WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.500 Have you ever been scrolling through an article, 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:05.299 maybe some kind of report, and you just get this 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:09.539 feeling? Oh, yeah. That unmistakable, boring, 00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:14.039 repetitive text, it just feels cold, empty. Yeah, 00:00:14.060 --> 00:00:16.039 it's like it was written for a machine, you know, 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:19.140 it uses all the same smart words like tapestry 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:21.859 or vibrate. Real people just don't talk like 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:23.539 that, especially when they're trying to explain 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:25.679 something. Exactly. And that right there, that's 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:28.399 the enemy. We're calling it Slop. It's basically 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:30.600 junk food for the internet. Welcome to the Deep 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:32.460 Dive. This whole conversation we're about to 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:35.520 have is based on a guide with one mission, really, 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:39.640 to help you humanize your AI output. We're here 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:41.640 to help you cut through all that noise. We are 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:44.399 unpacking what the guide calls the Slop Evader 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:46.859 Mindset. I'm going to look at some specific prompt 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:48.979 engineering techniques, but more importantly, 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:52.560 a really strict four -step workflow to make sure 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:55.159 everything you create feels like a real person 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:57.390 actually wrote it. We'll get into which words 00:00:57.390 --> 00:00:59.710 you should just delete on site, how to talk to 00:00:59.710 --> 00:01:02.509 the AI like an assistant, not a magician, and 00:01:02.509 --> 00:01:04.870 how to use the past to clean up the future of 00:01:04.870 --> 00:01:06.829 your content. OK, so let's start with that core 00:01:06.829 --> 00:01:09.689 definition. What really is slop? Because it's 00:01:09.689 --> 00:01:12.790 more than just a few robotic words. It is. At 00:01:12.790 --> 00:01:16.030 its core, it's content made without any human 00:01:16.030 --> 00:01:20.209 care or perspective. The AI is trained to sound. 00:01:20.730 --> 00:01:22.989 agreeable and authoritative, so it defaults to 00:01:22.989 --> 00:01:26.370 this really formal wordy text. It uses delve 00:01:26.370 --> 00:01:29.370 when it should just say, look into. And if you 00:01:29.370 --> 00:01:31.370 publish that stuff, there are immediate consequences. 00:01:31.469 --> 00:01:33.390 Absolutely. The first problem is just the reader. 00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:35.109 They clicked your link because they wanted to 00:01:35.109 --> 00:01:37.849 hear from you. And if they hit a wall of boring, 00:01:38.049 --> 00:01:40.450 homogenized text, they're gone. They get bored. 00:01:40.569 --> 00:01:43.209 They get bored. And when they get bored, Google 00:01:43.209 --> 00:01:46.170 notices. That low engagement can really hurt 00:01:46.170 --> 00:01:48.569 your visibility. So this gets to the idea of 00:01:48.569 --> 00:01:50.730 who's in charge. I love them. analogy from the 00:01:50.730 --> 00:01:52.530 guide on this. You have to think of yourself 00:01:52.530 --> 00:01:55.530 as the chef. The AI can get you the ingredients, 00:01:55.629 --> 00:01:57.689 you know, it can chop the vegetables, but it 00:01:57.689 --> 00:02:00.109 can't cook the meal. Right. If you treat the 00:02:00.109 --> 00:02:02.709 AI like a magic button, you're just serving microwave 00:02:02.709 --> 00:02:05.950 food. A slop evader always treats the AI like 00:02:05.950 --> 00:02:08.349 a helper, a very powerful helper, but you're 00:02:08.349 --> 00:02:11.509 the boss. That is a perfect analogy. And this 00:02:11.509 --> 00:02:13.870 brings us to, I think, a vulnerable admission. 