I Stopped “Creating Content” • Hacker News Board

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#121

Post by Eridrus » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 3:24 AM UTC

advisedwang wrote: post #94

WalterBright wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The tragedy is that we want artists to have reliable income If artists create art that people are willing to pay for, great! I don't really want to pay artists for art I don't like. I remember when Nirvana suddenly became successful. Many in the local community called them "sellouts", which is quite unfair.

I like the kind of output artists make when they work on individual creative projects. I don't really like the kind of output artists make when they feel they need to crank out something every week that has to have roughly equal appeal to the exact same audience. But the way the internet (and other mass media) scales means that only the latter can really have a business model and reliable income attached.

I think artists are too attached to solo work and should hire people to crank out variants on their successful vision or license their ideas so that they can continue having new ideas.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#122

Post by Imustaskforhelp » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 4:09 AM UTC

georgeecollins wrote: post #107

danielciocirlan wrote: post #59

You “create content” if what you’re after is just money, and “content” is this malleable goo you have to produce and shove it down the algorithm so that it gets “traffic”, another form of goo that gets “funneled” and “converted” into money. In other words, it loses all (human) meaning. So yes, if you care at all, you shouldn’t “create content”. You should be writing essays, recording tutorials, training, music, conve…

I am so glad someone said this! I get really mad when a PR person writes the word content in the press release for my company. We don't create content. To me "content" means you don't know what you are making or you are very embarrassed about it. We make art or entertainment that people pay for. In general there are two axis I think about in media. One axis is originality, the other axis is durability. Very unorigina…

> There is a tug of war between people and platform as such across this diagonal axis.

People want value whereas platforms want content, the incentives between a viewer and platform/content creator are getting broken because of the overhead incentive of the platform/content creator for money aka content.

There are some places where its not the case, namely wikipedia (aside from its recent controversies) and archive.org both being non-profit, though there are issues with non-profits as well in terms of their funding and other things. Open source being the example of it in terms of how much value it gives us but there is a lack of funding of that as well.

There has to be some balance in all of it but it seems that the balance is binary-like. Either we are seeing mostly open source underfunded software or we are seeing platforms/content-creators using their power for more money.

It also comes to the point that GP comment makes though, content is created by the expectation of profit and so that is its benchmark but value is created for something more emotional but people also like to eat food and would prefer to do so doing work on open source/the work they like for example but then it also pushes itself into content boundary rather than value.

@tombert has a comment about it which says that they are writing blogs and creating value for the sake of it because they have job on the side and its just the first example that I got reading this thread but many people actually create value as such, but as such they are creating value "in-spite" of incentives and the actual incentives are working on the opposite side of value creation.

It is similar to how actual Musicians in music industry are really exploited by all the systems around them yet they still create Music (value) in-spite of all of it because creating music (value) means more to them than all the issues and there is something human about creating value/music. Here's an extremely good video about it[0]

if money follows content and content follows money, perhaps content is just value which follows money and being shallow rather than something deeper and all these dynamics that interact with each other are leading to a tug of war in the first place.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx7baJMQuVA

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#123

Post by Imustaskforhelp » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 4:14 AM UTC

mcapodici wrote: post #103

glial wrote: post #33

I appreciate this push-back. I keep a running list of words like this...content, product, device, experience, space, vehicle, resource, etc. I can't put my finger on why, but all of these make me distrust the speaker.

All these words are too broad is why. It allows someone to say something without really knowing what they mean. But also they may know what they mean, so you are not sure! Device is a handy one though you often want to say "computer, laptop, tablet or phone" in one go. We could call them all computers but that would confuse people I think.

Yeah exactly, It is meant to mean/sound something in a way which could impress people or get any desirable outcome but in reality it means nothing or sometimes even opposite in a way similar to double-speak, recent layoffs and how they are worded seems to be another example.

These words are sometimes like schrodingers cat and this is also what I have observed that within recent layoffs, its really hard to accurately find what the real intent behind it was within some companies and there is no wide consensus.

Perhaps this is their true purpose, to hide the real intent behind things and perhaps (to give the benefit of doubt?)

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#124

Post by Imustaskforhelp » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 4:23 AM UTC

c-hendricks wrote: post #113

nancyminusone wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stanley Kubrick, Kane Parsons, and Mr. Beast walk into a bar. Bartender says, "Sorry,we don't serve content creators here." Who gets kicked out?

