There are only two things that are absolutely critical going forward:
1. Creating Better Content
Whatever it is that we’re doing is the content we deliver. It’s a book, or an ebook. It’s a performance or a recording. It’s 3000 words on Joe Biden. It’s our content. This is the great equalizer, because it doesn’t really matter who you are if your content is superior, amazing, sexy, intriguing, mind-blowing, the-first-of-its-kind or helpful. The content you created last year, last month, was great. Now make it better. Put more into it, make it more of whatever it is you’re going for. We are using our content to identify our one true path, and claiming community in exactly the group that arrives to listen or hear or read or dance to that content. Our content performs some service, fills some need, scratches some itch. Enough itches to make it worthwhile creating the content. One thing we can do is Create Better Content.
2. Creating Paths to Content
How do people find our content? How can they be informed about our content? Is our content discoverable? It’s 11:00 p.m., do you know where your Metadata are? Someone sits at a terminal typing into a search bar, looking for an answer–what question do you answer? Content without paths is an island. Knowing how to follow the pathways that search takes is central to a world in which the content of our cultures is being digitized. And the more content there is that’s digitized and searchable, the more people there are to answer that question. How will you—your content—be found? One thing we can do is make our Content Discoverable.
Create better content, bring it to people’s attention. Two things that will last a lifetime. Are you working on this too?