00:02:14.270 --> 00:02:16.090 The reason people keep the slop in the first 00:02:16.090 --> 00:02:18.699 place. Yeah, that's a tough one. We keep it because 00:02:18.699 --> 00:02:20.680 it sounds professional. We think that formal 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:24.039 language means we're an expert. It's true. I 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:26.719 still find myself fighting that instinct. Early 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:29.219 in my career, I'd always use utilize instead 00:02:29.219 --> 00:02:30.860 of use, because I thought simple words sounded 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:34.460 too casual. But the guide is right. Simple words 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:37.800 actually show clarity and confidence. It's about 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.919 stopping the need to delve into complex transformations 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:44.620 and just look into changes. Exactly. It invites 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:46.860 the reader in instead of pushing them away. You 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:49.680 have to actively hunt down words like optimize, 00:02:50.060 --> 00:02:53.379 comprehensive, synergy, harness. They're all 00:02:53.379 --> 00:02:55.919 red flags that the AI is just padding for word 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:58.680 count. So if we really commit to this, to being 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:01.120 the chef and cutting out all that filler, how 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:03.520 does this directly affect my website's visibility 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:06.280 and health? Slop hurts ranking because board 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:08.860 readers quickly click away. OK, let's get into 00:03:08.860 --> 00:03:11.900 the mechanics. Because knowing what slop is, 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:14.840 doesn't help unless we know how to prompt the 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:17.680 AI correctly. It seems like it's not enough to 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:21.020 just have a prompt. You need to mix in real human 00:03:21.020 --> 00:03:23.539 data. Exactly. And that brings us to the grade 00:03:23.539 --> 00:03:26.680 five student rule. It's really powerful. When 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:28.840 you tell the AI, explain this to me like I'm 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:31.599 10 years old. You're not asking for childish 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:34.500 content. You're just forcing it to use core concepts, 00:03:34.699 --> 00:03:36.819 right? Can't hide. Precisely. It can't hide behind 00:03:36.819 --> 00:03:39.659 jargon. It has to use analogies in simple language, 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:42.500 which proves it actually understands the concept. 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:44.960 It's a great defense against the AI just repeating 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:47.539 stuff it's seen. And you have to be so specific. 00:03:47.699 --> 00:03:49.759 The guide has a great example prompt, something 00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:52.520 like, write about fixing a flat bicycle tire. 00:03:52.699 --> 00:03:55.879 Use short sentences. Do not use words like comprehensive, 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:59.020 optimize, or utilize. Talk like a mechanic helping 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:01.979 a best friend. Start with, first, flip your bike 00:04:01.979 --> 00:04:04.699 upside down. See? That prompt tells it what to 00:04:04.699 --> 00:04:07.219 write, who to be, who it's talking to, and what 00:04:07.219 --> 00:04:09.120 words are off limits. You're modeling the voice 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:11.919 before it even starts writing. And even then, 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:14.810 you can't fully trust the output. Yeah. Which 00:04:14.810 --> 00:04:17.189 brings us to this time machine idea. Right. So 00:04:17.189 --> 00:04:19.589 after the AI gives you that first draft, the 00:04:19.589 --> 00:04:21.550 Slopivator assumes it's still got some sludge 00:04:21.550 --> 00:04:23.970 in it. The time machine concept is where you 00:04:23.970 --> 00:04:27.009 copy an AI phrase like, uh, the best method is 00:04:27.009 --> 00:04:29.949 to securely attach the patch and then you search 00:04:29.949 --> 00:04:33.069 for it on Reddit or Quora. But how do you do 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:35.149 that? How do you filter by date? Because if you 00:04:35.149 --> 00:04:37.290 just search now, you're just going to get more 00:04:37.290 --> 00:04:40.089 AI slop. That's the key. In a Google search, 00:04:40.110 --> 00:04:43.480 you go to tools. then custom range, and you set 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:48.040 the to date as November 30th, 2022. That date 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:51.060 is so important because it's right before the 00:04:51.060 --> 00:04:53.660 big public LLM started flooding the internet 