Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #162
Are the days of SEO and finding websites through search over?
Google seems to be headed in that direction.
You knew it was coming: Google begins testing AI-only search results
We knew it was coming because Google has been trying to find as many ways as possible to give you the information you’re searching for without leaving their page. They lost interest in sending you to actual websites with information years ago. If it’s at all possible, they want you to stay right there.
With AI, the number of situations where that is possible grows exponentially.
Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. For each issue, I’ll share information about careers and workplace culture, mental health in the workplace, talent development, and important information about privacy, security, and legal tech.
You can find out all about me here - Mike McBride Online.
But, if Google aims to give you answers instead of search results, is it no longer a search company? Have they been a search tool for the last 5-10 years or an advertising company that offered search as a way to serve ads? There’s an argument to be made that they’ve been an advertising company, and literally everything else they do is to get more ads in front of us.
What does that make AI search?
On the other hand:
5 Reasons Why AI Search Tools Will Never Fully Replace Classic Google Searches
There are plenty of reasons to be cynical about the search results you get from AI.
Regardless, the days of working on SEO and Google ranking to get traffic to a website are coming to an end. I see it in my traffic. My blogs get very little traffic outside of links I send out or from loyal readers. There’s been a growing push to newsletters and alternative ways of reaching an audience, and less on traditional SEO practices. Bloggers, journalists, podcasters, and other websites depend greatly on word-of-mouth recommendations. I’m grateful to those sharing my newsletter with friends and social networks. It does work.
It’s one of the few ways we can create connections and communities online that will not be overrun by AI-generated junk.
With that said, while we’re here. What underappreciated blogger, podcaster, etc., are you recommending to your friends?
Careers and the Workplace
Thinking about Carl Dean and #IWD2025
When we refer to women as "DEI hires," what we are really saying is that we aren't secure enough in our own accomplishments to let someone else shine. I imagine Carl would be embarrassed of us. I suppose the idea that we must diminish any woman's achievements would be utterly unacceptable to the man who spent 60 years married to one of the most famous women in the world without ever feeling the need to grab the spotlight for himself.
We need examples like that. Carl Dean was one.
RIP
Linked - Retention Crisis: 46% of Managers Want Out – What’s your plan?
In my opinion, most managers are in an untenable position. The people reporting to them are expected to be engaged, productive, and successful. That requires managers who care about them and provide flexible solutions that block any obstacles to their work being done in an engaged and productive way.
But wait—the C-suite is one of those obstacles! Layoffs, ridiculous RTO mandates, demands to "do more with less," and a focus on shareholder profits above everything else don't encourage employee engagement. They destroy it, but managers are expected to toe the line and support what's happening.
That seems pretty stressful to me.
Absolutely. Next question:
All Remote Work Haters Ignore One Crucial Point:
Most of us communicate by phone, email, chat, or online meeting anyway, especially when we have multiple locations.
We should ask the following question: Why are kind workplaces more successful?
Artificial Intelligence
This is the question:
This is a good point, do employers know what they are looking for? I agree that many in the position to hire people should be looking at people who are comfortable with AI, but what does having AI skills mean? - Employers want workers with AI skills, but what exactly does that mean?
On the other hand, maybe we shouldn’t buy into AI completely just yet…
Don’t Trust AI Search Engines–Study Finds They’re “Confidently Wrong” Up to 76% of the Time
Even premium AI tools distort the news and fabricate links - these are the worst
Training and Development
I wrote these two articles in 2022. I still think they apply today:
Mentorship is a valuable learning tool for both sides:
The Power of Mentorship – How Guiding Others Builds Stronger Connections.
Mental Health in the Workplace
Linked - New NAMI Poll Finds Employees Reluctant to Discuss Their Mental Health at Work
In the era of the current administration pushing hard against DEI policies, workplace accommodations, and the mass layoffs happening all across the economy, why would we bring attention to ourselves and our mental health? Too many employers are looking for a reason to fire employees, and a mental health struggle might be one.
Prioritizing Mental Health in IT: Combating Burnout in a High-Stress Industry—It would be a challenge to get people in management to consider a perspective where high stress and burnout are not just part of the job, as short-sighted as that is.
This is good - Alabama offers free mental health and substance abuse training for employers.
Linked - Why Most Workplace Mental Health Programs Fail
If your employees don't feel safe, all the policies and resources in the world won't matter. Having good mental health benefits is great, but making the environment safe for employees who take advantage of them is better.
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
It’s possible - Hackers stole this engineer's 1Password database. Could it happen to you?
This sounds familiar, a Chinese app that disrupts the market and is followed by a panic about China stealing our data, when US-based apps collect even more private data. TikTok? Nope:
Worried about DeepSeek? Turns out, Gemini and other US AIs collect more user data.
I am curious about whether they used Copilot with a work M365 account, a consumer M365 account or free public access. There are huge differences in the data protection between those. That may be some research for another time.
What Is AI For? We Need To Think About End Goals - This feels like where we are in the legal industry right now. We can get some efficiencies from using AI, but the big picture is a bit out of reach. Why are we using these tools at the end of the day?
That’s all, folks. If you found something interesting in this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends. It’s the best way to help support the effort I put in each week to share this with you.