While the world gets distracted by Scarlett Johansson's possible case against OpenAI, the AI giant continues to do deals with media companies.  This time, Open AI signed a deal with News Corp (owners of WSJ) for $250 million over five years (reported). Who's next? Trump Media's quarterly reported was more than a disaster, and yet the stock keeps going up. And we have a nice disagreement about whether Chick-fil-A should embrace or fire their internal social media influencers.  Hits and misses include GaryVee's new book and Coca-Cola lens. Rants and raves include content marketing plat ..read more

A special live recording of Joe and Robert with Philip Hernandez from the Haunted Attraction Network, recorded at Content Entrepreneur Expo (CEX) in Cleveland, Ohio on May 5th. Philip goes into detail about how he thinks about and creates content for the network, including the challenges and opportunities in social media content creation. Please follow Philip on Instagram and check out the Haunted Attraction Network. Special thanks to Hubspot for sponsoring the opening reception at CEX, and to our friends at VividFront for producing this recording.  ------- Liked this show? SUBSCRIBE to t ..read more

It was another crazy week in AI news. On the heals of Google's AI announcement, OpenAI launches ChatGPT4 Omni (o). What does the new iteration mean for creators and marketers? If that wasn't enough, TikTok is upgrading its algorithm with AI. Thank you (not so much). And is the beef between Kendrick and Drake real? We think it's marketing. Hits and misses include John Mulaney's new show and Prof G's podcast strategy. Rants and raves include OEF's 100 Holes of Golf model and more on MarTech cuts. This week's links: OpenAI Releases Omni TikTok Is Testing AI in Algo The Drake/Kendrick Beef John Mu ..read more

In the latest social media soap opera, TikTok has sued the US Government over its potential "ban," bringing out the unconstitutional card. Is this just a stalling tactic? Yes...and it's working. More money is flowing into the creator economy after big product successes from MrBeast and Logan Paul. But will the new algo changes be the end of big content creators? And Hollywood continues to lack standards with AI. Is it simply too late? Hits and misses include CEX and Joe Biden. Rants and raves include Instagram and Meta. This week's links: TikTok Sues the US Government MrBeast and Logal Paul Le ..read more

Joe and Robert do a deep dive into their CEX presentations...Joe's on the new business model for content creators and Robert's on the marketing MBA. In the news, Instagram launches a new program that will highlight new content creators. They make it sound amazing. The problem is that this will hurt full-time content creators and content marketers. Hits this week include Adidas and Phish (at the Sphere). Rants and raves include the trouble with books and third-party cookies. This week's links: Instagram and Twitch Roll Out New Algos Amazon's Killer Quarterly Numbers Adidas to Overinvest in Mark ..read more

John Deere's search for a new social media creator leads to an important conversation - are corporate social media handles dead? Faced with possibly paying for the news, Google starts removing links to California news sites for some users. And the winner for the dumb move of the year goes to... The VC market for creator startups is up the the first time in multiple quarters, while a group of TikTok influencers send a nasty gram to Joe Biden. Hits and misses include Dove and AI and Caitlin Clark on SNL. Rants and raves include gaming Spotify and the Chief Marketing Officer tenure. Sign up to CE ..read more

Robert and Joe run through the business books that have made the most impact on their lives and careers. They include: Marketing Management – Philip Kotler Discovery Driven Growth  – Rita Gunther McGrath Different – Youngme Moon How Will You Measure Your Life – Clayton Christensen Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – Robert Pirsig Think & Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein IMC: Integrated Marketing Communication - Don Schultz David & Goliath - Malcolm Gladwell This week's sponsor ..read more

News this week as Florida governor Ron DeSantis signs a law restricting social media access for children. Is this the first step to full-on social media verification or just another fruitless attempt to tell people how to parent? Trump's Truth Social goes public and hits meme stock territory. How long with the party last? Spotify adds video learning to its platform. Is YouTube in Spotify's sights? And print is back baby! Hits and misses include a Ryan's World movie and Comscore. Rants and raves include rants against Accenture and Meta's Threads. Sign up to CEX and use code TOM100 to win a gues ..read more

In this special episode #420, Joe and Robert dissect the upcoming Apple/Google deal for AI and the iPhone. Is this a sign of weakness for Apple or are they just buying time? OpenAI's chatbot store is filling up with spam. Are you surprised? And a group of publishing experts launch Authors Equity to give more rights back to authors. Uh, we don't think so. Hits and misses include Liquid Death and Coca-Cola. Rants and raves includes a full overview of the TikTok banning bill and why it's harder to become a creator today. Sign up to CEX and use code TOM100 to win a guest spot on This Old Marketing ..read more

We are in post-social media and, now, a post-search environment. The next 12 months are critical to start getting your content assets in order for the AI Content wave. The House passes a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban. Uh, we told you so. But does it really matter? Google's Gemini AI refuses to answer political questions (among other things). This leads to a conversation on how AI Truth is coordinated and what we can do about it. MrBeast tells everyone to slow down a bit...that less content is more. Thank you sir! And OpenAI starts doing publisher deals. Hello Google circa 2002. Hits and ..read more