Good publishers spend a lot of time and money to hire intelligent, professional editors, writers, proof readers, fact checkers, graphic designers, user interface experts, etc. etc., and we strive to make a fantastic product that’s clearly a sharp step above the nonsense people blurp out on blogs and tweets and Facebook posts. <\/p>\n
Then we call this fantastic stuff “content.” <\/p>\n
“Content” is a lame word. In my mind it conjures up the polyester stuffing in a cheap pillow. That’s the “contents” of the pillow. <\/p>\n
You might ask, “What’s the content of that box?” <\/p>\n
A: “Oh, just some junk from the garage.” <\/p>\n
“Content,” in short, is not an inspiring word. It brings to mind the uninteresting stuff that fills something else. <\/p>\n
A lot of stuff out there is “content.” It’s the blather of the masses. It’s the dreck from which, occasionally, something surfaces to get 15 minutes of fame on Twitter. <\/p>\n
That’s not your business. You’re not in a contest against images of somebody’s rear end. You’re doing more compelling, interesting things.\n <\/p>\n
So here’s a challenge. For the next week, every time you’re tempted to say or write “content” as a description of the professional, excellent material you produce, say “intellectual property” instead. <\/p>\n
There are two very cool things about intellectual property. First, it’s intellectual. Second, it’s property. <\/p>\n
It’s not stuffing. It’s not the junk in a box. It’s intelligent and meaningful and worth your time. <\/p>\n
It’s also valuable. It’s somebody’s property (yours), which means other people don’t have a right to it without compensation. <\/p>\n
Publishers need to believe in their product if they expect other people to, and steering away from the bland and boring “content” might be a good start. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Good publishers spend a lot of time and money to hire intelligent, professional editors, writers, proof readers, fact checkers, graphic designers, user interface experts, etc. etc., and we strive to make a fantastic product that’s clearly a sharp step above the nonsense people blurp out on blogs and tweets and Facebook posts. Then we call …<\/p>\n