Don't Set Yourself Up To Fail!
I am not writing this blog post to be negative; it’s really because I want to see members succeed! I don’t know how many of you use Google Alerts, but I do use the alerts and find them very helpful. You can set an alert for any subject you require, even your name. They are also useful if you want to see when a particular post is indexed, provided you have an alert set up for that subject.
Dale from Wealthy Affiliate has a very short training video on Google alerts and backlinks. You can see the training video below.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/dale123/blog/using-google-alerts-to-get-backlinks
Now, coming back to the subject of not setting yourself up to fail. One of my Google alerts is set up for “Wealthy Affiliate Reviews” This is not an alert that I really study. However, the other day, I did look, and I was amazed at how many members are using AI to create content. The fact that your post has been indexed on Google doesn’t mean that it will rank highly; in fact, I can almost guarantee that you are wasting your time if you are using total AI content.
As many of you know, I have many reservations about the use of AI. However, through going through some of the AI training on the platform, I have changed my mind that AI can be a helpful assistant, but not to fully create content. As Kyle wrote in one of his comments back to me, “And yes, we will continue to teach AI properly. We are living in an AI-assisted world, not created one.” Very wise words from Kyle, I believe!
The idea of writing content is to share our knowledge on a particular subject. This is why it’s so important to find a niche that you have a passion for, as we can write very freely when we have knowledge of our niche.
When I see a Wealthy Affiliate review post that have words like “ecosystems”, that is absolute fluff and nonsense!
I’m not sure that Wealthy Affiliate is an “ecosystem”; however, AI loves to refer to everything as an ecosystem, it’s a word I see a lot! It’s so important to write from the heart and to share our genuine knowledge. Even if we are very new to writing blog posts, we are better off saying that we are in the learning process, but we are growing rapidly due to the excellent training at Wealthy Affiliate. I believe that honesty and being real pays off in the long run.
Then I see words like “delve”, “given the pin”, “in today’s digital age”, “treasure trove”, “let’s explore”, etc. I haven’t fully quoted the full sentences as I want to protect the writers. But it’s so blatantly obvious that it's AI content!
I think we all know that we can potentially create content really quickly with AI, but the problem is it really lacks originality. Most people want to hear something that’s the truth not just something that’s been regurgitated, which is really what AI content is.
We have also to remember that AI can be very inaccurate, and it’s easy for content to be interpreted wrongly. We are not careful; these mistakes can quickly damage our credibility and reputation.
The other fact is that AI content is very impersonal; it lacks depth and genuine human experience. Don’t forget to remember that AI is a helper rather than a replacement.
I know many people come to Wealthy Affiliate with very high expectations and potentially work very hard. I believe that if you continue to use AI-created content, your hard work will sadly be in vain. By all means use AI as a helper, but remember Kyle’s words; “And yes, we will continue to teach AI properly. We are living in an AI-assisted world, not created one.
Thank you for reading.
Roy
Recent Comments
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Technically WA is an ecosystem because all an ecosystem is, is a posh word for environment. However, as you quite rightly point out Roy to use that word in a review of a teaching platform is nonsense. I use AI a lot but the results are only as good as the prompts you input, and for newbies to write any review with AI is a farce
Thank you for your reply, Catherine. I trust all is well with you.
I must admit I didn't know that! I always think of an ecosystem as perhaps something that runs off the sun or something in a highly modern insulated house.
I think you know how to use AI properly and use the right prompts, Catherine, which makes a huge difference.
Have a great day.
Roy
Good evening Roy, I hope that all is well?
AI as an assistant can complete so many tasks in minutes (when prompted correctly) which would take me hours or days to do by myself!
But.... that is all it should be, an assistant (and a damn good one at that)!!!
We always need to check the info, check again as it does make mistakes and make our work our own!!
Those who rely upon AI 100% to do everything won't get very far I believe (in most cases anyway)!
Enjoy the rest of your evening my friend and have a great week ahead!! :-)
Thank you for your reply, Nick, it's appreciated. And thank you, all is well on this end!
I find it absolutely amazing the speed at AI can work at, it's incredible, so I know where you're coming from!
It certainly can be a good assistant and a great time saver.
There are some instances when AI can write reasonably. However, if I asked AI to write something a bit technical or something that's not really popular, it's not clever!
This is the bad bit, Nick. Those who are relying on AI 100% are going to be greatly disappointed in the long term and realistically, their time will have been wasted. Hence, the title of my blog post!
You have a great week to, Nick.
Roy
Great news to hear Roy!
