In a world with so much content, in a world with so much high-quality content, in a world where people can easily connect to whatever content they deem high-quality, it is difficult for me to accept the claim, “content is king.”
There is, for example, a reason why a monarchy has only one king. In a land where everyone is king, there really is no monarch.
What then might be king?
My theory is this: what is king is the human tendency to attach to a person, place, or thing. Art, advertising, marketing, websites, dating, community engagement, or advocacy all succeed when a sense of attachment is created in some person or persons for some person, place, or thing.
And, yes, I agree, really great content seems sometimes to engender an attachment to itself, however, on closer examination, I think factors like “continued and repeated exposure”, “habit”, and “peer pressure/affiliation” provide a more plausible explanation of how the attachment was created. In some cases, the attachment can be almost arbitrary: the right time, right place and — for reasons entirely beyond any particular person’s control — someone is ready to become attached.
A piece of undigested potato, perhaps.
Long before texts, shiny rocks and pointed sticks, the species survived and reproduced successfully because of our attachments to each other, particular places, and particular things. If you can figure out how to engender and nurture attachment in particular persons with predictable and measurable results, you are, perhaps, on your way to being king.
nadinethornhill
May 26, 2011
In a land where everyone is king, the monarch is the Super King (or Queen).
In all seriousness, I think about my own wildly diverse taste in art and media. The common thread clearly isn’t a certain level of quality, ’cause god knows I like me some dreck. I gravitate towards content with an element of familiarity or at least relatability.
I absolutely like stuff feel connected to.
Sterling Lynch
May 29, 2011
Thanks Nadine!
Your observation is important, I think. If quality is the most important consideration, then one would expect people to only ever consume content of a certain standard. Like you, that doesn’t appear to be the case for the vast majority of people.
Ray
May 30, 2011
Your headline hooked me. I feel connected to it.
In terms of content, I like surprises. And poo jokes. Poo jokes that are predictable and measurable
Sterling Lynch
May 30, 2011
Would it be fair to say you were hooked because you performed in the play which the title references?
I am also a huge fan of big honking corn filled poo jokes!