In January I presented at the SUG in Columbus. One of the things I like about presenting is that sometimes I come out of a presentation learning something new. One of the things I learned was how to trigger image tag generation easily. Here are the steps I learned.
Create/Upload an image. As you see below I uploaded a beautiful picture of the Chicago skyline. Well in my opinion it is beautiful. I added some things in overview, but at the moment there is nothing in the image analysis. Finding similar assets though worked automatically.
2. Change Image analysis values. You will see two fields below. Let’s just change the value of Tags to auto-tagged.
3. Back the Overview. Change the asset type to Social and save.
4. Take a small break and refresh the screen. You should now see tags and a description. In the image analysis.
But wait there is more… In my next blog I am going to show you how to trigger AI tagging for images.
“The miracle is this: The more we share the more we have.”— Leonard Nimoy. I got the news last week and couldn’t wait to share it. I am very grateful for this honor. This was the eight time I was able to achieve it. Congratulations to all the repeating MVPs and new ones!
This past year it took me a little time to find my groove. When I did, I was able to run with some new ideas. I continued with the basics of Sitecore. Which I plan to do some blog posts for more basics this year. I think that has been very beneficial not only for sharing with others, but for myself. Later in the year I found my passion again for the Sitecore Content Hub. I was able to present some of the new things I learned and I have been continuing that this year. To see my timeline of last year click here.
My goals this year are simple.
More blogs about the Content Hub.
More back to basics blogs.
Get YouTube videos posted.
Present at every opportunity I can.
Share my knowledge with my client and co-workers I gain from being an MVP.
So you made it this far. If you want some advice on working towards an MVP, this is what I can tell you.
Share your knowledge on how you solved something. Someone else may need to know the solution too.
Take advantage of every opportunity to learn something. Watch all the videos and read all the documentation you can. You may come up with new ideas.
Find something you are passionate about and run with it.
To share write blogs, present, create vlogs etc…
Help solve and post issues on Slack and Sitecore Stack Exchange.
Join the SItecore MVP Mentor Program. Details coming soon I think.
Between the holidays my goal was to get familiar again with CMP (Content Marketing Platform). As soon as I created a campaign I noticed AI was enabled for content. A quick look at the updates shows it was released in December. It is listed as in beta. From what I have seen so far though, this will be a great addition for content authors. It is the gift that keeps on giving.
On an editable field click on the AI button. You will then be brought to a dialog that will ask you what you are looking for.
As you see above this is just a start. Content Hub had introduced AI for image assets earlier this year. With the addition of this new AI feature, Content Hub continues to improve. It is becoming one of the best all-in-one content tools. In the next year I plan on featuring more of the new features.
Still unwinding from one of the best weeks I have spent in Nashville. It was the only week I ever spent there. I am sure the Sitecore Symposium made it better than any other week.In this blog I will break down some of the highlights and give you my final thoughts. The them for the Symposium was The Power to Build. That is something that rings true.
Food Tour
One of the best things I did in Nashville was the food tour. It was well organized by Chet. Learned some good history and had some great food.
MVP Summit
I can’t share much yet, but as always a great time. Learned a lot and got a lot of questions answered. I got to meet my mentee in person so that was really exciting. He is doing great things and I have no doubt he will be a future MVP.
Sitecore Stream
AI is the current and the future hottest technology. With Sitecore Stream AI will be part of the DNA in all of Sitecore products. We have probably heard a lot already about Sitecore Stream. Here are some of the things I believe it will offer. To find out more go here.
AI Enhanced Workflows
Consistent content and branding.
Faster website page creation.
Content remains the property of the customer.
XP
It not be the new shiny ring, but it sure has not lost its luster.
Updates are released through various versions of Sitecore prior to XP, minimizing the potential for breaking changes.
XP will also gain from Sitecore Stream and Copilot (AI features).
XP will continue to get support.
Copilot AI will be integrated into the Content Editor. It will help in generating textual content, like titles and descriptions. It will also correct grammar and spelling errors.
There will be a choice to use Sitecore Search instead of SOLR.
MVC to Headless Migration Tooling will be provided.
Content Hub
More AI features added.
Sharing of assets between DAM and CMP.
Can use your own AI.
AI Integration: The focus is on injecting AI into business processes, particularly in content creation and marketing functions. Discussions revolved around challenges with using off-the-shelf AI tools and the need for business-specific logic.
Content Strategy: The aim is to enhance the quality of photography from various partners. It also aims to increase the quantity while addressing issues like licensing costs. Another focus is on ensuring brand alignment.
Feedback Mechanism: A system for feedback on generated images was proposed. Users evaluate assets. They give feedback to improve the AI model’s accuracy and effectiveness.
Sitecore Search
Modernize search experiences, ensuring consistency across diverse business units while focusing on user requirements and data governance.
Highlighted the need for flexible search solutions that can adapt to various content types and user needs.
They have merged Discover (Commerce based Search) and their non-commerce-based search into a single product now.
Has OOTB development kit which supports React.
