TikTok ban means US creators could lose all their content.

For some in the US content creator world, there is a big black cloud looming.

On January 19th, 2025 TikTok could just get wiped off the US map.

TikTok has a been a phenomenon with its ability to show you what you are just thinking about and the way it allows small creators to get big quickly if they have the right schtick.

However many folks have created livelihoods here and could also lose all their content without action.

“Congress passed the law in April after receiving classified briefings on the risk TikTok poses to Americans' security. The law would force TikTok to shut down in the U.S., unless it is completely divested from its parent company, China-based ByteDance.” according to NPR.

“The law forbids TikTok from being carried in Google and Apple's app stores and requires web-hosting services to stop supporting the app, or face stiff financial penalties.”

They have a lifeline waiting with the Supreme Court on Jan 10 where TikTok will pull out the free speech card but seems there is some piece of evidence no-one is allowed to see which has convinced other courts whatever is happening is not in the interests of the citizens of the USA.

This post (on TikTok) shows a way that a creator can retrieve all their content without watermarks and put it into a Google folder. So unless you’re a gambler, you might want to get onto that.

Videreo is agnostic to any of the platforms so is unaffected by the ban (and an alternate place to store content in the meantime as well as start making money from it) but most importantly wants to ensure the word gets out there about how to protect your content!

Check out more here to join brands like Contiki, G Adventures & Globus already being sold by creators out of their link-in-bio on TikTok, Instagram and other social media.

This content is provided by the newsletter sponsor Videreo.com

Framework for AI exploration

Google fronted up this week to declare the news of their demise may have been a little premature.

Janette Roush from BrandUSA this week outlined a framework for AI exploration as part of her new role as SVP, Innovation and Chief AI Officer.

According to Roush a good framework looks something like this:

1️⃣ Start small to think big - when you understand how AI operates, you can imagine more impactful use cases across the organization. This is already taking shape with big ideas from our Finance and Marketing teams.

2️⃣ Align leadership and learning - executive buy-in (and secure paid tools) gives the team permission to explore, and they’re the ones who will find the use cases because they’re doing the work.

3️⃣ Lead with wonder - this stuff is fun!

This is a pretty solid list and very simple for everyone to follow.

On the podcast this week Travis Pittman outlined something very similar and in the very first episode of the podcast with Fred Chanut we heard the same.

If you still haven’t introduced AI into your organisation, I’d highly recommend listening to either or both of these podcasts to give you the gameplan to start making it happen first thing in 2025. Otherwise you are falling behind.

Take note of point 2 above especially and doubly so. if you are THE business leader. This isn’t a tech department thing. This is an organisation defining thing. You set the tone & the example - otherwise, really, probably don’t bother because it probably won’t work.

The AI powered DMO of the future

In a busy week for Roush she also posted her thoughts about what the DMO of the future might look like.

“We’re not there yet, but by 2030 we’ll all be able to spin up programs to solve problems with the help of AI agents.

At the same time, our websites will receive less traffic as AI answers visitor questions directly. It becomes harder for DMOs to control destination storytelling. And with less web traffic, ad inventory will become more expensive and will need to work harder for us.”

Roush gives example around crisis management, storytelling and product development where AI could play a core role.

In a nod to the very real possibility that as everything changes, everything remains the same Roush says “We will still need to create content and buy advertising and share data with stakeholders and understand our visitors - and address issues like sustainability and overtourism.”

The thoughts here were first shared with the participants of GroupNAO’s AI Opener for Destinations which is kicking on into 2025 for destinations interested in joining.

An explosion of AI

Paul Roetzer who has been following AI’s advancement for longer than most is blown away by the amount of announcements we’ve seen in the past few days.

“This past week was the craziest stretch of AI news and product announcements I can recall. It seemed like every hour something new was being demoed or released by OpenAI, Google, Amazon, xAI, Meta, Pika, Microsoft and others. And we're not done yet.”

And he was sooooooo right because after he posted this, NVIDIA dropped this bombshell….

“Nvidia just released a $249 computer that will change AI forever.

It's called the Jetson Nano - a tiny device that can run AI models locally.

This means AI can run without connecting to the cloud.

And it's about to spark the biggest tech battle of our time.”

For the many (MANY) worried about the security of their data in the cloud LLM environment, here could be the answer.

Thanks to Alex Bainbridge for dropping this one into the Slack group.

Tahnee Perry meanwhile reminded us why a product like this might be a good thing.

AI your grandma can use

Don’t do apps? There are plenty (mainly in the elder community) who just can’t be fussed with the whole download the app and learn the navigation stuff.

