Welcome to Fresh van Root newsletter #91!
Hectic times, demanding projects, and lots to get ready before summer hits. With some delay but freshly made today, get content recommendations and app tips below.
Some highlights of this newsletter:
- AI Prompting tips are overrated
- A video presentation tool to stand out
- Verification on Twitter fails again
- Taming AI news burnout
stay fresh,
Rolf
Hello to 37 new subscribers. 👋 I’m Rolf from Fresh van Root. What’s Fresh van Root? A digital marketing agency working for tech startups primarily, and a content creation business. This newsletter features content and apps at the intersection of AI, marketing, productivity, tech, content creation, and social media – for curious minds.
🧠 Hand-Picked Content
Marketing: This Influencer Does Not Exist (Blog, 5min)
How about using AI tools to create social media influencers that do not exist? Now possible, thanks to AI. In this example, a photographer made a social media influencer called Ellen a testimonial for a Finnish energy company. First, ideas were created using Midjourney, then a personal AI model was developed to fine-tune the pictures. For the campaign, the AI-generated influencer was also combined with real testimonials. More
AI: Prompting Tips Are Overrated (Blog post, 10min)
There are no secret prompting tips, and the few to know will soon become obsolete due to AI advances. Instead of writing one complex prompt, state your goal and ask the AI Chatbot what it needs to help you best. Lots of more useful tips in this Substack post. More
Productivity: One Tool For Managing Everything (Article, 7min)
Notion blends between document editor, spreadsheet app, and Kanban board – just a few options. It grew into a Swiss army knife for many startups and organizations. Unsurprisingly, people like it so much that they started using it for managing their personal projects too. More
AI: Managing The Tsunami Of AI News (Topic Page)
A constant flow of posts about AI on your social media feed wants your attention. You might already feel burned out by that, but there is no end in sight. Here is a potential recipe: The NYTimes spotlight page is a toned-down version of all that. Instead of checking every byte-sized info on your social feeds, read an article a day or a few a week. Create an old-school bookmark, or subscribe to their newsletter. More
🛠️ Tools & Apps & Services
Feature-Rich Video Recordings App
mmhmm is a unique app for recording video presentations or hosting live presentations. It supports effects for your video avatar, backgrounds, drawing board, and more. Videos are uploaded to the cloud by default and can be shared anywhere. The app is resource-hungry but stands out in the landscape of desktop video recording apps.
Once you find a setting that works for you, you can set mmhmm as a camera in Zoom/Teams/Google Meet and use the app to hold presentations. When done right, this could wow your audience.
Test appropriately before using it live; still rough around the edges. Screenshot | More
Creators: Video Editing On Your Phone
Capcut is commonly used for video editing on a mobile. While it is well known with TikTokers, you can use the exported video on any platform. You can combine several video recordings or pictures, re-arrange, cut, trim, add effects and overlays, and much more. It simply takes video editing on your mobile to the next level. It gets Bonus points for providing an online editor and a desktop app. Here is a short demo: A tour through the office where this newsletter is made. More
- ICYMI: AI Content is the new floor
Productivity: Gmail Email Client For Mac
If you prefer an installed app to the Gmail web interface, check out Mimestream. It just came out of beta and is solid, fast, intuitive, and got all the features you expect from a modern email app—key features: Fast loading time, clutter-free user experience. More
Creators: AI Image Creation
Facet is a suite of AI-powered image creation and editing tools. You can invite others to work with you on your text prompts. That can be fun if you are stuck and in a creative impasse.
It also got inpainting (removing or adding objects in a picture) and outpainting (expanding images to their original boundaries).
Facet Canvas is an excellent alternative if you dislike using Midjourney via Discord. More
Search: A Reddit Search Engine
GigaBrain is a search engine specifically for getting the best answers from Reddit. You enter a search phrase, and the tool summarizes the answers from Reddit. You can then filter down on specific Reddit boards. The browser extension comes in handy: When searching for something on Google, Gigabrain also surfaces the answers from Reddit, which filters out most of the “content marketing answers” specifically made to rank high up on Google. Screenshot | More
📣 Fresh van Root
Google Bard: Access Denied? (Tip)
We are testing Google Bard to compare its capabilities to ChatGTP and other options. If you face the problem of being in a country that is not yet supported, there is a simple workaround: Create a VPN connection to the US, and create a new Google Account while connected. Done.
Recording Everything On Your Mac (LinkedIn post)
Rewind was mentioned a few times in this newsletter. With its newest AI feature, you can ask it about how you spend your time on your device. More
🏞️ Your Next Wallpaper?
🔗 One More Link
Citywalks From Your Couch
Chill and relax while virtually walking through a city of your choosing. More