And, as an assistant, AI is fantastic! Obviously, it is still in the very early stages though.... so let's see what the future holds my friend! :-)
Thank you, Nick.
Yes, it will be interesting to see how AI grows; I just hope AI grows in a commonsense way.
Thank you for your input and enjoy the rest of your day.
Roy
As do I Roy, but... there will always be those out there intent on using it for, well.... let's just say, not good intentions...
Enjoy the rest of your week my friend, it's a public holiday here today!! ;-)
That's so very true, Nick! I understand where you're coming from.
I didn't know that, Nick. I believe you are in the US. What does the public holiday represent? We have a public holiday this coming Monday, which is a European bank holiday.
Have a fantastic day.
Roy
In the US Roy??
I'm an Englishman who has been living in France for the last decade!!
The first of May is always a holiday here, something to do with workers day... everything is shut, even the public transport doesn't run!
I'm pretty sure that the upcoming bank holiday for you on monday is just a UK thing and not European... although we do have another one here on the 8th!!
Enjoy the start of your long weekend my friend!! :-)
Good morning Nick,
Amazing! And there I was thinking that you were in the US! I just read your profile page again, which very clearly states where you are. I'm sure I have read your profile before, but must have forgotten. Maybe I can make the excuse of lots of people being on the Wealthy Affiliate platform!
A very good friend of mine and his family have a place about 60 miles south of Bordeaux, I went there with him about five years ago. I'm still in shock at how good the roads are there, they're absolutely brilliant and so quiet. When we came back to the UK at night, there was literally hardly any traffic on the motorways. It was very different when we crossed the channel into the UK!
I must admit that I very much enjoyed my French trip, it was nice viewing the scenery as we drove. It was 721 miles from my house, which is on the Essex/Suffolk border. France was nice, but I still prefer Greece, which is where my wife comes from. It is fascinating to visit different parts of the world.
I don't think we used to have the May Day bank holiday here originally, Nick. I believe it may have happened when we joined the EU or soon after.
Have a great weekend.
Roy
Hahaha! No worries Roy and that is a pretty solid excuse!
Bordeaux is a great area and you're not wrong about the roads here, but.. we do pay for them!
I drive down to Spain a couple of times a year for holidays and just in France it costs about 60 euros each way in tolls!
I also prefer Greece to here, but here I am due to the wife's work!
I always remember the May day bank holiday but I was born in 1980 and apparently it came into effect in 1978!!
Have a great weekend as well my friend! :-)
Thank you for accepting my excuse, Nick! I do like to try and read members profiles, but it's difficult to remember where everyone comes from. I guess most members are from the US.
The roads really are amazing, Nick and so quiet. Providing the money spent is put back into the roads, then sometimes I think we may be better off paying for them, but I could be wrong. Here in the UK, we have lots of potholes at the moment, which are not being repaired or are very slowly being repaired.
I don't know how many miles that would be to Spain from where you are, Nick. I don't think Spain was that far from where my friend's house is. I know of a few people who drive from the UK to Spain rather than flying, it must be quite a long drive.
I understand, Nick, but providing you are not in a large city, France is probably quite a good place to be. I would like to spend more time in Greece in the near future.
I didn't realise it was that long ago since the May Day bank holiday came into being. I was still at school then! I left school at 16 in 1981, it only seems like yesterday! Unbelievable! But it was probably the best day of my life when I left school!
Enjoy your Sunday.
Roy
Excuse my late reply here Roy, I wasn't well for a few days but much better now and playing catch up!!
I guess most members are America as well, but it amazes how many different countries from around the world are represented here!
The roads are pretty good and can be quiet when it's not holiday season but I have been stuck in a few traffic jams for hours upon end when travelling south in July or August I can tell you!
You need to remember the populations of France and England are pretty similar, but France is three times bigger!
It's around 450 miles from Lyon to Spain and it is quite a big city, the locals here say it's France's second city, but the locals in Marseille say different!!
They are both about the same size...
Time certainly flies when we are having fun!!
Enjoy the rest of your week my friend! :-)
I'm glad you're feeling better, Nick, that's good news! There's no problem with late replies, sometimes it's not possible to reply to messages and comments continually.
That's very true, there are many people on the platform from different parts of the world! It's amazing how the Internet has made the world much smaller.
That's interesting to hear, Nick, as I was really highly impressed with the French roads. However, I guess in July and August, France is a very popular holiday destination.
I hear you, here in the UK we are quite a small island, compared with places like France.