No worries. Just call 1-800-CHATGPT and ask whatever you want.

No account required, just our good friend with the good word who always has an answer, on the end of the line.

There is also a WhatsApp version.

As seen on LinkedIn

Google goes Deep

Tim O’Neil took Google’s new Deep Research tool for a spin this week.

He was impressed!

In Tim’s example he was looking for info on buying a secondhand Porsche 911. The Deep Research tool went to work by analysing 50 websites and then dished up a comprehensive piece of research in Google Docs.

For the record you’re looking at somewhere between $345-490K for a newer model. (Those are Australian dollars though).

Imagine this now for package holiday, multiday group trip or cruise comparison. Now if only it could call Grandma and tell her the outcome.

If you think someone (or everyone) you know or work with could grow from being more informed on the topic of ai + travel (or could use the training above) then please forward this email to them and they can click the button below:

Marketplace Spotlight: TravelAI.com

Everything AI in Travel marketplace, member TravelAI.com have been a huge part of bringing you coverage of what is happening across the world of AI + Travel in 2024.

I’d go so far as to say the continued coverage has been maintained because of the likes of them and fellow sponsor Propellic.

This week TravelAI.com CEO John Lyotier highlighted Outlier Ventures digital thesis into AI.

This bit caught my attention:

🤖 From Attention to Intention Economy [Outcome-based Pricing Models] "In The Post Web’s Intention Economy; intent-based AI agents prioritize users’ true needs, aligning counterparties with user intentions and enabling efficient, value-driven interactions with minimal extraction and rent seeking."

The theme of the overall thesis is that AI was always meant for agent use, not human use.

A provocative thought especially for those heavily into consumer facing AI.

Thanks again for TravelAi.com and their sponsorship of the podcast. If you are a business that wants to be THE leader in the AI + Travel space, then we should chat. Right now there is an opportunity for an owned media strategy for your brand that gets you a named newsletter and podcast with an audience all ready to go turnkey for about half the cost of a marketing coordinator. Reach out if interested.

If you have a B2B business underpinned by AI and looking for people to notice you, you can sign up to the marketplace for peanuts (top right corner, 5 mins, bring your logo).

I’ve priced for bootstrapped startups but also accepting larger companies too.

Hostaway raises $365M to keep up with AI

A big raise to see out the year and AI was a huge catalyst behind the amount tipped in.

CEO Marcus Rader said “AI was going to change the whole travel market but no one really knows how.

The company needs its own “war chest,” he said, to continue building products and services including AI-driven tools for its customer base of property managers.”

Hostaway is a PMS for the short-term rental industry that has ridden the Airbnb boom.

We all await for what funky things Airbnb might come out with and obviously Hostaway needs to be ready to sync in with the same.

Slack Group!

XMAS Break, Podcasts and Sponsors

Newsletter Break:

Thats it for newsletters in 2024. We’ll be back in mid January. (Does AI take a Holidays break?)

Podcasts now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts:

We’ve got a couple of new and fresh podcasts to go to see out the year but maybe even more exciting than that is that by XMAS all the Season 1 episodes (all 26 of them) will be up on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for your easy holiday listening pleasure! So if you missed Andy Moss or Anna Jaffe or Jeff Kischuk - well now you can catch up on these digitally remastered REWIND editions. Don’t miss the new ones either - there was a cracker this week with Travis Pittman from TourRadar which you should listen to if you want to know how to achieve a positive AI culture in your business.

Sponsorship Opportunity:

Want to be known as the leading business in AI + Travel?

There is a unique opportunity right now for YOUR BUSINESS to come and take pole position in the AI + Travel world. We are currently fielding expressions of interest from suitable companies to take an owned media strategy like no other for 2025.

Available is blanket naming rights and coverage across both the Everything AI in Travel newsletter & podcast, with all the research, writing, scheduling, recording and publishing to an established and growing audience of decision makers in travel done in turnkey fashion. I’ll dig out each week what moves your company is making and make sure everyone knows about it.

This is your Ben & Jerry’s moment, one forged already by ENCORA with their Dojo.Live strategy and Lufthansa with their TMNT newsletter. But here instead of needing a couple of FTE’s on the job you get more for about half the cost of a marketing coordinator. Shoot me a message if interested.

Most clicked last week was the link to the job at Ana Karina Araque’s Imagine Experiences! Do we want to see more AI jobs in here?

That’s it - you’ve made it to the end of this year.

Thanks for being a part of it and best wishes to all for the holidays.