00:04:53.660 --> 00:04:55.800 with their particular style of writing. So that's 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.720 why. The articles from before that are 100 % 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:00.779 human written. It's a pure sample. It's a pure 00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:03.240 sample. It shows you how real people use slang, 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:05.160 how they joke, how they explain things with a 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:07.560 bit of frustration or humor. Those are the human 00:05:07.560 --> 00:05:10.040 ingredients you need to find to fix the AI's 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:11.879 text. And you have to layer in your own personal 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:14.360 stories too. Oh, absolutely. Think about another 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:16.740 prompt like writing about putting salt in your 00:05:16.740 --> 00:05:19.139 coffee instead of sugar. If you just ask the 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:21.100 AI, it'll probably say something like a common 00:05:21.100 --> 00:05:25.160 morning ritual. Ah. You have to forbid that cliché. 00:05:25.180 --> 00:05:27.939 Instead, tell it to describe the gritty physical 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:31.360 sensation of that first horrible taste. That's 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:35.180 real. So why is checking old Reddit posts from 00:05:35.180 --> 00:05:39.019 that pre -AI slop era so critical? Old posts 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:42.259 capture authentic slang and real humor before 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:45.360 AI homogenized online language. OK, so moving 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:48.939 from theory to actually doing it. Creating a 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:52.110 long 2 ,000 -word article without slop needs 00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:54.730 a real system. It's not one click. Let's walk 00:05:54.730 --> 00:05:57.230 through the four steps. Right. Step one is create 00:05:57.230 --> 00:05:59.490 a human -first outline. This is where I think 00:05:59.490 --> 00:06:01.709 most people get it wrong. They ask the AI for 00:06:01.709 --> 00:06:03.670 an outline, and it spits out generic headings. 00:06:04.129 --> 00:06:06.250 Introduction, challenges, solutions. Yeah, that's 00:06:06.250 --> 00:06:08.170 useless. You have to stop asking the AI for a 00:06:08.170 --> 00:06:09.870 long article because it will just fill the space 00:06:09.870 --> 00:06:12.209 with junk to hit your word count. Instead, you 00:06:12.209 --> 00:06:14.410 the chef write down five to ten main questions 00:06:14.410 --> 00:06:16.730 you want to answer. And these have to come from 00:06:16.730 --> 00:06:19.310 real life, like the guides example, writing about 00:06:19.310 --> 00:06:22.019 a homestay business in California. A generic 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:24.720 outline is no good. Your question should be things 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:27.540 like, which area had the worst utility bills? 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.800 Or, how did I find that amazing street food cart? 00:06:31.079 --> 00:06:35.060 Exactly. Then you move to step two. Use the SlopEvator 00:06:35.060 --> 00:06:38.019 tool for research, which is really the pre -AI 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:40.560 check. You're back in the time machine. You use 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:42.980 those date filters on Google, maybe search Stack 00:06:42.980 --> 00:06:46.139 Exchange to find pure human information from 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:49.199 before November 2022. And we're looking for texture 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:51.480 here. What kind of high value details? You're 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:53.980 looking for complaints, brand names, little specific 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:56.899 details. If a Reddit post from 2019 mentions 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:59.000 a specific coffee shop in that neighborhood, 00:06:59.579 --> 00:07:02.040 that's gold. An AI would never find that, but 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:04.180 it makes your writing feel instantly real. OK, 00:07:04.259 --> 00:07:06.899 so step three is command the AI to write in small 00:07:06.899 --> 00:07:09.180 bytes. This feels like the most important part 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:12.060 for avoiding that drift. It is. The AI's brain 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:14.639 just works better on one small task at a time. 