Strands of Genius: AI Brand Mashups, Prompt Engineering, Bend It Like Beckham's Queer Legacy
Plus: Faris back on stage
WRITING FROM | Los Angeles, CA
WORKING ON | two education programs for media entities and their partners
LOOKING AHEAD
April 28-May 5 | Los Angeles, CA
May 5- June 9 | Seattle, WA
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
We had such a blast last week attending Initiative’s Client Summit in Palm Springs, CA. Faris got to share the stage with an EGOT!! I mean, how often can you say that?! Now technically, Viola Davis and Faris were not on stage at the very same time, but they were both on the same stage only hours apart, so that counts… right??
We arrived in Palm Springs last Wednesday and made our way to Los Angeles on Friday. We’re here for a transitional period before we head to Seattle this Friday: My littlest sister is having a baby, and we could not be more excited to welcome our newest niece to the world! And while Seattle isn’t exactly known for it’s gorgeous weather, after spending time in the desert where it was 105F… we are also excited about some more mild temperatures :)
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Liz & Shankar & Bodhi & Dev, dinner at Liberace’s house, getting to hear from Viola Davis and her hubby Julius Tennon, the keynote & dinner chats with Dr. Cori Lathan, a private performance from Breland, pools & piña coladas, an after party at Gene Autry’s house, new friends with cool jobs, Eric, a 9 hour friend date with Laila, dinner with Saxon & Joe, breweries and sushi with Ashley, & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
AI MASHUPS OF BRANDS
At the Palm Springs event, we also got to reconnect with our friend Noah Brier. He’s the founder of Percolate and Variance, though you’re probably more likely to know him from his newsletter, Why Is This Interesting. Noah took the stage to talk about the implications of the AI landscape, and shared how he built the engine that powers his site BrXnd Collab. As is implied by the name, you select two brands, and the technology creates a branded collaboration artifact. Hearing Noah speak about the technology was super interesting. Perhaps unsurprisingly, brands that have a distinctive visual identity do well. Also interesting were the inferences that the AI makes: For example, nearly every sneaker created features a swoosh, even if Nike wasn’t mentioned. But before the images are generated, the first thing that happens is that promotional copy for the collaboration is written, having been trained on a number of brand collab announcements. It’s fun to play with, and surprising just how many *good* products you end up with. Go try it out yourself! (BrXnd)
PROMPT ENGINEERING - A GUIDE FOR CONTENT CREATORS
Continuing on the AI theme, I’ve talked with a number of clients that have claimed ChatGPT is not actually useful. When I hear this, I’m skeptical — I’ve already found a number of uses, personally and professionally. But what I find when digging in a little deeper is that the prompts they’ve given to ChatGPT aren’t exactly a great starting place. It takes time to learn what makes a good prompt, and figuring out the prompt is often the longest part of the process. It takes playing around, for sure. But it’s also helpful to have a starting point, which is what I love about this guide all about prompt engineering. Specifically targeting marketers, you’ll get suggestions on how to craft better prompts, and some easy ways to put AI to work for you. (Foundation Inc)
THE QUEER LEGACY OF ‘BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM’
This was one of the best things I’ve read lately. When the movie came out in ‘02, gay marriage wasn’t even legal in the UK. And representation of queerness in South Asian cultures were even more limited — It was illegal to be gay in India in ‘02. As Natasha Noman writes, “In 2002, queer representation on screen often meant male queerness and relied heavily on tropes, such as the effeminate gay best friend. There was little room for nuance or queer women. Rarer still were stories about queer women of color. Before Bend It Like Beckham, Deepa Mehta’s Fire (1996), about two women in oppressive marriages who fall in love, and Ganatra’s Chutney Popcorn, about a young Indian American lesbian who becomes a surrogate for her infertile sister, were among the few queer love stories involving South Asian women. But Bend It Like Beckham’s queerness operates on two levels — overtly and implicitly.” (Note: this is a gifted link, but you will have to provide your email in order to access the full article.) (The Juggernaut)
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:: FARIS ON STAGE IN PALM SPRINGS, CA ::
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rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
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