I’ve been working on an AI-fueled MarkBot that I’ll make available to you one day soon. I’ve been testing it and asked it to dig deep into all the content on the internet about me, providing me with interview questions I’ve never been asked before — questions I would love to answer.
The result was fun and inspiring. The bot provided questions that were surprising and wonderfully thought-provoking. So, today, I am answering my own questions. Why not? If these ten questions from my MarkBot amused me, maybe they will entertain and inform you, too.
This is a first for me, maybe a first for anybody. I suppose I am interviewing myself.
Here we go with the AI questions and my answers:
1. If “brand community” were a person, what kind of personality would it have?
It would be like Mr. Rogers.
Fred Rogers was an iconic American TV personality who hosted a long-running children’s TV program. Fred Rogers always led with love. Didn’t judge. Offered new wisdom every day. Didn’t hide from tough topics. And he never pressured you to buy anything.
2. “You write often about belonging as a marketing force. But what role has belonging played in your own life?”
I do not make friends easily. I wish I had more close friends, and I am working on that.
A great benefit of hosting my online marketing community is that day after day, I have significant conversations with people that turn into real friendships.
So although I have had a lack of belonging in my life, I feel like I’m in the right place at the right time getting to experience the connections through an online community.
You can learn more about the RISE community here and I hope you will join us. Maybe we’ll even become friends!
3. “You’ve warned about ‘content shock’ for over a decade. Is it possible that we’ve now entered an era of insight shock where even wisdom is becoming a commodity?”
To level-set new readers, I coined the term “content shock” in 2014 to explain why, in the long run, most content marketing is not economically sustainable. While considered controversial and even inflammatory at the time, this prediction certainly came true as the cost of competing in an oversaturated marketing world sank in.
Now, we’re in a world where content is a commodity. Not just content, but intelligence. Through AI, the economic value of intelligence is approaching zero.
Perhaps we are becoming numb to the magic of AI, but a few years ago, the idea of a computer coming up with these relevant and provocative questions would have been unthinkable.
I could argue that wisdom (knowing the correct answers) is a commodity. But that’s not the same as insight. Insight is a human revelation. It’s connecting the dots in a new way. And that is something AI will never be able to replace.
4. “You speak of ‘seams’ in Cumulative Advantage — brief openings for momentum. Have you ever overlooked a seam in your own career? What did it teach you about timing or regret?”
I have missed many seams … intentionally. Here is an example.
In 2012, I published the first book on influencer marketing, Return On Influence. This book was years ahead of its time. The term “influence marketing” was not even a mainstream concept. I was forecasting a seam: power was shifting in our world from established media channels to creators building passionate audiences.
With this insight, I could have become the “go-to” guy for influence marketing. I could have created an influencer marketing agency and plowed right through that seam.
But I decided not to because I would have been bored out of my mind. I don’t want to work on the same thing every day. I had no desire to build an influencer agency with a staff of employees.
I have carefully selected my seams, and I don’t have any regrets about missing out on any particular opportunity.
5. What do you admire most about your younger self’s marketing mindset? What do you shake your head at?
To put it mildly, I was a very “heart-centered” young man in high school and college. But when I entered the world of business, numbers and financial performance usually took precedence, and I had to learn that hard lesson. Thankfully, I had an understanding and nurturing boss who helped guide me on a more analytical path.
Eventually, I was part of a program to groom me into one of the top leaders of a Fortune 100 company. But once I had children, I felt that the sacrifices required to keep going up the corporate ladder were too great, and I needed to find my heart again.
I once had a teacher who told me, “there is no weakness, just over-done strengths,” and I believe that is true. It’s good to be heart-centered, but if that is all you have to offer, you might not make the best business decisions. You must have a keen appreciation of business realities to succeed. Today, I think I am pretty balanced between my heart and my head.
So I love the heart of my younger self, and I’m glad I have revitalized it.
6. “In the book KNOWN, you help others build influence. But what’s the one part of being known that no one prepared you for?”
Many years ago, a young man nervously approached me at a conference and said, “It took all my courage to come up and talk to you.”
That just broke my heart. I think I am an accessible person. I never want to send out an elitist celebrity vibe. I cut my own grass and do my own laundry like most people, for goodness’ sake. I never, ever want people to be nervous or intimidated around me. I was unprepared for that kind of reaction and have always felt weird about it.
7. What’s something your non-marketing friends or family understand about your work better than some marketers do?
Nothing. As far as I know, none of my friends or family members understand what I do (other than my wife). I don’t think they read my blog or books. Probably don’t even know I have a podcast. That’s fine with me. What I do seems irrelevant to personal relationships.
8. What’s a moment of unexpected joy you’ve experienced on stage or with a reader that you’ll never forget?
There are so many. It’s hard to pick just one!
There was one moment, though, that put wind beneath my wings.
If you’ve read my book on personal branding, KNOWN (hey, you’re my Bot… of course, you’ve read KNOWN!), in the first chapter, I tell a story about the beginning of my personal branding journey. I was at the lowest point in my life. My darkest years.
At the end of the book, I could report some of the benefits of that long journey to become known. After a speech in Scotland, a young woman approached me with tears in her eyes. “I just wanted to see you and tell you that I am who I am because of you.”
And then, there were tears in my eyes, too. For the first time, it dawned on me the type of impact I was having on my readers.
9. You’ve seen the rise of social media, influencer marketing, and AI—what’s a trend you once believed in that didn’t pan out?
I’ve had a decent track record when it comes to forecasting what’s coming next, but I had one memorable miss.
I thought voice assistants like Alexa would become the future of e-commerce. And, perhaps they should be. Perhaps, they will be one day — with AI assistance.
But it’s been a bomb so far. I thought Alexa would open up a dominant new marketing channel.
10. If all your books were wiped out tomorrow and you could only save one sentence from everything you’ve written, what would it be?
That’s easy.
“The Most Human Company Wins.”
That nails it for me.
What do you think of this interview? Does it give you ideas of how you can use AI for your own content and marketing ideas?
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