I just watched Kipp Bodnar and Kieran Flanagan lay down a blunt truth that matches what I see daily across crypto, marketing, and social. Generic content is dead weight. It won’t rank in search. It won’t win in AI answers. It won’t build a business. My view is simple. Only original, first-party content stands a chance now.
Search engines and AI models are trained on the same public mush. If your post reads like that mush, you get buried. As an entrepreneur who has shipped products and media for decades, I’ve learned that the internet rewards proof, not platitudes. Their take hits the mark, and I want to add a playbook for makers who still want to win.
The Case Against Commodity Content
Their stance is clear. Surface-level posts won’t get you found. The winning strategy is original material that only you could publish. That means evidence, not summaries.
“Commodity content is not going to rank you in Google… Non-commoditized, unique, original content is what’s going to get you traffic… rank in ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc.”
I agree. I’ve watched AI turn “Top 10” posts into table stakes. The web does not need another “ultimate guide.” It needs what you know that no one else knows, shown with receipts.
What Great Looks Like Now
The example that stuck with me was a shift from a bland shoe-buying checklist to a specific, data-rich case. It wasn’t fluff. It was a field report.
“Why this customer’s shoes collapse after 400 miles? A wear pattern analysis… Jake brought his Brooks Ghost 15’s in at 402 miles… Lateral foam on the right heel was compressed 4 mm deeper than the left… Photos below.”
This is the model. Show, don’t summarize. You can’t fake Jake’s shoes, the 4 mm compression, or the photos. That’s the difference between a link and a lead. Between a pass and a sale.
Six Checkpoints For Non-Commodity Content
Here’s a simple filter I use when planning any piece, aligned with their advice. Use it to stress-test every draft before you hit publish.
- Proprietary evidence: data, images, logs, audits, or tests you ran.
- Firsthand experience: what you did, saw, or built.
- Specific over general: names, numbers, timeframes, settings.
- Clear point of view: take a stand readers can repeat.
- AI test: could a bot write it without your input? If yes, scrap it.
- Information gain: will readers learn something not in the top three results?
If you fail any one of these, your post is likely forgettable.
Why This Matters For Search And AI
Search engines prioritize pages with unique signals. AI answers pull from sources that add new facts. Original reporting creates those signals. Screenshots of dashboards. Transaction hashes. Interview notes. Customer tests. That’s the stuff that earns rankings and citations.
Some will argue that style or brand voice can carry a generic topic. Style helps, but it won’t outrank hard proof. A funny tone without evidence is still fluff. A small brand with real data will beat a large brand posting summaries.
How I’d Apply This Today
As a creator who has built media in crypto and marketing, I’d structure content like a lab report. One question, one test, one result. Keep it short and useful. Add a stance people can share.
Ideas you can ship this week:
- Run a 7-day experiment. Share your raw metrics and what changed.
- Publish a teardown. Name tools, costs, timelines, failures, and fixes.
- Compare two tactics head-to-head with the same budget and audience.
- Document a user story with screenshots, quotes, and outcomes.
Then package the story so a reader can act in minutes, not hours.
My Stand
The internet now pays a premium for proof. If you don’t have data, get it. If you don’t have access, build it. If you don’t have a story, run a test until you do. That’s true for Google. That’s true for AI. That’s true for buyers.
Kipp and Kieran are right to push for higher standards. The shortcut era is over. The winning edge is not more content. It’s new information backed by your own work.
Final Thought And Call To Action
Stop publishing summaries. Start publishing proof. This week, pick one customer, one product, or one dataset. Run a test you can name and measure. Document it with numbers, images, and a clear take. Then watch how your rankings, shares, and sales react.
The market doesn’t need another list. It needs your evidence. Go make something only you could make.
