In the early 2000s, when blogging initially gained prominence, it offered a means to convey intricate ideas to a broad audience. However, more than two decades later, there’s potential for a reinvention of this concept. Kobie Fuller, a general partner at Upfront Ventures, envisions a way to modernize blogging by harnessing the interactive potential of generative AI.
Fuller’s concept revolves around transforming a traditional blog post into a compact micro-topic that users can explore through interaction with a chatbot. He explained, “Thanks to the capabilities of AI, we can convert a standard long-form post into various formats by creating a sophisticated micro AI conversation that can adapt to user queries.” These formats could include text-based conversational interfaces or AI-simulated podcasts with AI interviewers posing questions to AI experts. Fuller has introduced a platform called Kobie.ai to showcase the possibilities of this idea, acknowledging that it remains in the experimental phase, with much to be learned about this new format.
To kickstart the process, Fuller took a blog post he authored for TechCrunch in 2014, focusing on how emotions drive marketing, and fed it through GPT-4 with a specific prompt. He used a chatbot to introduce interactivity. “I added a complex prompt on top of the original content as the exclusive source of information for the AI micro conversation,” he explained.
This initial prompt serves a dual purpose. It creates an AI persona for the blog post writer and structures the conversation, ensuring it covers designated topics and avoids others. Fuller has set strict boundaries to keep the conversation on track and even includes a multiple-choice quiz after the interaction to confirm the user’s comprehension of the topic.
Fuller has also explored a podcast format, generated with GPT-4, his voice, and the voices of a few actual podcast hosts. The result is an automated podcast. While the voices may sound robotic at this stage, it offers another means of engaging with the same source content in a different manner.
Fuller acknowledges that this is more of a personal experiment than a business venture for now. To transform original content into interactive sessions or podcasts on a larger scale, he would need to simplify the process. Nonetheless, he is currently experimenting with AI to gain a better understanding of the technology, especially in relation to startups in this field.
While the concept of reimagining blog posts is intriguing, it doesn’t negate the necessity of traditional long-form content. Instead, it presents it in novel ways, leveraging the capabilities of generative AI. It will be fascinating to see if these experiments in content formats eventually evolve into businesses supported by individuals like Fuller and his firm.
