You may not know this, but every week I send out a special email to members of a very exclusive club. Okay, it’s just people who sign up for our newsletter list, but they’re special to me. And in that newsletter I send out the cream of the crop from our Bureau discussions and Slack channel, featuring helpful articles and other resources so you can grow a healthy business. But if you’re not ready to get one more email a week, I also collect the top resources and share them right here every month.
Personally, I think you should sign up for our email list here. But if not, here are the top shares from our January newsletters.
AI
The artist strikes back! A brand new open-source tool is giving creatives a way to fight against AI being trained on their works to create new images. By making changes at the smallest level, this tool fools AI models into thinking it’s something else. I feel like this is the beginning of an escalating battle, but you can read all about it here.
More AI news:
Talent & Tech: Embracing Collaboration with AI for Workplace Success (Blog & video)
Outlook: AI for design & animation (Article link)
AI-created “virtual influencers” are stealing business from humans (Article link)
Big Questions
Sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day that we’re not looking at the big trends that truly affect us in the long term. And not to make anyone panic, but someone over at the Wall Street Journal asked whether this year will mark the end of the digital agency. Spoiler alert here: they’re not really talking about our work dying or being marginalized, but seeing more shops change their focus and the breadth of their work. See what you think!
More questions to take up your brain processing power:
Are Your Company Values BS? (Blog link)
Cory Doctorow: What Kind of Bubble is AI? (Blog link)
Why Should My Organization Care About Email Security? (Blog link)
Operations and Marketing
This year the new Corporate Transparency Act went into effect. And while it seems like another confusing bureaucratic nightmare to deal with, it was created to help fight financial crimes and the funding of terrorism. But for most agencies, that means you’ve got to file your report with ownership details by February 1. You can see the useful details here, courtesy of Matchstick.
More about the nuts and bolts of your business:
Build a Repeatable Revgen System For Your Digital Agency (Report link)
Resource Management vs Capacity Planning: Why You Need Both (Blog link)
Resist the temptation to Reinvent the Agency Operations Wheel (Blog link)
The New Email Deliverability Rules: How to Make Sure You Reach Your Gmail and Yahoo Subscribers (Blog link)
I hope 2024 is treating you well so far, with friends, fun, and healthy finances. Once again, you’re invited to join our private club of newsletter subscribers. But I’ll also be back here next month with the latest bunch of helpful info.