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:17.319 It has a smaller context window to worry about. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:20.199 If you ask for 2 ,000 words by word 1000, it's 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:21.959 already forgetting the voice you told it to use 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:24.199 at the start. So we feed it our research, our 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:27.720 notes, and we just ask for part one. Why does 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:30.920 keeping it under, say, 300 words make such a 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:33.160 big difference? It just manages that context 00:07:33.160 --> 00:07:35.759 so much better. It forces the AI to be concise 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.379 and stick to the rules you set. Your prompt should 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:41.839 say, use I and you, be friendly, avoid words 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:45.100 like tailored, and keep it under 300 words. Then 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:47.339 you immediately review that chunk for any slop 00:07:47.339 --> 00:07:50.000 and fix it on the spot. And then finally, step 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:54.300 four, the human polish and bridge building. You've 00:07:54.300 --> 00:07:55.980 got all these perfect little sections. Now you 00:07:55.980 --> 00:07:58.139 have to glue them together and you have to avoid 00:07:58.139 --> 00:08:01.259 the robotic glue. Exactly. You delete those cold 00:08:01.259 --> 00:08:04.339 transition words. Moreover, furthermore, and 00:08:04.339 --> 00:08:07.240 the absolute worst in conclusion, They just sound 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:10.180 like a machine. Instead, you use human bridges. 00:08:10.579 --> 00:08:11.920 Things that sound like you're actually talking 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:14.620 to the reader, but here's the catch. Or, another 00:08:14.620 --> 00:08:16.699 thing I noticed was... Yeah, or, so what does 00:08:16.699 --> 00:08:18.800 this actually mean for you? Right, and the final 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:20.839 test is to read the whole thing out loud. If 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:23.259 you stumble, if you feel bored reading your own 00:08:23.259 --> 00:08:25.480 work, there's still flop in there. Fix it. So 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:28.379 what's the ultimate risk of just asking the AI 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:30.819 for the full 2 ,000 words at once? Asking for 00:08:30.819 --> 00:08:33.240 too much length at once makes the AI fill the 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:36.289 space with empty low -value slop. Even with a 00:08:36.289 --> 00:08:38.250 perfect workflow, there are still some common 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:40.570 traps people fall into. Things that can make 00:08:40.570 --> 00:08:42.909 your writing actually seem unprofessional or 00:08:42.909 --> 00:08:45.610 shallow. The first trap is confusing simple with 00:08:45.610 --> 00:08:49.070 lazy. Simple writing is about taking a really 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:52.190 hard idea and making it easy to understand. It's 00:08:52.190 --> 00:08:54.789 not about deleting the idea itself. Right. You 00:08:54.789 --> 00:08:56.309 still have to do deep research. You still need 00:08:56.309 --> 00:08:58.970 to read the expert blogs. But you use simple 00:08:58.970 --> 00:09:01.409 metaphors to explain the how and the why. So 00:09:01.409 --> 00:09:04.289 instead of saying AI optimizes complex workloads, 00:09:04.710 --> 00:09:06.850 you say something like, AI is like a very fast 00:09:06.850 --> 00:09:08.549 assistant. It handles boring stuff. So you get 00:09:08.549 --> 00:09:10.409 two extra hours to grab coffee with friends. 00:09:10.710 --> 00:09:13.610 The value is clear. Trap number two is forgetting 00:09:13.610 --> 00:09:17.090 to use I and you. Mm -hmm. to that passive language, 00:09:17.149 --> 00:09:19.850 right? It is believe that or report show. It 00:09:19.850 --> 00:09:22.490 sounds like a dusty old textbook. You have to 00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:25.090 be confident. Use I to share your own experience 00:09:25.090 --> 00:09:27.629 and you to talk directly to the reader. When 00:09:27.629 --> 00:09:30.230 I write about tech, I always say, I tried the 00:09:30.230 --> 00:09:32.029 setup and I found that you might see an error 00:09:32.029 --> 00:09:34.070 here. Let me show you how to fix it. That makes 00:09:34.070 --> 00:09:35.590 the reader feel like you're right there with 00:09:35.590 --> 00:09:37.629 them. You know, I still wrestle with