What’s Coming for the Future of ‘Sped’ and Why It Matters
There’s a twist of irony in writing this post, or rather, finally writing it out because what I want to do is talk about Sped, why it matters, and the evil plan I wish to carry out to its full extent.
All while in the midst of an apology for this being a day late even though it was slated for Saturday release. Determining what Sped means going forward played a role in its delay because simply, I do not have the technical knowhow to explain the predicament that journalism is in. That’s why I’ve enrolled in grad school to gain a better grasp on the subject.
So for the time being, I can only explain at face value why car journalism sucks right now. What I can tell you is that it begins and ends with A.I. Tension has been brewing between writers and “writers” who use some form of software to better complete their articles. The difference is the latter doesn’t drum up any meaningful takeaways in regards to the topic at hand. This is where the term “slop” comes into play.
Simply put, human-based writing often portrays relevant information as the meat, while the entertainment element is the fat. This comes in the way of an icebreaker, an opportunity to demonstrate wit to captivate the reader before getting to the heart of the story. Hence the meat of it.
Slop is a newer term that relates to a similar word: fluff. I’ll borrow the definition from Lehigh University’s academic journal:
Fluff in writing is when you add unnecessary words, phrases, or sentences that don’t really add value. It’s filler content that makes your essay seem longer without actually improving it. Professors can spot it instantly because they’ve read hundreds (if not thousands) of student papers. They’re looking for clear, well-structured arguments, not long-winded sentences stuffed with vague words.
That same article breaks down a few examples for what qualifies as fluff:
Unnecessary words and phrases – Saying “due to the fact that” instead of “because.”
Over-explaining simple ideas – Writing a full paragraph about something that could be said in one sentence.
Repeating the same point in different ways – Saying “this is important” three times in a row.
Fancy words that don’t add value – Using “utilize” instead of “use” just to sound more academic.
College professors hate receiving this from students trying to achieve a certain word count. Unfortunately, it’s taking root in a crucial industry where people who spent years to obtain a journalism degree are being pushed out by those less qualified to publish material effectively, all in the name of content curation.
The distinction lies in the media outlet’s willingness to post in quantity rather than quality. Better explained by an old gig who broke down the problem at large and linked examples of it, what you end up with is a congealed mess of information that is difficult to comprehend.
When this happens, it matters less what the publication is because original thought is lacking, which results in the platform losing its unique voice, which is how Jalopnik or MotorTrend bloomed in the first place. Their heydays are behind them, only to become another faucet of spilling information without an identity.
When your job is distilled down to echoing Consumer Reports, something is wrong. I doubt the notion of our founding fathers emphasizing freedom of the press was to regurgitate information with the intention to spit it out. It encouraged the exchange of ideas, having engaged in discussion to build meaningful dialogue.
Slop waters this down. As a result, intelligence goes down. So does morale. And the forces at work will use this against you to amplify propaganda. This is why political tension is high right now. Weirdly, the second largest consequence affects car journalism.
While I can’t sway political beliefs, I can address the latter. The writer of these posts that you’ll see from Sped has an extensive background related to the automobile. Three things work in my favor and yours: a lifelong enthusiasm for cars has resulted in a years-long career in sales following the pandemic. In turn, this has cemented high product knowledge that I can convey to you as the reader, using the combined efforts of journalistic integrity and vocabulary to explain complex concepts in a way that is easy to understand.
Early feedback has revealed this to be the case. And that brings me to the root of what Sped will become: to empower you with the information you need to buy the car you want and own it without doubt. While Sped improves in real time, embrace the imperfect quality of writing you see here. My attempt to be a wordsmith and an editor will be strained at times.
Author’s note: Want to become an early adopter of Sped? Subscribe to Patreon while I work on providing exclusive benefits which will soon include bonus content and other perks. Thank you! -TA
Clean copy won’t always be perfect, but there lies the beauty of it all. The quality of A.I.-generated content has plateaued, shifting favorably back to writers. Sadly, it’s likely that the auto industry won’t fully revert to human writing, as MotorTrend opened this can of worms permanently. The entity made a deal with the digital devil to sell rights to its original works to OpenAI in a move to elevate social stupidity.
From the press release, I don’t even know what this statement means:
“Our partnership with OpenAI will help us evolve the future of magazine content,” said Hearst Magazines President Debi Chirichella. “This collaboration ensures that our high-quality writing and expertise, cultural and historical context and attribution and credibility are promoted as OpenAI’s products evolve.”
Whatever the drivel, I doubt this will very much happen while nonchalant misinformation continues to pose a threat, as the same old gig pointed out. The platform, which commits to humane writing and delivering power to the people, confessed to losing money because of a move by Google that results in less internet traffic.
So I’ve decided I’m also going to talk shit as I please when it feels appropriate because there are people out there who are against this sentiment, some of whom have already subscribed to Sped. The goal is to give the anti-A.I. folks a new home, as well as the old school art of mixing entertainment value with meaningful information so you are better equipped to invest in your current car or the next.
I’ll also figure out a way to get round Google’s take on Discover, which as it stands is not all that reliable. Surely, there’s a way to get the ball back in our court right?
So bear with me as Sped grows and so does its mission. There’s no pigeonholing this blog and I want to see it become an institution that expands into multiple ventures.
In the meantime, I thank you for being an early adopter of this venture and supporting it. The only thing I ask is that you continue to tune in.
-TA