When I tried ChatGPT for the first time in November 2022, I was overcome by a rare but familiar feeling. It was a mixture of confusion, surprise, and fascination.
I had tried AI tools over the years. Many, many tools.
They were technically interesting. And I could maybe imagine one or two applications for them.
But they never caught on with me because they were just too bad. They were ridiculously bad!
And then ChatGPT comes along and gives detailed and sensible answers.
(Of course, I soon found out about the limitations of ChatGPT, but still…)
I compare this to the moment I visited the NASA website for the first time in 1997 and realized the potential of the Internet.
Or when I used Google in 1999 and was completely amazed that the first search result was exactly what I was looking for (the older readers will understand).
Or when I had my first iPhone as a test device in 2007 and later tried to access the Internet and add email on my personal Nokia.
My background is in journalism. I started as a local reporter and did an internship at the major German publisher Burda Media. I have been working almost exclusively online since 1999.
I have always created my own Internet projects. Together with Falk Hedemann, for example, I publish UPLOAD Magazin (German only, sorry).
As CONTENTMEISTER®, I’ve been helping companies create content that reaches, inspires, and engages their audiences since 2015.
So I’ve been around the block. I’ve been there and done that. I have 30 years of work experience! I thought nothing could surprise me anymore. But here we are.
After the Internet, I see generative AI as the second game changer in my career. I’m both excited and concerned.
Excited because I find the technology itself and its applications enormously interesting.
Concerned because the pace of progress in this area is rapid and largely unchecked. The implications, not only for my profession but for society as a whole, are difficult to assess.
That concerns me – in all meanings of this word. And when something concerns me, I have to write about it.
Smart Content Report started as a newsletter in German at UPLOAD Magazin. A few weeks later, the English version followed on LinkedIn.
In September 2024, I decided to give the newsletter a website. It now serves as a reference tool for me. I also use it to report news quickly. I no longer have to wait until a new issue of the newsletter is due!
I hope you find this site useful as a source of information. It is meant to give you an overview of the trends in this fast-paced field, the new tools, the debates.
I am a practical person. Therefore, the important questions for me are always: What can I do with it? How does it help me? How is it useful and helpful for others?
At the same time, I want to understand how something works, why something happens, where the journey is going.
If you have any questions, comments or wishes, please contact me at jan@contentmeister.com.
– Jan Tissler