Podcast Episode # 105 - Fusing Memes, AI, and Economic Development in Georgia With Ben McDaniel

Barrow County: where the water's plentiful and the memes are awesome.

21 Aug 2023 — 3 min read

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In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, Ben McDaniel, the director for the Barrow Brazelton Joint Economic Development Authority in Georgia, shares how he uses memes and AI tools like ChatGPT to market his community in creative ways. McDaniel says he leans into his authentic self on platforms like LinkedIn, making funny or interesting memes that get noticed by site selectors and project managers. He also uses ChatGPT to help with common economic development tasks like crafting RFI responses and offer letters. McDaniel believes AI will transform the field and is already introducing it to his 10-year-old daughter.

Overall, the episode explores how economic developers big and small can tap into new technologies and creative marketing to share their community's story. McDaniel provides an interesting case study in embracing innovation while staying true to your roots.

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Some of Ben's Memes

Takeaways

Here are 10 key takeaways from the episode:

Use memes and humor to connect with your audience in an authentic way. McDaniel crafts funny memes that get noticed by site selectors on LinkedIn.
Don't be afraid to embrace your niche and lean into what makes your community unique. For Barrow County, it's abundant water resources.
Introduce new technologies like AI to improve your workflows. McDaniel uses ChatGPT for writing tasks.
Let ChatGPT learn your community's voice and style so content sounds natural. Don't just copy and paste.
Use ChatGPT plugins to scrape websites and pull data to inform your work. This helped McDaniel guess company names.
Consider how AI can enhance education. McDaniel shows his daughter how ChatGPT can turn her ideas into full stories.
Focus on community impact and developing future local leaders. McDaniel aims to create opportunity.
Shine the spotlight on others and share credit to build goodwill and relationships. Use the "canvas strategy."
Customize your approach for each project. Not everything is a good fit for your community.
Find mentors who can see your potential and nudge you towards new career paths. Someone suggested economic development to McDaniel.