Kane Parsons is 20 years old (Sorry to use a meme but I couldn't drop this oddly perfect opportunity. Also Kane Parsons is 21 years old)

Well done, my first thought after I realized what you did was the Slow clap meme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1N5lZw7e78

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#125

Post by sevenseacat » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 4:31 AM UTC

bombcar wrote: post #54

EPWN3D wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I have a similar list. Mine also includes "journey". As soon as a word gets adopted by MBAs to abstract away the real world, it gets added to my list. They're words that project the idea of a smart person but only to stupid people.

Mine is "thought leader" - I've yet to meet someone who calls themselves that who's had a useful thought.

I know a few people who unironically call themselves that. They sound awesome, but scratch beneath the surface of what they say... there's nothing there.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#126

Post by sevenseacat » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 4:33 AM UTC

Eridrus wrote: post #121

advisedwang wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the kind of output artists make when they work on individual creative projects. I don't really like the kind of output artists make when they feel they need to crank out something every week that has to have roughly equal appeal to the exact same audience. But the way the internet (and other mass media) scales means that only the latter can really have a business model and reliable income attached.

I think artists are too attached to solo work and should hire people to crank out variants on their successful vision or license their ideas so that they can continue having new ideas.

Songwriters do this! Write the songs, give them to others to perform

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#127

Post by __rito__ » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 7:19 AM UTC

danielciocirlan wrote: post #59

You “create content” if what you’re after is just money, and “content” is this malleable goo you have to produce and shove it down the algorithm so that it gets “traffic”, another form of goo that gets “funneled” and “converted” into money. In other words, it loses all (human) meaning. So yes, if you care at all, you shouldn’t “create content”. You should be writing essays, recording tutorials, training, music, conve…

What you are saying is true. But YouTube/FB algorithms are deliberately skewed towards regular posters.

It's like your content of love that you produce once or twice a month won't be shown to the users at all.

Where do I get the time after job, family, friends and self-study?

So I don't create content like that at all. I write. And that's all.

But I also want to make videos. The recording, editing timeline is way too high. And then if your stuff is not shown to anybody, that's a huge bummer.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#128

Post by Pentamerous » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 7:40 AM UTC

sltr wrote: post #115

Since 2002 Richard Stallman has spoken again using term "content" this way. > using the word as a noun to describe works and communications through which people have expressed themselves adopts an attitude you might rather avoid: it treats them as a commodity whose purpose is to fill a box and make money. In effect, it disparages all the works by subordinating them to the box that is full. https://www.gnu.org/philoso…

The entirety of that compilation of words is worth a read. I recommend checking out "Artificial Intelligence", "Consume", "Consumer" and "Monetize", "Players" and "Product"

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#129

Post by wolvesechoes » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 7:52 AM UTC

CodingJeebus wrote: post #72

danielciocirlan wrote: post #59

You “create content” if what you’re after is just money, and “content” is this malleable goo you have to produce and shove it down the algorithm so that it gets “traffic”, another form of goo that gets “funneled” and “converted” into money. In other words, it loses all (human) meaning. So yes, if you care at all, you shouldn’t “create content”. You should be writing essays, recording tutorials, training, music, conve…

There are all kinds of people out there generating meaningful content on their own terms that will never get picked up by the algorithm. I hate the content mills as much as anyone else, but the fact is that they exist because internet economy rewards them. The entire ecosystem incentivizes the soulless "goo" you describe over the meaningful work people are doing. Ice T said it best: "Don't hate the player, hate the g…

"Don't hate the player, hate the game"

I believe lack of social ostracization is one of the reason we find ourselves in current state. Because players are what perpetuates the game.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#130

Post by mc3301 » Tue, Jul 21, 2026, 9:01 AM UTC

__rito__ wrote: post #127

danielciocirlan wrote: post #59

You “create content” if what you’re after is just money, and “content” is this malleable goo you have to produce and shove it down the algorithm so that it gets “traffic”, another form of goo that gets “funneled” and “converted” into money. In other words, it loses all (human) meaning. So yes, if you care at all, you shouldn’t “create content”. You should be writing essays, recording tutorials, training, music, conve…

What you are saying is true. But YouTube/FB algorithms are deliberately skewed towards regular posters. It's like your content of love that you produce once or twice a month won't be shown to the users at all. Where do I get the time after job, family, friends and self-study? So I don't create content like that at all. I write. And that's all. But I also want to make videos. The recording, editing timeline is way too…

I follow many creators who only post a handful of times (if that) a year. They get tons of views, because the content is well made.

Stuff Made Here

Bobby Fingers

Boy Boy

Michael Reeves

..to name a few off the top of my head

(Of course, theses are mostly HUGE channels)