The Power of a Personal Brand

Hey everyone,

Welcome to your Sunday Space, where I distil the best ideas, resources and principles on the internet for you to mull over.

If you find something thought-provoking, feel free to share it with a friend.

IDEAS
The Power of a Personal Brand

I’ve been thinking a lot about distribution lately. Particularly for the most effective way to get the word out about my own products.

No matter what I brainstorm, from clever tactics or inventive channels, my train of thought keeps bringing me back to the one lever more powerful than any other: the personal brand.

I know, I know — “personal brand” as a cultural term is cringey AF, no thanks to self-help gurus.

But hear me out.

Having an audience built around yourself is the ultimate distribution channel.

Period.

I don’t need to justify it with facts or figures; there are tons of real-world examples.

Whether it’s Zuck punting the Quest Pro on his Instagram and getting millions of views.

Or James Clear attracting 250,000 downloads of his new habits app within 48 hours via his email newsletter.

There is no beating founders who distribute directly to their audiences.

However, the Catch-22 with building an audience around yourself is that:

1. It’s f*cking hard.

2. It takes a long time.

But once you have it, that distribution channel will be your most valuable asset.

RESOURCES
What I consumed this week…

…From around the web

Reddit in AI content licensing deal with Google, ahead of IPO

I’ve spoken about this a few times before, but it’s worth mentioning again:

Data is the fuel that powers AI systems. The AI systems trained on the best fuel will win. Therefore, the AI companies with the best proprietary data sources will be able to train the best models.

Reddit is considered by many to be one of (if not) the most rich data source on the internet, given its deep library of user generated content covering basically every topic relevant to humanity.

Google having first dibs on Reddit’s data could be a huge boon to Gemini’s potential (besides their recent hiccups with the political leanings of the model).

But, since it’s unclear whether the deal is exclusive and with the revelation from the next headline, Google may not be the only AI company getting in on Reddit’s treasure trove of data.

Sam Altman Listed as Major Reddit Shareholder in IPO Filing 

Reddit’s S-1 filing indicates that affiliates associated with Altman collectively hold 8.7% of Reddit’s stock.

This is not significant merely from the potential financial gain on Reddit’s IPO, but this could be how OpenAI gets a hold of Reddit’s data for training the next versions of GPT.

Again, it seems that Sam Altman has pulled off a master stroke on the sly, having had this investment for years already.

When it comes to this AI game we’re seeing unfold, Altman constantly seems to be ten steps ahead of everyone else.

Tumblr and WordPress to Sell Users’ Data to Train AI Tools

Evidently, Reddit is not the only data-rich platform looking to cut deals with AI companies.

Where there is proprietary data, it’s almost guaranteed that AI companies (OpenAI and Midjourney, in this case) will be circling like hawks.

While this trend is inevitable, data companies have a problem with handling access to user data. Naturally, there are privacy concerns.

Tumblr’s owner for instance plans to introduce a new setting that would allow users to opt-out of data sharing with third parties, including AI companies.

This comes in the wake of a reported data dump where private user data was exposed without consent.

I’m interested to know, would you be happy with AI companies using your data to train their models? Let me know below, or hit reply to the email.

…From X

…From YouTube

Skip ahead to 40:16 for a fascinating segment on the AI licensing deals we’ve talked about above.

TOOLS
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THOUGHTS
Quote I’m Pondering

Because I’m seeing Dune: Part Two in IMAX today.

“Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear’s path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

— Lady Jessica, Dune (By Frank Herbert)

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Thanks for reading,

— Luca

P.S. Bitcoin’s price is soaring.