Terms

"I have a family business which has a structure that depends on communities flourishing, because it's open source software," the founder says. Therefore, he wished to establish a private Discord community, with access to content on WordPress and that's the platform where his very first project in media, virtualization.info was hosted, this would enable him to "recycle 20 years of experience".

He chose to go with WordPress, not just because of his knowledge however, but due to the flexibility of the platform. "There are a number of reasons that 43 percent of all websites around the globe utilize WordPress," he adds. The maturity of the plugin community means that what you can accomplish with WordPress is amazing, and it's in less time than using other tools."

Never compromise on branding is essential.

Alessandro continues: "Many newsletter and blogging platforms offer little freedom in the creation of a brand. They combine the design and feel of the site, so everyone does exactly the same. It is possible to customize the theme slightly and add your logo, but these are minimal customizations.

"Every newsletter or blog appears identical. This isn't working for me. As I often advise on social media, don't sacrifice the option that is right for you. You shouldn't be compromising on doing the best work that you are able to do in order to tick a box. Making compromises on your work is one thing which can cost you time and again the years."

A screengrab from the original virtualization.info website

"I have created a brand users remember from 20 years ago. They still talk to me about. I need to have complete liberty and freedom to design and shape every single pixel of this website so that it is enforcing my personal brand. I'd like to build my own brand, not other publishing brands."

Becoming valuable: niche and voice

"Two essential things to consider when you try to create an online publication," Alessandro continues. "The primary one is to identify your market. This is easy to state, but difficult to accomplish!" he laughs.

He says that there's not any value in having an additional person covering the same subject matter in the same way as others from the same angle. "You could cover similar issues, it may be politics, cooking or crochet, squash, or whatever you like however you must be able to see things from a different angle. That is the essence of your niche: the way you look at things is unique."

The author explains the concept of Synthetic Work is looking at AI in a non-technical way and the impact it has on economics, employment, and the society. "If you are looking at cooking for instance it could be the field where your view is about the science of it. This is something rarely discussed or even how at the most fundamental level of chemical, why something tastes good.

Then the second thing is to discover your voice. "Human is a creature that learns by imitating our surroundings. We say, "Wow, I like the way this person writes' and then you attempt to imitate that, which is great as it allows you to learn as fast as you can. Then you have to reach a stage where you develop your own voice, which is scary!"

It's not easy to think people might not like the way you look at the world or write about it, but that's the only way to distinguish yourself from others. "If you have the same style or similar approach to everyone who else, you'll disappear quickly."

He goes on to say: "People don't read for content. It may seem counterintuitive but they read because they believe in them: they're fascinated by you as a person which then translates to what you have to communicate." He encourages people to ensure that their character comes out in the voice they use when you talk about what you do.

Alessandro on stage at OpenStack community gathering on the outskirts of Silicon Valley

Alessandro mentions that he's seen this phenomenon for more than 20 years, and is still observing it every day. For example I was reading a manual for those who want to pursue a PhD, that was written by one the cofounders of OpenAI. It is not related to artificial intelligence; it is an old post that was written by him years ago. In this article He suggests going to conferences. He says to look not so much at the schedule and more at the speakers. Try to go for those you have admired and know or have heard of who are good - regardless of the fact that what they're presenting is not aligned with what you've researched."

Alessandro describes this as a perfect example of his point: get people interested in what you do and how you talk about things. Then, what you say can almost disappear into the background. "Even even if they do not agree with what you say, they'll desire to hear what you have to say however, because they've grown to admire you and believe that they have a valuable role in their life."

More details on Synthetic Work

Learn more details Alessandro Perilli and his Synthetic Work newsletter on synthetic.work.