This is the story of how content might now mostly be garbage and some of what that might mean.
Yesterday while doing my morning “check-in” I was reading Jeremy Caplan’s newsletter Wonder Tools (highly recommended) where he was heaping praise on an app called “Oasis”. His effusiveness was no hyperbole. I have never seen a tool so diversely useful. If you want to take a conversation with yourself that you can turn into a blog post or a tiktok script or an outline or something apt for a five year old (and there are many more genres and identities to take on), then this is your app. I just wished it was not so pricey.
Here’s the original test transcript that Oasis generated from a short walk and talk from the house to the garden. Just talking off the dome:
It was Comfy sitting on the table that I have moved the Sanyo CD player and the ION record player to. I just recently did that.
Just walking past this beautiful map of fun that the kids did many long years ago. And of course the old Hopper painting. It messes everything.
Kind of organized messes. Out the back door, the birds everywhere. Got the tiller out here underneath the tarp, I think I’ll use it today. Might do some cleaning up of stuff in the garden, flower stuff, so that we can begin to till out here. Need to mark the asparagus.
Oh man, horseradish is really coming up now. Just a little bit of tilling, a little bit of weeding really helped. Walking through the potatoes, got these planted before St. Patty’s Day.
That’s never happened before. Past stuff that we should use. We’ve got cabbages and kale, both of which are still good.
Boy the blueberries don’t look so great. We need some more of those. A lot of work for doing this garden right now.
Elaine’s done a lot already. She’s got the tomatoes ready to go. We need to bring in some more bark mulch.
Need to get this clover out of the strawberry patch. Need to plant onions.
Yes, we need to plant onions. She’s got a wonderful new hugelkultur out here.
I did not know she wanted to do that. So we’re going to do that. Maybe today we’ll get started with that. It’s killer out here.
The apples out here are in desperate need of pruning. I don’t know what to do with them. Nor do I know what to do with this.
Where Malasita is on one end and Hendricks and Peach are on the other end. Maybe I can make this a personal project.
Walking past the original raised bed. It’s doing pretty well. I think I’ll take off the plastic or just pull it out of the way. Maybe I will get some more water. Carrots. I hear the honking of geese.
A big compost pile that is not heating up.
A TikTok script generated by Oasis:
Hey TikTok fam! So, I just moved the Sanyo CD player and the ION record player to the table, and let me tell you, it feels so comfy sitting here.
And check out this map the kids made years ago, it’s a beautiful mess just like the old Hopper painting. Kind of like organized chaos, you know?
Heading out to the garden now, and it’s a whole other kind of mess out here. The birds are everywhere, the tiller’s under a tarp, and the horseradish is really coming up!
We’ve got cabbages and kale still good, but the blueberries need some love. So much to do out here, Elaine’s been killing it with the tomatoes, and we need to plant onions and get rid of the clover in the strawberry patch.
And don’t even get me started on the apples that need pruning. It’s a lot, but I think I can make it a personal project.
So much to do, but hey, at least the compost pile isn’t heating up, right? Stay tuned for more garden adventures! #GardeningMess #CompostFail #OrganizedChaos
How about an outline?
I. Sitting on the table
A. Moved the Sanyo CD player and the ION record player
1. Just recently did thatII. Walking past the map of fun
A. Kids did it many years ago
B. Old Hopper painting messes everythingIII. Organized messes
A. Birds out the back door
B. Tiller under tarp, might use it today
C. Cleaning up garden, marking asparagus
D. Horseradish coming up
E. Tilling and weeding helped
F. Walking through potatoes
G. Past stuff we should use
H. Blueberries don’t look great
I. A lot of work for garden right now
J. Elaine’s work on tomatoes
K. Need more bark mulch
L. Clover in strawberry patch
M. Need to plant onions
N. New bugle out here
O. Apples need pruning
P. Unsure what to do with them
Q. Personal project with the raised bed
R. Taking off plastic or getting more water
S. Honking of geese
T. Big compost pile not heating up
Or what if I generate text that a five year old would understand;
I see a lot of work to do on the farm. We need to get rid of the old trailer and cut down some trees before they fall. We also need to take care of the grape vines and see if there are any hops left. There’s also stuff to do in the field and the garden is a big mess.
