Turning lemons into...

A humbling experience from an "expert" on Small Business Saturday

“Can I call you an AI expert?”

It’s a question I would ask of others… and would often get pushback.

Especially in the cybersecurity world, the people speaking on camera don’t always consider themselves “experts.” They are, but compared to the brilliant minds they work with, they don’t feel it’s an appropriate title.

When someone asks if they can call me an AI expert, I pause.

My mind immediately races toward those who know programming languages like Python, or create robotic limbs, or use machine learning to train medical devices to save lives.

How could I compare myself to them?

But then I remind myself that yes, I’m an expert in AI when it comes to my specific field.

However, it doesn’t mean I’m good at everything. And after being labeled an “expert,” I’ve found I’m more cautious about showing my inadequacies. Especially if they’re supposed to fall under the umbrella of my particular expertise.

So you can imagine how humbled I am right now, writing this post.

I’m admitting to spending three hours trying to edit a simple video reel (it was longer, but my pride already hurts). The video wasn’t supposed to be anything fancy. In fact, I was trying a technique you’ve seen plastered all over social shorts, reels, and tiktoks…

(You might have seen it done famously by Simir, the original Zillow Gone Wild guy)…

Yes, I was trying to make myself floaty, so I could point to things and do an explainer.

But I couldn’t figure it out.

I’ve done it in the past, but I couldn’t remember how I made it work so effortlessly before. Perhaps I got lucky? After all, I was using an AI editing program and it just did it for me. But not this time.

After getting to the point of wanting to throw my entire computer, screen, camera, teleprompter, and anything else in reach out the window, I decided to just start over.

I got out an actual greenscreen.

I turned up the lighting.

I popped out my phone.

I even used the new Insta Editing app.

And then…

Glitches.

Glitches galore.

I’ve been editing video for 20 years. I’ve used nearly every editing program there is. I’ve tried out all kinds of AI programs, smartphone apps… heck, I used to edit tape-to-tape on BetaCam!

But I can’t figure out a simple greenscreen trick???

I kinda look like Max Headroom…

IMDB: Max Headroom

(the Max Headroom airwave hijacking anniversary was recently… maybe it was him trying to come through?)

It’s ridiculous.

But I got tired of trying to make it perfect.

So I gave up.

This is it.

This is the video.

It took me all day and all night. And honestly, I’m hoping someone will just take pity on me and vote for my small business so I can hire an editor… or maybe a Gen Z’er… so I never, ever have to endure this again.

Take look. It’s okay to laugh. I had to laugh!

To make matters worse, I quickly realized that even with the explainer video, people are confused. (Shout-out to my friend Jim for letting me know that the whole voting process is sending mixed messages).

So I had to do ANOTHER video, explaining why it looks like I already won, which I did, but not for the end-of-year grant, which is really important… so…

Glitchy glitch had to come back for another round!

When life gives you lemons…

This has been a humbling moment from someone who is supposed to be technically savvy in AI, in journalism, and in social media.

Oh… and I’m also thankful for your vote!

Here’s the link to vote: https://ambergrantsforwomen.com/june-2025-startup-grant-awarded-to-blue-moves-media-llc/