you guessed right!)
• Top 7 AI start-up fundings in '23
• Wikipedia released its top 25 most-viewed pages of '23 (no surprise on #1)
• Lemonlight named the 8 most engaging commercials of '23 (the year of insurance ads!)
• Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2023 is authentic.
• Pantone has announced it's color of the year: 13-1023 (aka, Peach Fuzz). Spoiler alert: BananaYellow predicted to be the next "it" color.

?? What to Watch for in 2024

• Oppenheimer shared 10 predictions for AI could upend markets next year.
• Pinterest Predicts lists the emerging trends for '24, which feels very retro with retro grandpa clothes, badminton and vintage jazz making a comeback.
• Reddit Recap goes deep into what happened in 2023, but they also list their top predictions for '24. (UFO sightings?)
• Andreesen Horowitz asked their 40 partners what they think will be the big idea that will drive innovation in '24. Here's their list.

The Marketing Corner

Demand Conversion put out their State of B2B SaaS Demand Generation report identifying 9 mega themes for B2B marketers in '24.

• SearchEngineLand gives 10 strategies to leverage AI for SEO
• Backlinks continue to be vital for SEO, but what kind matter most. Here are 20 types with some tips and tricks from Hubspot.
• Marketing Brew will be hosting Hacking the Human OS by Building Influence & Loyalty with Messaging on Dec. 18.

In Other AI News

Many are enraged at The New York Times for their recent piece, "Who’s Who in AI," which shamelessly lists only men?!? (NYT). This LinkedIn post from Sephora Bemba offers 12 AI trailblazers they missed.

• Sports Illustrated fired two senior execs for using AI to publish stories under fake names, bios and photos. (LinkedIn)
• Things were relatively quiet this last week at OpenAI, although they announced that the highly anticipated GPT Store is being pushed to '24 (Verge)
• Helen Toner, the OpenAI Board Member at the center of the short-lived dismissal Sam Altman (CEO) gives her side of the story. (paywalled WSJ)
• Meta and IBM partnered with more than 40 organizations to form the "AI Alliance," a consortium dedicated to open source AI work (Bloomberg)

?? Tools of the Week

• Carrd is one of the coolest products I've seen in a long time. Perfect for building simple landing pages and doing some experimentation.
• Google's instrument playground is a fun place to make musical clips with AI.
• Decktopus is a cool AI-powered presentation generator.
• Opinly - AI-based competitor research - from pricing to new feature releases.

The Immortal KISS

KISS wrapped up their final farewell last week at Madison Square Garden, passing the mic to their virtual avatars! They may not have sold the most records of all time, but they have built one of the most enduring brands that could be immortalized through AI. (YouTube)

Framework: How to Make Your Own Synthetic Headshot

If any of you want to use AI to make your own avatar, here is a framework I created to help you choose the right one.

Have a great week, Shufflers! I am very thankful for everyone's interest in this newsletter. If you like it, "Shout it Out Loud" with a like, comment or reposts ;-)