I always thought that Bordeaux was the second largest city in France, Nick? His a bit of useless information for you, 611 miles away from where I live! I'm sure France is a very nice place to live, although I don't think I would want to live in Paris.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
Roy
Much appreciated Roy, still not 100%, but getting there!
France is definitely a popular tourist destination in the summer months and we also get a lot of traffic from people in Belgium, Netherlands and Germany heading down to Spain at that time!
I believe Bordeaux is only the 6th or 7th largest city here though...
611 miles away, just a quick trip down the road!!
The problem is the time it takes to cross on the ferry... it's less an hour but one can easily lose 4 by the time it takes to get on and off!!
I wouldn't want to live in Paris either.... way too big for me, just like London!
Being from a small village in North Devon with a population of around 1000, when I moved to Sao Paulo with a population of around 21 million, it was quite a shock!
Been there and done that!!
Enjoy what is left of your week as well my friend!! :-)
I'm glad that you are improving, Nick! By the time you read this I hope that you will be 100% fit!
I must admit I hadn't thought about the traffic driving to Spain, but it makes a lot of sense to be able to drive to warmer climates.
That's interesting, I didn't know that we never stop learning! My geography needs to improve!
When my friend drives down to France which is around 720 miles or so, he actually quite enjoys the journey, which he often does on his own. I think I would find it a bit daunting to set off on my own! I have often thought about driving to Greece, but it's a long way by road and so quick on the plane.
I hear you about crossing the channel, I think my friend normally uses the rail link. However, we did have to wait some time when we returned to the crossing, which is much fun when you want to get home!
Being a country lad, I'm not a great fan of those big cities; they are okay to visit but not to live! I went to Paris about 4 years ago, surprisingly enough, the French were on strike, so we couldn't do that much. I must admit I wasn't very impressed with the area we stayed at.
That must've been a huge shock, Nick moving from North Devon to a large city! I know exactly where you're coming from. Devon is a lovely area, although I guess it gets very busy this time of year.
Have a fantastic weekend.
Roy
Cheers Roy and the learning never stops!
My friend and I drove to Greece... pretty much exactly 20 years ago now when the Olympics were there, but we took our time and did most of Eastern Europe as well!
At the end of the trip about a year later we settled in Gibraltar!!
There's nothing surprising about the French being on strike though!!
You too my friend! :-)
That's 100% true, Nick!
What a fantastic experience, Nick. Did you drive from the UK? If I look at this a map, it looks easier to drive through the Balkans; however, many people seem to go down to Italy and then get the ferry across to Greece. I have no idea what the roads would be like driving through the Balkans or how safe they are.
It sounds like you had good fun and I am sure Gibraltar is a nice place to settle!
That's what I thought about the French being on strike.
Have a fantastic Sunday.
Roy
Yep, we drove from the UK Roy!
My friend and I had a plan to drive to Russia, so we quit our jobs and set off in our Volkswagen LT35 van!
We also thought Russia was part of the EU, but when we got to the border they demanded a Visa...
So I flashed my visa credit card at the friendly looking guard carrying a Kalashnikov...
Needless to say, they didn't let us in, so we meandered our way down to Greece instead!
Some of the roads and countries were certainly a bit dodgy, but it was a great adventure!
Gibraltar was nice as one could earn English pounds but spend them in Southern Spain!!
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday buddy! :-)
I rewrite my AI pieces, usually taking one outline section at a time and rewriting after each section. I especially don't like how informal the AI author is, even the professional author, and I remove most of the wording it uses because it just sounds so corny. The thing I like AI for, other than artwork, is making tables or comparison charts. It is much easier and does a good job, especially since it builds off the information I have written.
Nancy
Thank you for your comment, Nancy.
It sounds like you are using AI correctly, and I know that we are all learning and there is a learning curve. AI seems to have that very distinctive tone to it, I guess it'll get better as time improves!
I must admit that I haven't tried comparison charts or tables, etc, but I have heard that it's brilliant for that. I don't know how complicated or straightforward it is to create tables and comparison charts, Nancy. That sounds really helpful.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Roy
Thanks Roy. I've become overly dependent on AI. I know what you mean about how blatant AI content is. The one that makes me want to gag is "choose something that resonates with you".
AI is kind of like junk food. We gotta eat, but it's better to take the time to eat right. However, too often, people reach for the first thing they can find, regardless of how unhealthy it is.
I think I better slow down on the use of AI. I wonder if there's a 12-step program for recovering AI addicts. :-)
Bob
Thank you for your reply, Robert, it's appreciated.
