Don't blame AI-generated images for taking over blogs. Blame the algorithm.

A software engineer, Nelson, has some opinions about AI-generated images in blog posts:

"I have a growing hatred for AI-generated images in blogs. It makes me wonder if the text in the blog posts is AI-generated to some extent. It’s always disappointing seeing these images in blogs run by individuals. I expect this from corporate blogs but not indie blogs." 

I get the frustration with AI-generated imagery on blog posts. On LinkedIn in particular, I will block people who post particularly obnoxious cartoon-like images alongside their (probably AI-generated) professional insights. 

But I think Nelson is missing the root cause of the problem. It's incentives that have led to this state of affairs, not the AI image tools.

Part of the problem is many bloggers think an image is *required* for every post. This is reinforced by algorithms which favor such posts. This, in turn, drives bloggers to the easiest/fastest sources of free images – the AI image generators in Gemini, ChatGPT, Canva, and so on.

The "featured image" in content management platforms like Wordpress is what gets shown on the index page, in shared social posts, and other contexts. And certainly, the algorithms favor such posts over pure text posts, even if the text content in the spartan post happens to be far superior.

There are other factors at play, too. 

Many bloggers are lazy, some are severely time constrained, a few are fearful of legal repercussions associated with copying images off the Internet, and a majority are creatively or technically incapable of making their own images to include on a personal blog post.  

What is Google Authorship?

This morning, I received a notification that I had joined Google Authorship (see screenshot, below). I had never heard of this service and assumed it had something to do with the three books I have authored, including one (an unofficial manual for Excel and other spreadsheet programs) that was published just last night.

It turns out it wasn't. If you look at the following screenshot, you'll notice that it mentions that I've added "Google Authorship markup":

I don't know what "Google Authorship markup" is, but suspect it's related to my heavy blogging activity over the years (including recent product sites based on Google Blogger, such as Dropbox In 30 Minutes and Google Drive And Docs In 30 Minutes) as well as the fact that I've circulated some recent posts and product pages on Google Plus.

Indeed, clicking through to the "search results" link at the bottom of the Authorship notice, I'm taken to fourteen SERPs of mostly blogs, Google Plus entries, and some YouTube videos I've created over the years. The list is not complete -- I've written more than 1,000 pieces of indexed content if Computerworld and non-Google blogs are included. But the Google Authorship collection online has a limited selection of posts that are tied to my main Google account.

Why I love Hacker News, and why I blog

I'm a regular on Hacker News. I've read the forum almost every day for the past four years, and have submitted hundreds of links and comments. I frequently tweet them on @ilamont and sometimes write about them here, but tonight I read one of the best linked essays/blog posts I have ever seen.

The title is "Don’t Call Yourself A Programmer, And Other Career Advice." It's written by Patrick McKenzie, and was posted on the blog of his small software company. He clearly has a lot of experience, and clearly spent a long time on it -- it's 5,459 words long, and beautifully written.

He's cynical about a lot of things related to careers as a software engineer. It's pointless for me to summarize his many criticisms here, but at one point he began talking about academia and asking why software engineers should not bother. He writes:

If you really like the atmosphere at universities, that is cool. Put a backpack on and you can walk into any building at any university in the United States any time you want. Backpacks are a lot cheaper than working in academia. You can lead the life of the mind in industry, too — and enjoy less politics and better pay. You can even get published in journals, if that floats your boat. (After you've escaped the mind-warping miasma of academia, you might rightfully question whether Published In A Journal is really personally or societally significant as opposed to close approximations like Wrote A Blog Post And Showed It To Smart People.)

Whatever you think about the value of advanced degrees, his point about academic publishing is valid. Putting aside the old-fashioned formats, conventions, and editing processes for academic journals and other forms of academic literature (books, monographs, etc.), the audience for most academic literature consists of professors, researchers, students and other scholars. There may be great ideas in these papers, but most will never make it outside of the journal audience. A few will be cited in someone else's research, and in some fields practical applications or learnings may eventually make it to market. But most findings will disappear into a hole, seen only by a few scholars and experts. Others who might derive value or new understanding don't even know the research exists.

These days, the most fertile grounds for new ideas and discussions is on the 'Net, specifically in blogs and forums. Yes, the conversations are not vetted or filtered in the same way as peer-reviewed academic discussions or a book, but it's open. Anyone with a Web browser can participate, regardless of their  academic affiliation or credentials. As a result, the conversations and iteration around new ideas moves much faster and ultimately creates more value for everyone.

Learn how to write: One word you need to know

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I have a one-word piece of advice for anyone who wants to learn how to write:

Blog.

Don't worry about which software to use, how to customize your template, or how to promote your thoughts. Just find a service that lets you start writing right away, and then start writing about what interests you or inspires you.

If you feel intimidated by formatting or structure, a trick that works well is pretend you are writing an email to a friend, explaining to that friend something that he or she may not understand very well. Real friends or strangers may start to read your posts. How do they respond to your presentation of facts, observations, and arguments? Use the feedback to tweak your approach.

Your organization and "voice" may seem awkward at first, but regular practice -- every day, if you can manage -- will help you develop your skills. After 100 hours you'll notice a big improvement. After 1000 hours, you will be well on your way to being a master.