XM Cloud
XM Cloud is now HIPPA compliant. That is huge news.
Many more frontend stacks supported and starter kits.
Retirement of Experience Editor and shift to Page Editor.
XM Sites – Dashboard which helps manage a multi-site tenant.
Unified Tracking
Capable of keeping track across SaaS product like Connect, Personalize and CDP. Tracking and privacy will be much smoother.
Marketplace
Marketplace is coming back. Will have starter installations that will help get things up and running the way customers want. Open to Sitecore and Trusted Partners.
Katie Ledecky
What an amazing athlete. Great hearing what she had to say. I never knew the medals have a piece of the Eiffel tower.
Brendan Hunt
You heard me many times quote Ted Lasso. It was an honor to see Coach Beard in the flesh. Remember to “Be Curious Not Judgmental”.
Teammates
Working from home it was great to see people that I haven’t seen a while in person. Most of all my teammates.
Swag
Got some really great stuff from the store. My chocolate lab Murray is modeling his new Sitecore collar.
Final Thoughts
I feel like Sitecore that I fell in love with over ten years ago is back. They are posed to really overtake the market. There is so much to learn. I plan to stay with the products that I know best. I will expand my knowledge for sure and hopefully start looking into products I haven’t used much before.
Let me first say how excited I am about all the new stuff coming soon. Today was a great day.
Sitecore stream is really going to revolutionize the way things are done. Stretching AI across all Sitecore products is going to be amazing. Find out more here.
Breakout Sessions were Fantastic as always. Here are some of the highlights of the ones I attended.
Continuous improvement with Content Hub
Great session were I learned how a real world Content Hub implementation was done. Doing things right in the DAM from the start is essential. This approach will help you down the road. Especially with other parts of the Content Hub.
Content Hub Roadmap
I missed pat of this, but was able to capture a slide.
Developer Experience in XM Cloud
This one was exciting to hear. Lots of great features coming to XM Cloud development. Liz Nelson did a great job explaining it. The new offerings will help developers tremendously.
Last, but not least a fireside chat with Katy Ledecky. I found out that part of the medal is made with the Eiffel Tower.
For the first time ever I attended a Partner Connect. It was awesome hearing what is on the horizon. I can’t share everything yet, but it will be worth the wait.
Had to get my buttons and meet my co-workers from RBA.
What better way to start the day then with run?. Wednesday I am organizing a run/walk, so I needed to test out some routes.
There are some restrictions on what I can share from the MVP Summit. However, I’m gonna share what I can.
The first thing I will share is that I’m excited about what next year has in store for Sitecore and the community.
I am a big fan of the Content Hub. Based on what I have heard, it’s gonna be a bigger powerhouse next year.
As XM cloud grows so do all of the ways to implement it. It keeps getting stronger every year. Some clients are not ready to get there yet. Sitecore is at least preparing for that when they do get there. I really like the idea of a hybrid model. Some clients can move their sites over to XM cloud. They keep their other ones in XM/XP until they’re ready.
it was interesting to learn how psych’s competitors have been attacking them in the market. Sitecore is not one to attack others. Their product will speak for itself. They will take the initiative to show that more, from what I understand.
Sitecore’s e-learning will offer new courses. These courses aim to help non-technical people grow their Sitecore knowledge.
Well, after all that serious business, it was time of the party at Dave & Buster’s.
Started out with the annual food tour. This was a great time to catch up with everyone and learn more about the history of Nashville. We made some great stops and the food was great. Hot chicken did not disappoint. Looking forward to the MVP summit tomorrow.
I always feel very blessed when I get to the Sitecore Symposium. I especially enjoy it when it takes place in a city I have never been to (Nashville). Besides seeing my co-workers from RBA I get to see a lot of people from the Sitecore community. Plus there is the MVP Summit, events, cool swag, the walks/runs I am going to organize etc… Most of all there are the presentations. I love attending them and sharing what I got to see. Hopefully I will get to implement some new ideas too.
MVP Summit – Well this is a mix of presentations. What I hope to get out of it is learn what is coming out in the future. The Q&A sessions is my favorite part as I get to ask questions to various Sitecore representatives.
Welcome Reception -This always gets me excited. It is a great way to kick off the Symposium and gives attendees a peak into the future of Sitecore.
Is AI bias the new elephant in the room? – I know based on the presenters this will be a great presentation. I know I will come out with a different perspective after this one.
Next-gen frontend development with XM Cloud – I am mainly a back-end developer, but I always want to learn more of the front-end. This presentation sounds perfect to take the next step.
Revive, renew, reimagine: Sitecore XP renaissance – I really love XP. It may not always be the new shiny jewel, but it is extremely powerful still. Can’t wait to hear what is next as many clients still use it and are happy to continue using it.
A fireside chat with Brendan Hunt – Last, but not least. I am a huge Ted Lasso fan. I loved Coach Beard and also like the actor that portrays him even more being a fellow Chicagoan. I can’t wait to watch.
Sitecore Runner | Rob Reilley | Sitecore MVP 