31–40 of 69 posts
Single page: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/business/computer-generate...
[1] http://globalmoxie.com/blog/page-one-safari-chrome-extension...
What this article doesn't tell you is that the human who wrote it works for Narrative Science. For those who don't know, if you see a story in your local paper, and it doesn't involve a car crash, crime, weather, or sports, it was probably placed there by a PR representative. Most of the things you read are not the result of random reporters deciding to cover X or Y, but a paid, concerted effort to place story X or Y…
I was wondering why a newspaper would so positively cover a company trying to outsource reporters' jobs to machines. "In Case You're Wondering, A Real PR Person Wrote This Column."
Reporters are usually liberal. And they come from a time where newspapers were profitable and could be idealistic and still make money. They could answer to a higher standard because they didn't have to worry about losing their jobs for money reasons.
As far as right now the ship is going down but they still don't view the threat.
What this article doesn't tell you is that the human who wrote it works for Narrative Science. For those who don't know, if you see a story in your local paper, and it doesn't involve a car crash, crime, weather, or sports, it was probably placed there by a PR representative. Most of the things you read are not the result of random reporters deciding to cover X or Y, but a paid, concerted effort to place story X or Y…
I have a question, though. Why don't they also create an expert system that writes PR pieces? I imagine it would be really nice tool for people in the business. You write down the variables (who, what, when)from an interview with a client in a form and you get to show him an instant first draft, you correct it together and you publish it after leaving the room.
Or even better yet, take that data and use advanced algorithms to embed mentions of clients, products and initiatives in bigger articles.
This is how a PR piece usually goes:
1. Case, problem, solution. Short story here.
2. Introduction of company
3. A Question and an Answer
4. Another look of the company, credentials.
5. This is really cool think about it. There may be a sound (text) bite here.
Do you see the patterns?
What this article doesn't tell you is that the human who wrote it works for Narrative Science. For those who don't know, if you see a story in your local paper, and it doesn't involve a car crash, crime, weather, or sports, it was probably placed there by a PR representative. Most of the things you read are not the result of random reporters deciding to cover X or Y, but a paid, concerted effort to place story X or Y…
This is true. I've been told by PR people that 80% of the content in a newspaper or a magazine is written by PR agencies. I have a question, though. Why don't they also create an expert system that writes PR pieces? I imagine it would be really nice tool for people in the business. You write down the variables (who, what, when)from an interview with a client in a form and you get to show him an instant first draft, y…
It's cheaper and easier to just use the endless supply of interns.
What this article doesn't tell you is that the human who wrote it works for Narrative Science. For those who don't know, if you see a story in your local paper, and it doesn't involve a car crash, crime, weather, or sports, it was probably placed there by a PR representative. Most of the things you read are not the result of random reporters deciding to cover X or Y, but a paid, concerted effort to place story X or Y…
Last fall, the Big Ten Network began using Narrative Science for updates of football and basketball games. Those reports helped drive a surge in referrals to the Web site from Google’s search algorithm, which highly ranks new content on popular subjects, Mr. Calderon says. The network’s Web traffic for football games last season was 40 percent higher than in 2009.
This planted PR piece uses a bit of customer data to demonstrate that the technology makes great business sense. So far so good. This particular piece of data, though, will be read as "Markov chains creating content to spam up the search results" by folks inside the Googleplex, and it makes them look stupid. Don't make Google look stupid. If you do make Google look stupid, don't brag about it in the NYT. It will not end well.
If a computer had written this article, maybe it would have mentioned how useful this technology is for spammers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is true. I've been told by PR people that 80% of the content in a newspaper or a magazine is written by PR agencies. I have a question, though. Why don't they also create an expert system that writes PR pieces? I imagine it would be really nice tool for people in the business. You write down the variables (who, what, when)from an interview with a client in a form and you get to show him an instant first draft, y…
Why don't they also create an expert system that writes PR pieces? It's cheaper and easier to just use the endless supply of interns.
Although there are hidden costs even behind unpaid labor. Office space, HR costs (hiring isn't easy), training, etc, etc.
What this article doesn't tell you is that the human who wrote it works for Narrative Science. For those who don't know, if you see a story in your local paper, and it doesn't involve a car crash, crime, weather, or sports, it was probably placed there by a PR representative. Most of the things you read are not the result of random reporters deciding to cover X or Y, but a paid, concerted effort to place story X or Y…
Exactly right. Quick bit of advice for startups here: Last fall, the Big Ten Network began using Narrative Science for updates of football and basketball games. Those reports helped drive a surge in referrals to the Web site from Google’s search algorithm, which highly ranks new content on popular subjects, Mr. Calderon says. The network’s Web traffic for football games last season was 40 percent higher than in 2009.…
What this article doesn't tell you is that the human who wrote it works for Narrative Science. For those who don't know, if you see a story in your local paper, and it doesn't involve a car crash, crime, weather, or sports, it was probably placed there by a PR representative. Most of the things you read are not the result of random reporters deciding to cover X or Y, but a paid, concerted effort to place story X or Y…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why don't they also create an expert system that writes PR pieces? It's cheaper and easier to just use the endless supply of interns.
Unpaid interns? Ouch. I didn't think of that. Although there are hidden costs even behind unpaid labor. Office space, HR costs (hiring isn't easy), training, etc, etc.