Ummmmm….this is way more interesting and useful than I thought it might be. This is not mindless content production. At its core rests my voice. Different formats arise from Oasis prompts but that voice, my voice as I walk through the garden and observe and note, is at the center. And you can see that each of these “drafts” feel just that way–drafty, but they are not zero drafts. Well, some of them are. Take as an example, the elevator pitch it created, seemingly out of whole cloth. I only see the vaguest echo of my voice here:
Introducing our new startup, Garden Genius! We’ve created a revolutionary gardening tool that takes the guesswork out of maintaining a beautiful and productive garden. With our innovative technology, you can easily track and manage all aspects of your garden, from planting and pruning to weeding and harvesting. Say goodbye to the hassle of maintaining a garden and hello to a thriving and bountiful harvest, all with the help of Garden Genius.
Our product is designed to simplify the gardening process, allowing you to focus on the joy of growing your own fruits and vegetables without the stress of managing a messy and disorganized garden. With Garden Genius, you’ll have everything you need to keep your garden in top shape, from planting to harvest, all in one convenient and easy-to-use tool.
Join us in revolutionizing the gardening industry with Garden Genius. Say goodbye to the days of struggling with a cluttered and chaotic garden, and hello to a beautiful and productive outdoor space that brings joy and abundance. With Garden Genius, gardening has never been easier.
I read this out loud to my great sounding board (aka, my wife and friend Elaine) and she just laughed and laughed. But the blog post it generated was well beyond a first draft while still infected with cliche and purplish prose. Most definitely fixable.
As I sit comfortably at the table, I take a moment to appreciate the nostalgia of the Sanyo CD player and the ION record player that now inhabit this space. It’s a recent change, but one that brings a sense of familiar comfort.
As I glance at the kids’ colorful map and the timeless Hopper painting, I can’t help but revel in the organized chaos of it all. It’s a beautiful mess that adds character to the room.
Stepping outside, I am greeted by the lively presence of birds and the sight of my trusty tiller tucked beneath a tarp. Today, I feel compelled to tend to the garden – to clear the way for new growth and mark the asparagus for the season ahead.
The horseradish is thriving, a testament to the transformative power of a little tilling and weeding. The potatoes, planted before St. Patrick’s Day, stand as a symbol of hope and renewal.
Amidst the cabbages and kale, I notice the ailing blueberries and realize the work that lies ahead. The garden demands attention and care, a task that my partner Elaine has already embraced with gusto.
As we prepare to plant onions and tend to the strawberry patch, I am struck by the potential for personal growth within these tasks. The apples, in need of pruning, and the compost pile, stubbornly refusing to heat up, present challenges that I am eager to tackle.
In this moment, as I hear the honking of geese and contemplate the future of this garden, I am reminded of the interconnectedness of life and the endless possibilities for growth and renewal. It’s a reflection of the world around us – a beautiful, ever-evolving tapestry that demands our attention and care.
The app is free but every generation of a ‘text’ costs tokens. How might I generate income from this or product to justify the expense? It costs $4.17/month to get 3000 credits/tokens. I used up 261 of them in creating two chats and ten different prompts (outline, TikTok script, blog post, etc.). I am beginning a series of newspaper articles called “Local Matters”. I thought I might begin there with creating content since I am having a bit of writer’s block with getting started. I will keep you posted and will assume that you might be interested.
If you interested in that raw voice, it speaks below. Ok fidelity. The workflow from recording on the app to generating content is freaky easy.
Finally, I return to the idea that this might be total garbage. I read an article recently about how spambots are zombifying (and also enshittifying) the Internet. Will the power of apps like Oasis continue this deadening trend or will we take the tech up as a tool to be used for improving our writing voice. I suspect this is a both/and proposition, but for now I am impressed in an ‘uncanny valley way’ by this tool. Please try it and let me know if you are creeped out, but for now maybe you, like me, just feel a bit like a basket case:
