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This is my bi-weekly “newsletter” delivered straight to your inbox with at least one guaranteed typo I’ll catch after hitting send! If email collectors’ items aren’t your thing, don’t hesitate to switch to the RSS feed or just bookmark loudpoet.com and check in now and then. You do you!

NOTE: I celebrated another birthday last weekend, which as an adult means Summer is basically over and work conversations about things happening in 2026 will become the norm. Hopefully it also means the Mets are about to go on a run and not make me feel stupid about all of the Mets gear I got as gifts! -_-

_ONE

you do not have to use generative ai “art” in your blogs because there are websites where you can get real, nice images for free | jenn schiffer

too many people are doing a great disservice to their writing by garnishing it with generative-ai (artificial intelligence) – ethics and values aside (lol), it looks tacky and it cheapens the words around it.

I’ve seen too many writers (and even some publishers) openly disparage using AI tools for any kind of writing while simultaneously using AI-generated images to embellish their own writing and marketing and social feeds. It’s not just an insult to fellow creatives, it’s also hypocritical.

There are a variety of sources for free images that don’t involve doing unto others what you don’t want done unto (?) you, along with free tools to edit them as desired without any “AI” nonsense, and schiffer helpfully identifies a bunch of them. (I mainly use Unsplash and the confusingly named Paint.NET, along with a small collection of memes I’ve saved over the years, before “AI” ruined everything.)

You won’t ever see me (knowingly) using or sharing any AI-generated images, not even for memes or dunks, and it’s gotten to the point where I avoid certain visual styles that look too similar to the generic crap these AI tools are creating unless I’m 100% sure where they came from.

Don’t be a hypocrite. And definitely don’t whine when someone calls you out on it, because bullying promptfondlers and botlickers is a socially acceptable, and required, practice now. (see the next entry)

PS: With schiffer’s permission, I’ve borrowed a great quote and added it to my own site’s Fine Print sidebar: “By copying or scraping my site without my enthusiastic consent, you consent to me beating you and your ai’s ass.”

__TWO

Disney fears public backlash, copyright issues over AI ‘Moana’, ‘Tron’ | David Gerard

Now that’s really good news — they’re worried about the backlash against AI. You know what this means, right? Bullying the promptfondlers works! Bullying the corporations works! Bully them harder!

The notoriously litigious Disney is simultaneously suing Midjourney — one of biggest enablers of visual AI Slop — for copyright violation, while also wanting to use similar AI tools to cut corners in film production themselves. (As if so many of their recent releases weren’t already suffering from a lack of heart and soul.)

Despite what AI pundits (and some Disney execs) claim, there’s still nothing inevitable about the “pivot to AI” and potential consumer backlash is a minefield every company (and lazy individuals) will have to carefully navigate while deciding when and where to shove it down our collective throats.

Relentlessly bully the promptfondlers, botlickers, et al, and reject AI Slop everywhere you see it!

___THREE

AI Strategies for Book Publishing Companies | Thad McIlroy

Before you move forward with specific AI initiatives, you need to get your “digital house” in order.

I’ve frequently (and publicly) disagreed with McIlroy about his enthusiastic approach to “AI in publishing” advocacy, but credit where due, this long list of tips for publishers to consider before jumping in is a worthwhile read — for advocates and skeptics alike.

Ironically, most publishers of notable size and/or opportunity shouldn’t have to read beyond his first three points to realize there’s absolutely nothing inevitable about AI’s useful impact on book publishing, and the hype can be comfortably ignored for another year or two while startups, dilettantes, and pundits with nothing to lose continue to experiment with the various tools still desperately searching for scalable use cases beyond producing… you guessed it, more AI Slop.

McIlroy’s list could have used a professional editor, too, because it drifts between relatively pragmatic tips to prescriptive editorializing where his own pro-AI bias slips through, ignoring the well-established limitations of the technology.  “AI Use Detection, Plagiarism Detection and Fact-checking” is a particularly embarrassing entry, and I vehemently disagree with “AI for Sales and Marketing” being a priority because there’s little to no data to support his hot take in the world of book publishing.

Of course, if you think using ChatGPT to overcome your lack of Excel skills is more than a clever parlor trick; or using obviously AI-generated images to promote backlist you’ve ignored based on metadata you’ve ignored in social channels that are already being flooded with AI Slop will drive meaningful ROI — your mileage may vary.

____FOUR

Substack’s extremist ecosystem is flourishing | Marisa Kabas & Jonathan Katz

This situation has only metastasized since major media last took notice, even as prominent journalists and politicians make headlines for moving their personal brands to Substack, and the company secures $100 million in new funding on a $1.1 billion valuation. With its increased power, Substack’s influence in media and political circles continues to grow. And that growing influence brings with it greater potential for harm that is already bleeding over to even more established forms of media.

This dropped the same day as my last newsletter, otherwise I’d have included it there, and it remains a must-read two weeks later.

At this point, if you’re still using Substack, you’re like the Republicans who claim Trump doesn’t represent them while continuing to vote for and support Republican policies. The Nazis didn’t take over YOUR bar, you’re now voluntarily hanging with the Nazis in THEIR bar.

#cmonson

_____FIVE

Why Do Adults Read Comics in Japan? How Pioneering Weekly Magazines Transformed the Image of Manga | Nakano Haruyuki

Manga today are popular with readers of all ages in Japan owing to the efforts of publishers in the postwar years, who in a bid to keep the baby boom generation as fans, expanded the possibilities of what comics could do and transformed the media landscape.

Growing up in the latter years of the Comics Code and the birth of the Direct Market, my comics experience was dominated by superhero stories mainly written for teenaged boys. Over the years, some of those stories got more mature and darker, but superheroes and boys were still their primary audience. Meanwhile comics strips in newspapers were effectively a completely different medium for a completely different audience.

I, of course, devoured both!

Comics in Japan followed a very different path than here in the US, and Haruyuki does a nice job of condensing that history in this short but insightful read. It also reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a comics publisher who believes there’s a potential market for a print comics magazine in the US, similar to what the Japanese have enjoyed for decades. While I’d love to agree with him, I reluctantly think that ship may have finally sailed?

I didn’t get into manga until a few years ago and was only vaguely aware of it when I got back into comics as an adult in the early 2000s. My comics/manga mix is roughly 50/50 now, but none of it involves superheroes. I wonder if I’d be a different person if I’d grown up reading manga instead of Marvel and DC’s offerings — especially Batman, probably the most influential character during my formative years?

______BONUS

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