Hand-Picked Content
RIP, Internet
Blog, 5 min
Bots have taken over large parts of the internet. HackerNews banned AI-written comments. Reddit threads are full of bots promoting SaaS products. LinkedIn timelines are mostly AI-generated slop. AI agents are even applying for jobs without anyone prompting them to. The dead internet theory is no longer a theory, argues the author of this post.
How others work
Blog, 5 min
How others work is none of your business. Tools are designed for the broadest audience, pushing you toward the most popular way of working, not the most effective. The same goes for AI chat assistants. There’s always a new model, a new benchmark, someone on social telling you to switch. You rarely get good at any of them that way. The tool should fit the wielder, not the other way around. This blog post is from 2021, before AI entered the picture. It holds up just fine.
Coding After Coders
Article, 20 min
The workflow of software developers is changing fast. Developers now prompt AI agents. One writes the code, another tests it, a third oversees the whole thing. A long read in the NYTimes, but worth it if you want to understand where coding is heading. Written by Clive Thompson, one of my favorite tech journalists.
Hack your workflow
Build Visuals inside Claude
Claude can now create diagrams based on chat content directly inside a conversation. You can specifically request to turn parts of your convo into a diagram, or Claude sometimes decides on its own when it’s better to explain something with a graphic instead of just text.
A cool twist: It can not only create static assets, but interactive visuals.
The feature does not need any enablement, it’s now integrated for everyone.
Tools & Apps
On Brand AI Visuals
Design
What if you could create on-brand visuals for social media just by providing your website URL? Pomello by Google Labs promises exactly that. It gets what your site is about, suggests visuals, and with one click you can animate and download them. What’s missing is an option to edit assets before downloading, but that may come. A great way to get visual content ideas for your socials. The service is currently in preview and may require a US VPN to access.
Snapping Windows
Productivity
Rectangle is a free macOS app I have been using for years without a single problem. It lets you move and resize windows using keyboard shortcuts, and it runs so smoothly you forget it’s there. That’s the best thing about it. Free to download, with a Pro version available for €9.99 if you want more control.
Fresh Reflections
How Tos, opinions, thoughts.
🍿 Free Online Event: Prototyping with AI
Join me today for a live session on vibecoding and building products with AI.
AI Prototyping Workshop Vienna (April 23/24) đź‘€
You’ll go from idea to working prototype, no coding required. Newsletter subscribers get a discount, just hit reply to get the details.
Blog: “The design looks like vibecoded slop”
Maybe. But at prototype stage, that’s okay.
Classifieds
Descript: Audio and Video Editing for Creators
Descript started as a podcast editor where you edit audio by editing the transcript. Today it’s a full-fledged audio and video editor for creators. Quirky at times, but powerful once you’re into it.
No-Nonsense Web Analytics
For too long, installing Google Analytics on a new website was the default option for many webmasters, but for most projects, it’s overly complex. Meet Fathom, privacy-first, cookie-free web analytics. We ditched GA for Fathom a long time ago.
The Smart Email Marketing Alternative
EmailOctopus is the email software perfect for creators and small businesses. Simple, intuitive, world-class support – all at a fair price point. And this newsletter also runs on EmailOctopus.
Paid promotions and affiliate links support this newsletter. Would you be interested in advertising to our 2400 subscribers? Check /advertise
Off-Topic Links
Happy as Lazaro
Movie Rec
Just discovered this movie from 2018 and it went straight into my top 5 ever watched. Beautiful, sad, and mystic all at once. Streams on several outlets.