I think AI is very easy to become dependent on; it's definitely a very useful helper! It's funny how AI has its favourite gags, "let's delve into this eco-friendly, diverse piece of content"! I even see people speaking like AI now!
That's a great way of putting it on, Robert! I hadn't thought of AI as junk food, but I know where you're coming from 100%!
A 12-step program to recover from AI may benefit many of us!
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Roy
I agree 100% with your post!
I just read last night that a highly revered scientist was going through papers written in the past 15 years compared to the ones from prior years to AI. His findings were astonishing.
To see that top scientists have copied and pasted from AI was eye-opening and made me lose a bit of faith. He came across one statement that excused the lack of human engagement due to being AI and not being able to perform real-time predictions for the situation. I forget what the exact article he was calling out for finding this in, but it snapped my attention to over using AI and being irresponsible with it.
Stacie
Thank you, Stacie, I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.
That's very interesting about the scientist, in some ways, I'm not surprised! AI can be such a brilliant helper, but it needs to be used with care. I'm very thankful that we have excellent training here on how to use AI in the right manner.
I think my biggest fear with AI was the fact that, over time, we would be fed a load of AI fluff. The fact is, we all want to read something that is genuine and real, not generated by a machine. I hope Google finds a great way to remove this type of content, I believe they are in the case.
Have a great day.
Roy
I could see this coming a mile away, Roy.
It started years ago, with the first TV remote control, instead of walking over to change the channel yourself.
Then the internet, instead of you looking up information by reading a book or researching.
Uber Eats, instead of taking the time to fix a healthy meal or drive yourself to the store.
The Meta-verse, which they're trying to push, instead of physically stepping outside your home and making things happen.
And now? Just sit back and use A.I., instead of taking the time to do your own research, write your own content, or even have an original thought.
It's like we're looking for shortcuts instead of putting in the effort to do any work ourselves.
Just my two cents, Roy!
Isaiah 😊
Sadly, society is being "dumbed down." It is so apparent and dangerous. This is why we see the world spiraling out of control. It would be very bad if we stopped interacting with each other and our surroundings, which is what we are doing.
Nancy
Good morning Isaiah,
I appreciate you taking the time to comment and read my blog post, thank you.
Well, I have to say that I like your two cents, Isaiah! I hadn't quite looked at it like that, but that's a good way of looking at it!
It's good to have things in life to make things easier, but of course, there is a balance! For example, I don't enjoy retail therapy, so it's great to be able to order our groceries and other things online!
However, I do believe that we are created to work and to do good things. So when we write, we need to write from the heart and be truthful and genuine in what we are writing!
Wishing you a fantastic Tuesday.
Roy
Thanks Roy!
Of course, as you said - there is a balance. I also enjoy my fair share of ordering items online, especially when I can find a good deal too!
Have a great Tuesday!
I agree with you 100%. AI should be used as a helper to us in writing our content. If we are passionate about our niche, we should have no problem coming up with ideas to write about our content. Thank you!
Good morning Gary,
I appreciate your input; thank you very much.
AI can be a great helper, but as Wealthy Affiliate teaches us, it has to be used in the right way.
When we have a passion for something, as you rightly say, our words should flow easily.
Wishing you a very happy Tuesday.
Roy
Thank you, Gary, I appreciate that.
There are some fantastic people on Wealthy Affiliate and the training is absolutely first class.
I wish you all the best.
Roy
Sadly we can only do so much with Al except to teach Al properly as it is in training. Luckily it can still help with all the little things though.
I appreciate your insights on this, Roy.
Myra ♥️
Thank you for your input, Myra, it's appreciated.
I agree with you, Myra, AI can be a great helper, but we just need to use it thoughtfully and carefully.
Have a fantastic day.
Roy
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As a newbie to writing and WA, I was intrigued when I first used AI. However, I quickly recognized that the way it "wrote" in no way sounded like me. I then just started picking out pieces and the gist of what it was writing and then designed my own as much as I could. Only time will tell if that's the best way to do this. I'm still learning!!
Thank you for commenting, Joyce, it's appreciated.
AI can definitely be a helper, but we need to take care on how we use it. Thankfully, the Wealthy Affiliate training explains how to use AI properly. What it can do is amazing, but as you have rightly found out, we need to add our own uniqueness to AI.
The great thing is Joyce, is that the Wealthy Affiliate training is 100% genuine; there are also some great people on the platform whom we can communicate with and learn so much from.
Wishing you all the best in every success.
Roy
Thank you Roy!