I haven't written a blog for a while. Not because nothing is happening, but precisely because too much is happening and I haven't taken the time to sit down properly, but now here's a brief update.
The past weeks have been filled with many conversations. People here in the studio, companies seeking to understand what is currently possible with AI and imagery, and which tools and developments are occurring. I showcase what I'm working on, and often feel: Peet, you're moving too fast, haha, and yes, then it's go, go. I need to be more patient.
DMM of course. Models, locations, entire productions without a shoot. That always lands immediately. People see it, understand it, and get excited.
But I also had a demo day where everything had to be exact. Clothing photographed flat, really at a detailed level. Length of a skirt, buttons, proportions — everything had to be 1:1. And there you notice: AI is good, but not yet perfect at that level. What I found interesting: that same client was back in a classic shoot with a model a few days later. Not because this doesn't work, but because that last bit of trust isn't always there yet.
That was actually the most important lesson for me over the past weeks, and in general, a lot of learning and how much time everything takes is still quite a thing... yes, I have a lot of time... and invest a lot of time. But it's sometimes difficult to convey when it has to fit into exact minutes and hours. Educational, a bit of a bummer, but I know this is really moving fast, although the details we 'humans' are known for are still quite far (well, a few months, I think) :)
At the same time, I've finally built something that's been in my mind for a long time.
Zappa extracted from GPT and added our own layer around it. No longer just chatting, but actually working. Dragging images in, turning things on or off, correcting prompts and moving forward. Combined with tools like Higgsfield, it works really well. We should actually do a separate blog for that because it's too big to explain halfway here.
In the background, everything continues as well. Recipes, restaurants — that's growing quite fast. We're now approaching 700 restaurants. What's becoming interesting there is that the combination is starting to work. Not just AI, but also selection. Not putting everything in, but choosing what fits.
I've already written a bit about that in the previous blog, so I'll refer to that here.
I'm also looking more into tools that help you reflect on your own work. Not just building, but also analysing what you're actually doing. With these new cloud-like tools, you can have projects reviewed, questioned, and something quite sensible comes out of that. I've also applied this to PB, and it really makes you think. PB shouldn't just be a tech playground, but also a place where everything comes together.
And something completely different, but fun:
I've also done some small 'help' things for some people this past week, like Esther, a friend of ours. She's going to walk/hike for five months, from Amsterdam to Portugal (!) for the Black Jaguar Foundation. A truly bizarre plan when you think about it, but so brave of her. I helped her a bit with some SEO and setting up her site and got her site on track. Super fun to do.
Check out her story here:
https://www.hike4nature.nl/
And if you find it cool: she's still looking for many sponsors. So if you want to contribute, definitely do so because it's a very good cause!
Furthermore, I'm also looking around a lot myself and saving things, surfing and YouTubing like crazy. Not everything is immediately usable, but still interesting. From new tools to random YouTube things where you suddenly get something out of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_rXNjNnx7s - claude + marketing and LinkedIn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iup1WlUyj9M - claude SKILLS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM320sAhFoY claude code tool kit, check!
https://rentahuman.ai/ - When AI can do so much but sometimes needs a human :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP5WmZg7OMg French toast hmmm.... :)
https://impeccable.style/ Design but as NOW!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I39UoIGTptc Scary! must hear.
Just things that stick.
And meanwhile, I'm also in the middle of thoughts about creating a luxury portal with Birgit. More towards luxury and the Bir who always has excellent surf and selection skills, where we're going to create something more: FM - For Members. I'm currently designing for that with Aura and Google Stitch. That feels good, but it's still too early to really show.
Not a tight story this. haha but really fun to do.
But that's also a bit where we are.
A lot happening at once.
Not everything is sharp yet.
But fun nonetheless.
Peet.
