Category: English

I did market research on you… Well, sort of. I did a course on AI recently and in the early stages it gets you to do some basic interactions with Chat GPT. If you haven’t tried Chat GPT, you really should, it’s a lot of fun and it’s a good idea to make friends with it now before it takes over the earth. The exercise was to try and get it writing marketing materials about a product or service. I don’t really have a service to market but I decided to tell it about this blog and have it tell me how it would turn this rambling nonsense into a going concern.

Naturally, I won’t be doing any of it, but I thought it was a fun exercise.

Here’s what it said was the “sales profile”

Buyer Persona: Portuguese Language Enthusiast

1. Demographic Information:
   • Age: 25-45
   • Gender: Predominantly female, but also male
   • Location: Mainly foreigners living in Portugal or spouses of Portuguese people in Britain
   • Education: Varied educational backgrounds, but with a strong interest in language learning
2. Psychographic Characteristics:
   • Language Enthusiasts: They have a genuine interest in learning European Portuguese and exploring its intricacies.
   • Self-Motivated Learners: They are committed to learning the language independently and seek resources to enhance their skills.
   • Curious and Inquisitive: They enjoy exploring the cultural and linguistic nuances of European Portuguese.
   • Tech-Savvy: They are comfortable using online platforms and resources for language learning.
3. Pain Points and Challenges:
   • Limited Resources: They struggle to find comprehensive European Portuguese learning materials due to the dominance of Brazilian Portuguese resources.
   • Lack of Community: They desire a supportive community of fellow learners who can share experiences, tips, and resources.
   • Cultural Integration: Foreigners living in Portugal may face challenges with cultural integration and seek guidance on cultural aspects.
4. Unique Selling Points:
   • Perspective of a Fellow Learner: Your blog provides an authentic perspective as a fellow learner, which resonates with the target audience.
   • In-Depth Language and Cultural Content: Your blog covers more advanced topics, offering valuable insights and discussions beyond basic language learning materials.
   • Comprehensive Resource Listings: Your curated lists of European Portuguese resources (audiobooks, textbooks, language hacks, online learning sites) provide convenience and save time for learners.
5. Marketing Strategies:
   • Online Forums and Groups: Engage with relevant Facebook groups, subreddits, and language learning communities to share valuable content and establish yourself as a knowledgeable resource.
   • Guest Blogging: Collaborate with other language learning blogs or websites to reach a wider audience and increase exposure.
   • Social Media Presence: Maintain active profiles on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to share language learning tips, cultural insights, and promote new blog posts.
   • Email Marketing: Develop a newsletter or mailing list to deliver valuable content directly to subscribers’ inboxes and nurture a community of learners.

I feel like this is pretty good – it’s obviously understood the brief. It asked me some questions beforehand but I didn’t really give it any clues as to what to say. I asked it what made it so sure language learners would mostly be of the female persuasion:

Apologies if my previous response gave the impression of certainty regarding the gender composition of your target audience. The assumption of a predominantly female audience was based on a combination of factors commonly associated with language learning and cultural interests. However, it’s important to note that gender preferences and interests can vary greatly among individuals, and it’s always recommended to rely on actual data and insights from your specific audience.

And the age? I’m a good ten years older than it’s maximum range, so that piqued my interest

Apologies for any confusion. The age range I suggested (25-45) was based on a general understanding of language learning demographics and the assumption that individuals in that age bracket may have a higher likelihood of pursuing language learning as a personal interest or for professional purposes.

Fair enough. It went on to tell me stuff about your objectives… well, that’s simple enough to guess, surely: it said proficiency, cultural integration, travel, personal enrichment and professional advancement. No huge surprises there.

But my favourite thing – as always – is to get it to come up with puns and I spent far, far too much time on that and pretty much forgot about the rest of the course. Here are some of my favourite blog titles

• “Portu-Guess: Can You Decode These Tricky Portuguese Expressions?”
• “Bacalhau to the Basics: A Delicious Dive into Portuguese Cuisine” (I’ve actually written one with a pretty similar name to this. Maybe Chat GPT is a dad too)
• “Breaking the Mold: Portuguese Grammatical Gender – Because Rules Were Made to be ‘Quebrado'” (Genius! “Regras” is both feminine and plural, so when it says «quebrado» it’s really taking its own advice! 20p in the mealheiro for you, my lad!)
• “Gender Bender: Turning the Tables on Portuguese Grammar – Let’s Make it a ‘Gênero’-us Affair!”
• “Navigating the Subjungle: A Safari Through Portuguese Subjunctive Tenses” (Subjungle! Oh my god, why didn’t I think of that? “Welcome to the Subjungle” would have been a great title for this blog post)

And then there’s whatever this is:

• “Wishful Conjugations: Portuguese Subjunctive Tenses Made ‘Subjimple'”

Subjimple??? This is the sort of thing that makes me understand how my wife feels when I make puns.

Chat GPT can speak portuguese just as easily as english, and even stick to european forms if you tell it to, but I get the feeling its pun capabilities are a bit limited. I prodded it to write actual portuguese puns, not just english puns that borrow portuguese words, but no matter how I phrased the question it could only write titles that hinted that the blog post contained puns, and couldn’t actually come up with any puns of its own. Buuuu!

1. “Caldo Verde: Uma Sopa de Trocadilhos e Sabor”
2. “Bacalhau ao Ponto: Pescando Risadas na Cozinha”
3. “Sardinhas Grelhadas e Piadas Bem Passadas”
4. “Pastéis de Nata: Uma Doce Poesia de Trocadilhos”
5. “Francesinha Divertidinha: Rindo entre Camadas Saborosas”

Oh well, it’s reassuring to know that AI won’t be advanced enough to take all our jobs for at least another 6 months.

Another rehash of this confusion

Nikki Haley desistiu porque, enfim, não valia a pena ficar em concorrência com o palhaço cor de laranja sem hipótese de o vencer (Resignação)

Não votei porque, afinal, não sou um cidadão americano (Justificação)

Donald Trump ganhou a presidência e, por fim, acabou com a democracia nos Estados Unidos (Finalização de uma sequência)

Winston Smith sorriu porque, no fim, tinha aprendido a amar Grande Irmão (Conclusão de um processo)

Após tantos anos de votação de quatro em quatro anos, finalmente, as pessoas teriam a oportunidade de ficar em casa sem pensar em nada (Alívio)

Ao fim e ao cabo, tudo que o povo queria era um sinal de esperança até, finalmente, chegou o asteroide para acabar com tudo  (Encerramento ou conclusão)

(Not endorsing her per se, but in this election, oh my god, yes… and anyway, if ever a country was long overdue for a female leader, it’s that country)

Thanks to Cristina for unfudging the last one which was a bit wrong