The DaSilva Download – September Edition

🍎 September Reset

I don’t know about you, but I’ll never outgrow the thrill of September. It’s my yearly reset — cooler air, new notebooks, and yes, the annual dream that it’s somehow the middle of the semester, I’ve skipped every class and the midterm is today.

Is this just a Tiffany thing?

There’s something about this month that makes me nostalgic for sitting in a room full of people, learning something completely new. Honestly, if I ever became a millionaire, I’d probably just enroll in school forever.

But since I’m not living that campus life (yet), I’m channeling that energy here: diving into fresh tools, big industry shifts, and some wild stories that made me smile. September’s news cycle is already packed, so let’s get into it.

✨ Good News

🐱🚇 A man in China spent four months building a subway system for his cats — complete with tunnels, windows, and miniature “stations.” It’s every bit as ridiculous and glorious as you’d hope. Proof that sometimes joy is just… building infrastructure for cats.

🎓 Tip of the Month

AI product photography is finally within reach.

One year ago, AI-generated product images looked like a fever dream. A month ago, they were better, but still clunky. Today? With Google’s new image model in AI Studio, they’re shockingly usable.

As a small business owner (hello Flowjo.co), I used to spend thousands on product shoots, only to use a handful of shots — and pray they converted. Now, I can test concepts first in AI, before investing in expensive photography.

Last week, I walked through how I used Google’s Nano Banana tool to create product photos in minutes — even subtle background placements, like sliding my product onto a bookshelf. Not perfect yet, but the ground floor of this tech is the best time to learn.

👀 What I’m Keeping an Eye On

🕵️ Google Antitrust Ruling — After years of waiting, the U.S. finally got a decision: Google must share some search data with rivals, but there’s no breakup, no Chrome spin-off, and no ban on its billion-dollar placement deals. The court basically said “monopoly, yes - but let’s not go too far.” For SEOs, it means stability (for now), but for the open web? It feels like a missed chance to reset the playing field. NYT coverage

📉 Can Social Media Be Fixed? — A new study says the dysfunction isn’t just algorithms or bad actors — it’s baked into the structure of social networks themselves. Echo chambers, influencer dominance, toxic outrage cycles… they all emerge naturally, even without algorithmic boosts. Which raises the uncomfortable question: if it’s structural, can social media ever be “fixed”? Read here

🔗 Google Wants More Links in AI Mode — Google’s testing carousels, inline links, and even a “Web Guide” to surface more sources inside AI answers. It’s a small tweak with big implications: where those links appear will decide who actually gets the click — and who stays invisible. Read more

📑 AI Citations Under the Microscope — A new study found that 1 in 10 sources cited in Google’s AI Overviews is actually AI-generated. Even more surprising? Over half of citations come from outside the top 100 search results, and those are more likely to be machine-written. For YMYL queries (health, finance, law, politics), that’s… not great. It raises real questions about reliability, trust, and whether we’re heading toward a recursive loop where AI keeps training on AI. Full study

🛠️ SEO’s Tactical Core — Duane Forrester argues what many won’t say out loud: for 20 years, SEO’s been mostly tactics, not strategy. GenAI changes the game—machines are swallowing the busywork, which forces SEOs to step up and set direction: which surfaces to win, which engines to show up in, what authority signals to build. If you’re still calling chunking and schema “strategy,” you’re already behind. Read here

🎥 The GEO Playbook — Traditional SEO was about ranking links. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is about being inside the answer itself. Chris Latham’s new guide lays out how to make content citation-worthy for AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode — from chunking and schema to authority signals and multimodal assets. If “ranking” defined the last 20 years, “being included” defines the next 20. Explore here

🚀 What I’m Focused on Now

Last month was course-heavy:
🎯 AI Creative Strategist Blueprint — Alex Cooper & Jimmy Slagle
🧠 AI First Academy — Allie K. Miller
📘 AI Strategy & Governance — University of Pennsylvania

This month, I’m slowing down (vacation mode) and leaning into Responsible Tech reading. These books are calling out the hype, reminding us about human agency, and questioning whether “technosolutionism” is leading us anywhere good.

On my list of books I want to check out:

• Empire of AI – Karen Hao

• The AI Con – Emily M. Bender

• Enshitification – Cory Doctorow

• AI Snake Oil – Arvind Narayanan & Sayash Kapoor

I’ll let you know which ones I end up reading next month! Interested in reading some yourself? See the full Responsible Tech Summer Reading List

🔥 Vibe Check

📬 Let’s Talk!

If September has you rethinking your visibility strategy — whether it’s AI Overviews, GEO, or paid search black boxes — this is a good time to get clarity. I’m helping brands audit where they stand and build practical roadmaps for the next 6–12 months. If that’s on your radar, let’s chat.

And if this gave you even one “wow, that’s useful” moment, pass it along to a fellow marketer who’s deep in the trenches with us.

Talk soon,
Tiffany