🎙 Podcast Version
2-host dialogue — ALEX & SAM discuss this course.
Course Title: Leveraging Hermes: Turning a Chat App into a Personal Assistant
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Overview
In this course, you will learn how to set up and use Hermes, a chat app, as a personal assistant to automate tasks, manage workflows, and gain insights. We will cover six hacks that will help you make the most out of Hermes and turn it into an essential tool for your personal knowledge base.
Background & Context
Hermes is a chat app that can be transformed into a personal assistant by using various hacks and workflows. In this course, we will explore six hacks that will help you make Hermes feel like an actual assistant, rather than just another chat app. These hacks include mission control, web hook triggers, Hermes Kanban board, cron jobs, sub-agents, and slash goals.
Core Concepts
Mission Control
Mission control is a dashboard that provides an overview of your entire system, including content, agents, ideas, performance, and more. By integrating Hermes into your mission control, you can see what is happening, what is waiting for you, what is being blocked, and what needs approval. This way, Hermes becomes a part of your operating layer, rather than just another chat app.
Web Hook Triggers
Web hook triggers allow you to automate tasks by setting up triggers that initiate specific workflows. For instance, when you move a video idea to your "to film" list in Notion, Hermes can automatically create a filming brief for you. This way, you can ensure that your agents follow you around where you already live and work, without any manual intervention.
Hermes Kanban Board
A Hermes Kanban board is a visual representation of your workflows, which can be integrated directly into your mission control dashboard. By using a Kanban board, you can see the tasks that Hermes is working on, instead of digging through chat history. This helps Hermes become a part of your operating layer, rather than just a chat app.
Cron Jobs
Cron jobs are time-based tasks that Hermes can perform automatically. By setting up cron jobs, you can have Hermes wake up at specific times and perform tasks, such as sending you an AI story worth reacting to, scanning websites for fresh posts, checking for outlier videos, auditing content boards, and summarizing content ideas.
Sub-Agents
Sub-agents are specialized agents that can be used to perform specific tasks. For instance, you can have Hermes run three sub-agents for video research: one for vidIQ and keyword signals, one for YouTube outliers and transcripts, and one for your channel performance and Nova memory. By using sub-agents, you can have multiple threads of work, which can be separated and managed more effectively.
Slash Goals
Slash goals are objectives that you can set for Hermes, rather than just asking for a single response. By using slash goals, you can provide Hermes with an outcome, sources, constraints, and deliverables, which will help it work towards a specific goal. For instance, you can ask Hermes to decide the strongest Hermes agent video that you should film this week, using vidIQ YouTube outliers, competitor transcripts, your posted videos, and Nova memory, while avoiding repeated angles and generic AI guru framing.
How It Works / Step-by-Step
- Set up your mission control dashboard and integrate Hermes into it.
- Create web hook triggers for various tasks, such as creating filming briefs when you move a video idea to your "to film" list.
- Set up a Hermes Kanban board to visualize your workflows and tasks.
- Create cron jobs to automate tasks, such as sending you an AI story worth reacting to every morning.
- Create sub-agents for specific tasks, such as video research.
- Use slash goals to set objectives for Hermes, rather than just asking for single responses.
Real-World Examples & Use Cases
- Use Hermes as a personal assistant to manage your content creation workflow.
- Use Hermes to automate tasks, such as creating filming briefs, researching video ideas, and summarizing content.
- Use Hermes to gain insights, such as by having it scan websites for fresh posts, check for outlier videos, and audit content boards.
Key Insights & Takeaways
- Hermes can be transformed into a personal assistant by using various hacks and workflows.
- Mission control provides an overview of your entire system, including content, agents, ideas, performance, and more.
- Web hook triggers allow you to automate tasks by setting up triggers that initiate specific workflows.
- Hermes Kanban board provides a visual representation of your workflows, which can be integrated directly into your mission control dashboard.
- Cron jobs are time-based tasks that Hermes can perform automatically.
- Sub-agents are specialized agents that can be used to perform specific tasks.
- Slash goals are objectives that you can set for Hermes, rather than just asking for a single response.
Common Pitfalls / What to Watch Out For
- Make sure to set up your web hook triggers and cron jobs correctly, to ensure that they work as intended.
- Make sure to provide clear and concise objectives when using slash goals.
- Make sure to test your sub-agents thoroughly, to ensure that they perform their tasks correctly.
Review Questions
- What is mission control and how can it help you manage your system more effectively?
- How can you use web hook triggers to automate tasks in Hermes?
- What is a Hermes Kanban board and how can it help you visualize your workflows and tasks?
- How can you use cron jobs to automate tasks in Hermes?
- What are sub-agents and how can you use them to perform specific tasks in Hermes?
- What are slash goals and how can you use them to set objectives for Hermes?
Further Learning
- Learn more about web hook triggers and how to use them in Hermes.
- Learn more about Hermes Kanban board and how to use it to visualize your workflows and tasks.
- Learn more about cron jobs and how to use them to automate tasks in Hermes.
- Learn more about sub-agents and how to use them to perform specific tasks in Hermes.
- Learn more about slash goals and how to use them to set objectives for Hermes.
- Explore other hacks and workflows that can help you make the most out of Hermes.