I am finishing up All About Berlin's June 2026 newsletter. It will be out on June 1. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox: https://t.co/jJPPMzV6az
Instead of AI slop, it features impressionist paintings of Berlin. This is "Der Wannsee" by Philipp Franck (1914).
AI is killing All About Berlin. When you Google something, you used to get a link to my website, but now you get an AI-generated answer trained on my work. This has a devastating impact on traffic.
Last week, I wrote about how AI is killing the website I live from. I turned it into a blog post that's easier to read and share.
https://t.co/oGrASIg5Lj
@Lewis_R_W In this case, they expect the knowledgeable staffers to keep feeding the industry that is replacing them, for free.
I wouldn't mind a better technology rendering my work useless, but in this case, it's still necessary. It's just artificially devalued by a monopoly.
@LVRenoan It's mandatory in Berlin. It's a bit like the TV tax: it's deemed important, so everyone needs to chip in whether they need it or not. In practice, the outcome is the same: they lose the need to produce something their captive user base actually wants.
The Berlin chamber of commerce (IHK) has started a massive, cryptic advertising campaign: "WTF is IHK?"
I've been paying the mandatory membership fee for 8 years and I ask myself the same question.
@AndyCMDE These workflow improvements do not increase my income.
I will keep the website useful, neutral and free. I don't want to compromise on quality or abandon principles to keep the lights on. I will find other ways to pay rent. Something is in the works.
AI on All About Berlin? Yes, but not like that.
I am releasing a tool that updates the website when certain facts change. If the minimum wage goes up, it updates it everywhere on the website. (1/2)
@pranesh@librarythingtim Again with the technical-legalistic approach. It's cool that they are working on an opt-out mechanism two years after the plundering took place, but it's too late for any objection to be meaningful.
@pranesh@librarythingtim And I'm just a regular guy getting wrecked by a megacorp. I am not asking about my chances against Google in court, but more practical questions like "how will I buy groceries in a year?"
In other words, read the room?
@pranesh@librarythingtim These conversations are voluntary and their scope is clear. The journalists sell their research and writing. Isn't the difference obvious to you? Are you being deliberately obtuse or is Twitter always like that?
@pwnxt Some yes, many no. A lot of that information comes from a LOT of private conversations, interviews with experts and reader feedback.
A prime example: https://t.co/oc35afa5Cp - The immigration office themselves started using my data.
This thread has reached context collapse size, so I'll mute it and move on with my day. My email is on the website this post is about. Feel free to reach out.
https://t.co/84Dfgt0knc
@colindotfun@sometimesfrunny Colin, I have never charged a cent for my content. I have open-sourced the entire tech stack this year.
You have never visited my website, have you?