The Champagne of Content

I took very seriously, and found myself reacting strongly to, Mark W. Schaeffer’s The best business opportunity in social media marketing.

I read this, “...content is a SEVERE bottleneck for most companies,” and nodded with heartfelt concurrence.  Content is king and queen, but so few companies, especially small ones, have the time or the content-creation skills to get their own content kings and queens into the conversation.  Very, very difficult challenge.

I read more and nodded more.  “The need for content seems insatiable. This exacts more pressure on companies to not only develop ‘meaningful’ content, but content that will knock your socks off.  Every day.”  Yes, yes!.  “…the price companies are willing to pay for content goes up.” Yeah!  We create content for companies!  Yeah for high prices for content!

Then this:  "There will be plenty of content-whores around for everybody." 

Then this:  “So here’s the business plan:  Come up with a posse of technical writers/content whores who can churn out blogs on a variety of subjects (maybe organize by verticals) and fill this out-sourcing market niche.”

Mark Shaeffer is a fine writer and thinker and I consider him an online colleague.  He even included me in his peacock.  He  wrote a blog post.  He writes a lot of blog posts.  What was my strong reaction about?

To me, the term "content whore" devalues the person, the transaction, and the act. 

If I describe myself as a content whore, I feel unvalued. I see the clients who pay me to write fine content for them maligned, i.e. they certainly didn't think they were paying for prostitution services when they signed the dotted line.  And the act itself is devalued.  I won't write just anything for just anybody for money.  I accept clients for whom I can write with my best self.

I value online content so profoundly that I create it and create it and create it, most days starting at 4:30 AM.  To quote Mark, "Every day."  I see online content as a new and evolving art form.  I’m thrilled to be part of what seems a revolution in how we communicate.

Do I churn out content?  I create a lot of content.  But the churning is within.  It’s from striving to create art.

I’ll be teaching a seminar in January entitled "The Art of the Blog Post."  When I define a Handshake 2.0 blog post, I use a sonnet as a metaphor.

A content whore.

I find reading Mark's blog {grow} always informative, often inspiring, and occasionally provocative.  I found myself provoked by his recent post to have greater clarity about what I do, why and how and where I see the best business opportunity in social media marketing for my company.

Content churners are welcome to mass produce Boone’s Farm wine.  It will certainly do.  We attempt to create the Dom Pérignon champagne of content. It's for celebration.  Customers abound for both.

To those who might consider me a content whore, I say, "You can kiss my..."

Actually, no you can't.

Comments

[Anne Giles Clelland]

I left this comment on Mark Shaeffer's blog shortly after posting the above:

Mark, I appreciate our email correspondence about this post and I acknowledge your points that I may be taking the word out of context and that my response may be exaggerated. Still, for me, the term "content whore" devalues the person, the transaction, and the act of content creation.

I respect commenter Jim Schweitzer’s important point that the “best thing a company can do is express themselves directly. If the company has no message, they have bigger problems to worry about than who is blogging for them.” Sometimes, though, it’s not the message that’s lacking, but the skill to express it. As the founder of a company that creates content with and for clients, we won’t create content for just anyone about just anything for money. We work with clients for whom we have genuine regard so we can create content for them that conveys as authentically as possible who they are and what they do. That can’t be churned.

To quote Jim Schweitzer again, “Authenticity will always be significant.” About my company and its products and services - and this is the path I’ve chosen for my company and it’s not the best, right, or only path - I would want content created by someone who values what he or she does and has the capacity to authentically value what my company does. From my view, those created words, images, videos and other media add value not only to my company, but to the quality and caliber of online content. As did this [your] post, which I sense was written by you authentically, that content can then provoke important discourse, even insight, even enlightenment. That contributes to the greater good which, I believe thoughtfully, authentically, even artistically created content can do.