Tallie Gabriel
Culture, technology, travel writer
I am currently Contently's social media intern, a freelance writer, and a cellist.
PROJECTS
Motherboard
I Tried Being BFFs With an AI
For a week, at least.
Do you find social interactions with other humans lacking? Perhaps you have a hard time connecting with strangers, or are never quite satisfied with your Tinder responses. Maybe, like me, you're driven to impatience by how long it takes most people to answer a text.
Meet Replika, a beta artificial intelligence app that aims to solve these issues with human connection. Replika learns about you through a series of programmed questions, and learns to be like you in return. ...
The Freelancer
The Pros and Cons of Publishing on Medium
If you have a voice, Medium claims to have room for it—no matter your background or choice of topic. The community blogging platform is the ultra-inclusive place to find content by everyone from former Vice President Joe Biden to actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt to your college freshman cousin who reviews dance shows in her spare time.
As founder Ev Williams—who also co-founded Twitter—put it: “Medium is not about who you are or whom you know, but about what you have to say.”
So is it worth cultiva...
The Content Strategist
Your Brand Needs a Conscience
Last January, Uber declined to participate in an organized taxi strike amidst the immigration ban protests at JFK airport. In fact, the company even turned off surge pricing to and from the airport. But instead of leading to a quick boom in business, the move upset consumers. In a matter of days, Uber lost 200,000 customers, and people were boycotting the brand on Twitter with #DeleteUber.
Surge pricing has been turned off at #JFK Airport. This may result in longer wait times. Please be patie...
The Content Strategist
Study: Teenagers Are Now Facebook’s Kryptonite
Late last year, I wrote an article for Vice News about whether humans can fall in love with artificial intelligence. Spoiler alert: We can. Normally, I’d link you to the webpage so you can read it to learn more, but in this case, I can’t. The article only appeared on Snapchat Discover, the daily magazine-like spread of stories meant to pique the interest of younger readers. So my article ran for one day before disappearing into the ether forever.
I have to say, after following Vice on Discove...
The Content Strategist
Snapchat’s Identity Crisis Will Force Brands and Publishers to Play the Waiting Game
When someone tells you they need time to figure out who they are, bad news is on the way. That’s just as true in business as it is in romance. Identities are important because they help us set expectations. When there aren’t any consistent expectations, relationships end.
Snapchat is not normally a place for heartbreak, but given its current identity crisis, it could be headed for a messy split from brands and publishers. First, Snapchat launched as a photo-sharing app. Then, as video rose in...
bookhivecorp.com
How and When to Walk Away From a Project
If you're anything like me, knowing when to step away from your work is not always the easiest task. Or even close to the realm of easy tasks. I usually like to have one or two trustworthy friends look at my work before I send it out, and before that I've been known to mull over the same lines, wracking my brain for better syntax until my eyes bleed.
Well, not really, of course. But I'm sure many of you know the feeling.
As writers, we want to present our best work, especially when looking fo...
Medium
MLMs and Women: The Trap That Keeps on Trapping
MLMs and Women: The Trap That Keeps on Trapping
You’ve probably heard of Arbonne, the all-natural, sustainable online cosmetics line. If you haven’t, then you must not have a friend who’s an Arbonne rep.
On paper, everything about Arbonne sounds great. They are transparent about their ethics, ingredients, and cruelty-free philosophies. Their products are pricier than drugstore brands, but equivalent to anything you’d expect to find at an upscale skincare retailer. And considering their sustai...