Q&A: Is It OK To Use AI Art For Profile / Creator Pictures?

Context: A new content creator wants to start publishing content online, as anonymously as possible. This includes a pen name, and a non-identifiable backstory. One thing they’re stuck on is a photo of themselves, which is important to build connection with their audience. They’re wondering if it’s alright to use AI to generate a profile photo to use on their social media pages, and author bio.

Answer:

There are a few things to consider, before doing this – at least in my opinion.

Personally, I don’t see anything morally or ethically wrong with it. It’s no different than using a stock photo, which content creators have been doing since the web 1.0 days back in the 90’s. In fact, it’s even more ethical in my opinion, because you’re not using the actual picture of someone else.

(Though, keep in mind that AI photos are not copyrightable, which means technically other people would be allowed to use the same picture.)

Some might say this is misleading to a potential audience, but I see it as relatively harmless. Most people would understand if you explained your decision to do so, as we can empathize with your desire to remain anonymous.

That being said, there are business implications.

Most notably, it is quite restrictive for you in the future.

If you use a pen name, there is no reason you can’t carry that same pen name with you to the grave. As soon as you create a fake image of yourself to use however, you’re kind of stuck with it forever.

Yes, you can generate a new photo in 5 years that is similar and looks older, but unless you really are careful, the two people won’t look similar enough to pass off as the same person. Someone who is suspicious may notice.

Additionally, just because you wish to remain anonymous right now, does not necessarily mean you’ll feel the same way in the future.

If you want to suddenly start doing video in the future – something I really recommend to creators due to its ability to build trust and recognition more than any other content medium, you’ll have problems.

After all, imagine if someone had an image of you in their head for years, and all of a sudden you did a video where you look completely different!

In conclusion, it’s legal, and I don’t personally believe it’s unethical. However, it may not be the best business decision for the long-term.

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Q&A: When Is It Okay To Create Content On Multiple Topics?

Context: The asker is interested in a wide variety of topics, and wants to know if it’s okay to publish them as long as they keep them in separate sections of their website, or creates separate YouTube channels for them.

Answer:

This always comes down to a fundamental question you have to ask yourself: Who is the underlying audience you’re trying to serve – and would the content still be applicable to them?

The truth is, it’s never about niches. It’s always about the person you’re trying to serve with your content.

Take a guitar player for example. Even if you started out publishing content about how to play the guitar, there is a whole myriad of other topics this person would also be interested in. For example:

  • Recording
  • Songwriting
  • Performing on stage
  • Starting a band
  • Producing an album
  • Marketing (if they do live shows)
  • Mixing / mastering

…and a whole lot more!

The thing is, each one of these could be there own niche. But, producing content on these topics would still be both relevant and valuable to someone learning guitar – especially once they’ve gone beyond the beginner stage.

This is why instead of thinking in terms of choosing a niche, it’s better to think in terms of what sort of person you want to serve.

That being said, there are a few issues with publishing content in multiple niches. Notably…

  1. You will lose SOME people. If you only ever publish on the same topic, you can be sure everyone will be interested. As soon as you add other content into the mix, at least a small portion of your audience won’t be interested in it – or at least, not interested in hearing it from YOU. They may prefer the same content delivered from someone they deem to be more of an expert in that specific area.
  2. Google may not rank your site as highly if you publish on many different topics, as they deem you less of an authority in them. This is only an issue if you rely on Google for your traffic.

In my course, The Creator Success System, I recommend creators start out by focusing very niche, so people will start binging all of the content you have available.

However, you can certainly branch out over time, as long as you’re serving the same audience!

Of course, if you aren’t creating content for money or views, it doesn’t really matter, and you should just do whatever brings you the most personal fulfillment.

– James McAllister

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Q&A: Is Sharing My Posts On Social Media Considered ‘Duplicate Content?’

Context: The asker wants to copy the blog post that they’ve written, and publish it on social media to increase exposure.

Answer:

Thankfully, I’m happy to share that this is not an issue.

However, it’s probably not that great of an idea either.

Here’s why – it’s important that the content you’re publishing is actually a good fit for the platform that you’re trying to publish on.

Although Twitter / X now allows you to write tweets that are 10,000 characters long, the reality is that nobody wants to read an entire blog post on social media. Put quite simply, this is not what people came to the platform for, so it’s going to be glanced over and not have as powerful of an effect as it could have.

Instead, I recommend repurposing the content, so it is contextual to each platform.

For example, instead of copying and pasting your entire blog post or article, instead determine the key points of the article. This can be made into a long-form tweet, simply outlining the main things that you want people to know.

That same tweet can make the basis for a short-form video, that can be published on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts.

This allows you to publish the same content across 5 platforms instead of 1, without taking a bunch of extra time to produce.

Best of all, if your goal is to get blog article reads, simply link to your blog article for people that want to learn more!

So no, even if you copy and paste the content, it won’t be considered duplicate (though to be safe, wait for your blog post to be indexed and show up in Google search before publishing it elsewhere.)

– James McAllister

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FIXED: Facebook – The Account That Owns The Email Address You Entered Has Been Disabled

Are you trying to sign into Facebook, but are receiving the following error?

“The account that owns the email address you entered has been disabled.”

This error can be frustrating to experience, especially if you aren’t sure why it’s appearing, or what you can do to fix it.

Thankfully, both the cause and solution are rather straightforward. So, in this article, I’ll be showing you how to solve it for good!

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How To Change Facebook Marketplace To Local Only (Step-By-Step Guide)

Are you sick of seeing Marketplace listings from sellers that are too far away from you?

This can be annoying, especially if you know there’s no way you’d ever be able to purchase those items.

Thankfully, Facebook allows you to restrict the listings to just your local area, and turning this setting on is actually quite simple!

So, in this article I’ll be showing you step-by-step how you can set Facebook Marketplace to local only, and even set it so you only see listings within a certain number of miles from your house.

Let’s get started!

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What Does Mutual Mean On Instagram? (Answered + Details)

Have you seen the word ‘mutual’ or ‘mutuals’ thrown around on Instagram, and are wondering what it actually means?

The truth is, it’s actually quite simple – and knowing it will help you form new connections on Instagram, with people you’ll actually like.

So, in this article, I’ll cover what mutuals means, as well as how to find both your mutual friends as well as your mutual followers on Instagram.

Let’s get right to it!

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