Deep(ish) Thoughts
I love talking to people. Not everybody does, but I do. Talking to people, and having a conversation about what's going on in their lives, topics of the day, news, or general pontifications can be fun. To me, it's a method of learning. You hear differing points of view, and are often forced to defend your position. It makes you think more because you're being challenged by someone else, and even though (as I mentioned just last month in this column) your opinion doesn't matter to them in the long run, it makes you a more well-rounded, deeper thinker.
Over the last couple weeks I've had some great conversations that led me to some profound new ideas. I call these "Deep Thoughts" for those of you who remember the infamous Jack Handey. In his honor, here we go...
"You can deliver an innovative product, or you can deliver a traditional product innovatively".
This one sounds great when you say it loud, and it makes you sound smart. What it means is simple. You can create something entirely new and that will attract your customers to you. You can also deliver something similar to what has been delivered before, but deliver it in an entirely different manner. For example, one could argue the iPhone was something entirely new because it really wasn't a phone. It was a pocket-sized computer. Tesla trail-blazed the electric vehicle category, and that was new. Conversely, GroupOn delivered a new way of accessing coupons. The litany of food delivery services take an old model and update it with apps and timers. You can look all around the world and find new products or new formats, and these are where innovation really resides. If you're stuck creating an idea for a business, utter that sentence and see what comes of it.
"Conflict and Chaos create."
I don't know where i heard this one, but I love it. Not only does it role right off the tongue, but it also is accurate. When things are crazy and difficult, that can lead to some of the best ideation. Look at the success of start-ups that were created in economic downturns or recessions. Look at the innovation that stems from wars and conflict. When people are uncomfortable and things get hard, the human mind looks for a new way to do things. I bring this up because chaos can be frightening to people, but if you look at it for the value it brings, you might just have a little fun.
"All good art has a patron."
This was a completely new idea to me, but what it did is open a new view of the wold. If you think about the Renaissance art period, you will likely recall the name Medici. The Medici family were the patrons of much of the art we are familiar with. They essentially paid the artists to create. Fast forward to today, and advertising is the primary patron for art. At least this is the case in a digital-centric world. Advertising is the Medici of the digital landscape because it enables anyone to create anything, and monetize it with advertising. Ads and clicks enable the development of great art. I bring this up because the fact is, we would have a lot less impactful art in the world if it weren't for advertising.
That's it for the deep thoughts...
<AI>
Everybody loves a good side hustle, and mine has always been centered around music. I love music and it has been a core part of my life since I was a toddler, but my inclinations to make music by playing an instrument have always been somewhat limited. I play guitar a little, and once in awhile I noodle around on a piano. I love the fact that many of the best musicians in the world were never classically trained because it keeps them from operating the general constraints that the world has set for other musicians. Of course, these days you have technology that can help. AI is revolutionizing the ways we look and, and create, music.
This last month I discovered MusicGen from Meta - https://huggingface.co/spaces/facebook/MusicGen. This allows you to create music with generative AI text. This is a fascinating step forward. The music is not perfect, but the first wave of technology rarely is. That being said, this is a pretty amazing step forward and you can imagine how DJs and artists will use this to create new tracks in the future.
Other crazy examples of what people are doing include…
David Guetta creating a track with Eminem’s voice, but no Eminem, and playing it live - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98WTwSnkoas. David readily admits this was more of a joke, but he also explains that he thinks AI can be used to give an artist an example of what the final co-produced track will look like and they can simply approve it (also called Pitch Records).
This example of Notorious BIG covering Nas’ “NY State of Mind” is incredibly realistic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG5Bf2N4Kus.
There’s even this mash-up of SpongeBob and Pearl Jam. https://www.tiktok.com/@notlyhxela/video/7250613582310706475. Yes, this is bad, and yes this is horrible to come from me of all people, but the fact is that people are doing some interesting things with AI!
image associated with this column courtesy of Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash