GenAI & the Convertible Modalities of Consumption
The modality in which we create our content will likely not be the modality in which it gets consumed, in the coming future. So, what can creators do about it?!
Want to know about the future of content creation? Look at this post on X:
I'm using a combo of @steipete's https://t.co/lYyeTLcl92, yt-dlp, and my own cli orchestrator to find and summarize a bunch of relevant podcasts to find anything that might help me plan might trip or parse out recommendations.
— Scott Smerchek (@smerchek) January 2, 2026
Now, I don't have to select and listen to hours upon… pic.twitter.com/lat9JvxX8V
Scott's post on X (formerly, Twitter) that birthed this blogpost.
THIS what I mean when I say podcasters (and content creators, in general) need to start thinking about convertible consumption modalities.
Because the modality in which we create our content will likely not be the modality in which it gets consumed, in the coming future...
It does NOT mean what we create is any less useful though.
You record video lectures? Someone's using the transcript to craft it into a self-paced course for themselves. You create audio walking tours? Great, you just helped a tour operator build a unique package for tourists. You write self-affirmation blog posts? Excellent, you made someone's boring 30-minute commute more bearable.
🎙️→🖼️→🎦→📝→❓
What this does mean that we (as a society) will need to do a LOT better at reporting such usage back to the creator. Else, creators will feel that their content was 'stolen' from them.
Because, all creators want only ONE thing: Validation.Validation that their content was useful to someone. That they aren't screaming into the void. That someone out there did benefit from their efforts.
And that validation used to come through in a multitude of ways: views or listens, or 'likes', or shares/reposts, or as private messages and emails...But all of it was still validation.
Now that validation is going to disappear into a blackbox called GenAI before reappearing on the other side in the form of derived utility. So, it falls upon us to ensure that the blackbox doesn't swallow the gratitude that the creator deserves. if you found something useful, make sure to validate that creator in some way. This might be an overused and clichéd phrase but...
Every little bit truly DOES help. ❤️
PS: The most useful form of validation is the money you get paid for creating it, of course. But that's a longer discussion and I'm always happy to chat about it, if you have the bandwidth for it. Message me and we'll set up a time... 😄
NB: Cross-posted to my LinkedIn.