prompt drift 00:09:37.629 --> 00:09:40.860 myself. Just. Keeping that consistent voice across 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:44.460 a long piece, it's hard. It takes constant work. 00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:47.419 And that leads to trap three, being too afraid 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:51.279 of technical words. In some topics, crypto, AI, 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:54.580 engineering, you can't avoid them. So you keep 00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:56.379 the technical term, but you define it right away. 00:09:56.620 --> 00:09:59.159 Precisely. You keep the term, but you add a simple 00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:01.789 explanation immediately after it. For example, 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:04.809 we used a large language model, or LLM, which 00:10:04.809 --> 00:10:06.950 is basically a statistical parrot trained on 00:10:06.950 --> 00:10:09.250 huge amounts of text. You show you're an expert, 00:10:09.389 --> 00:10:12.610 but you don't leave anyone behind. Whoa. Imagine 00:10:12.610 --> 00:10:15.509 scaling this kind of deep human analysis across 00:10:15.509 --> 00:10:17.789 a huge project like a whole book or a thesis, 00:10:18.309 --> 00:10:20.929 injecting that much real -world value into every 00:10:20.929 --> 00:10:23.470 single chapter. That's powerful. It's all about 00:10:23.470 --> 00:10:26.070 proving your expertise through action. Don't 00:10:26.070 --> 00:10:28.750 just say automation saves time, tell the story. 00:10:29.129 --> 00:10:31.169 I used to spend two hours cleaning data every 00:10:31.169 --> 00:10:34.190 Tuesday. Now I press one button. I use that time 00:10:34.190 --> 00:10:36.789 to go for a walk. You have to describe the actual 00:10:36.789 --> 00:10:39.070 buttons you click. That proves you know what 00:10:39.070 --> 00:10:41.190 you're talking about. And at the end of the day, 00:10:41.629 --> 00:10:44.610 that simple, helpful content is what Google wants 00:10:44.610 --> 00:10:47.769 to see. People stay on the page longer, and that 00:10:47.769 --> 00:10:50.240 helps you rank higher. So for specialized articles, 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:52.919 should I completely remove all technical jargon 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:56.940 to achieve this slop -avator style? Keep necessary 00:10:56.940 --> 00:10:59.460 jargon, but immediately follow it with a plain 00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:02.100 English definition. Okay, let's summarize the 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:03.740 big ideas for you, the listener, who's ready 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:05.820 to start this journey. I think there are three 00:11:05.820 --> 00:11:08.240 main takeaways. First, just keep it simple. That 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:10.759 grade five student rule is your North Star. If 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:12.559 a 10 -year -old can't understand the sentence, 00:11:12.740 --> 00:11:15.159 it's too complicated. Delete the scary words. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:17.980 Second, tell your own stories. The AI has all 00:11:17.980 --> 00:11:20.019 the facts, but you're the only one with your 00:11:20.019 --> 00:11:22.580 life experiences. The frustration with the utility 00:11:22.580 --> 00:11:25.080 bill, the joy of finding a great coffee shop, 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:29.100 those details build trust. And third, follow 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:32.820 the process. Don't ask for 2 ,000 words. Use 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:35.159 the four -step workflow and always remember the 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:38.460 time machine. Ground your writing in real pre 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:41.059 -AI human language. And the final piece of advice 00:11:41.059 --> 00:11:44.190 is, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Every time 00:11:44.190 --> 00:11:46.450 you find a robotic sentence and fix it, that's 00:11:46.450 --> 00:11:48.970 a win. The reader can feel that effort. At the 00:11:48.970 --> 00:11:51.250 end of the day, AI is just a tool, a powerful 00:11:51.250 --> 00:11:53.730 one, sure. But the heart of the story has to 00:11:53.730 --> 00:11:57.049 be yours. Your simple, real voice is your most 00:11:57.049 --> 00:11:59.710 valuable asset in a world that is just full of 00:11:59.710 --> 00:12:02.129 boring slop. So we encourage you to start your 00:12:02.129 --> 00:12:04.409 slop evader journey today, one sentence at a 00:12:04.409 --> 00:12:06.289 time. Thank you so much for sharing your sources 00:12:06.289 --> 00:12:08.210 and your time with us for this deep dive.