Terms

"I am from a business which has a structure that is dependent on community growth due to the fact that it's an open source," he begins. Therefore, he wished to create a private Discord community with gated access to content on WordPress and that's the platform where his very first project in media, virtualization.info was hosted, it would let him "recycle twenty years of knowledge".

He decided to utilize WordPress and not due to his expertise however, but due to the flexibility of the platform. "There is a reason why 43% of the websites in the world use WordPress," he adds. The experience of the WordPress plugin ecosystem means what you can achieve using WordPress is impressive and can be done just an incredibly short amount of time with other solutions."

Never compromise on branding is essential.

Alessandro goes on to say: "Many newsletter and blogging platforms don't give you much choice in creating an identity. They combine the design and feel and everyone has the exact same look and feel. You can customize the theme slightly, and you can incorporate your logo but those are just minor tweaks.

"Every blog or newsletter appears similar. It doesn't seem to work for me. As I often advise on social media, do not sacrifice the option that is right for you. You shouldn't be compromising on doing the best work you could do to make sure you check the box. Doing something you don't want to do is one of the things that sets you back over many times over."

A screengrab from the initial virtualization.info site

"I created a brand that customers are still talking about from 20 years ago, and they still write to me about. I must have absolute ability and the freedom to make and design every single image on this web property so that it is enforcing my personal brand. I'd like to develop my own brand, not other publishing brands."

Becoming valuable: niche and voice

"Two things are incredibly important in the process of creating your own online publication" Alessandro continues. "The foremost is to identify your market. It's easy to state, but difficult to do!" he laughs.

The author explains that there's nothing to gain from having another person who covers the same subject matter like other individuals from the same angle. "You are able to cover the same issues, it may be politics, cooking or crochet or squash or whatever else you'd like to cover, but you have to be able to see things from a different angle. That is the essence of your niche and the way in which you look at things is distinct."

He explains that Synthetic Work is looking at AI from a non-technical perspective and the impact it has on jobs, industries, economy and society. "If you are looking at cooking, for example it could be a niche where your perspective is based on the science behind it. This is something rarely discussed - maybe how, at the most fundamental level of chemical, why something tastes good.

Second, you need to discover your voice. "Human is a creature that learns by imitating: we say, 'Wow I love the way they write' then you attempt to imitate this, which is wonderful - that's the way to learn as fast as you can. But then you need to get to a point where you create your own voice, which is terrifying!"

It's a bit daunting to think people might not like the way you look at the world or write about it, but this is the only way you can stand out from the crowd. "If you've got the same style or similar approach to everyone who else, you'll be quickly forgotten."

He goes on to say: "People don't read for content. That sounds counterintuitive but people are drawn to reading because they trust you: they are curious about the person you are, and that interest percolates into what you say." He encourages people to ensure their personal style is evident in the tone that they speak with when talking about what you do.

Alessandro on stage at OpenStack Community event held in Silicon Valley

Alessandro mentions that he's seen this phenomenon for twenty years, and continues to observe it on a daily basis. As an example I was reading a manual for students who are considering the idea of pursuing a PhD which was composed by one of the cofounders of OpenAI. The guide has nothing to do with artificial intelligence, but it's an article he wrote many years ago. In this post, he advises going to conference. He suggests that you look less at the agenda and focus more on the speaker. Make sure to choose speakers you know and admire or who you've heard are great - regardless of the fact that what they're presenting doesn't align with what you've researched."

Alessandro describes this as the perfect illustration of the point he is making to get people excited about who you are and the way you say things. In the end, your words can disappear into the background. "Even when they may not be with what you say, they'll desire to hear your thoughts nonetheless because they have come to trust you and feel they play a significant role in their life."

More information on Synthetic Work

Find out more information about Alessandro Perilli and his Synthetic Work newsletter here: synthetic.work.