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I Stopped “Creating Content”

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Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#241

Post by Ferret7446 »

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…

That's a bit too cynical and missing the point. "Content" is what people want. You create what people want.

> You should be writing essays, recording tutorials, training, music, conversations, etc. the kind of things you care about, for an audience whose attention you don’t take for granted, hoping that they too will care at least a little. If they do, they will pay you because they will rather part with money than part with your work.

Yeah, that's called content. "the kind of things you care about, for an audience whose attention you don’t take for granted, hoping that they too will care at least a little" doesn't quite roll off the tongue.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#242

Post by inigyou »

oska wrote: post #235
inigyou wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Refusing to play the game just means you lose the game. It isn't a third state, it's a resignation.

You can't resign from a position you never held or a game you never entered into

Oh you're in the game. Your choice is whether to win the game or lose the game. Also if you lose the game you die. It's like Jumanji. Pretending the tiger isn't real is not a viable option.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#243

Post by jiriknesl »

xboxnolifes wrote: post #102
figassis wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if they're irrational. Payment/subscription fatigue is a thing. Today it seems like you have to pay to breathe. It's suffocating. I often go through periods where I reject every money ask compulsively, the same way as I would "disconnect". It's quite interesting how quality of life gets inverted in non intuitive ways. If you travel to a "developing country" you notice you are no longer bombarded with ads…

> I'm not sure if they're irrational. Payment/subscription fatigue is a thing. Payment fatigue is an irrational thing, at least in the context of what a rational economic agent is. Rationally, you pay for what you value, at roughly what it is valued to you, and you don't pay for you want you don't value. Transactions are fatiguing precisely because we are not rational agents. Humans live primarily on emotion and ingr…

Back in the day, I bought an office software and I owned it. Now, I rent it and over years, it costs me 5* more.

Back in the day, computer games were paid once. Or if you had a pack. Now, it is a series of $1-$2 small sales for thing here and there.

And I could go on. It is tiring. I think payment fatigue is very much a rational thing.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#244

Post by satvikpendem »

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…

This is no different than a job except for some reason people attribute this type of work with "meaning" and not others. Yes, if you want to make money, you must produce something others want. If you want to make something with "meaning" then do so once you're financially rich. Your comment is literally the starving artist stereotype.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#245

Post by satvikpendem »

hotsalad wrote: post #226
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 this reminded me of was the fiasco of the McDonald's CEO referring to the Big Arch as a "product". Is it a product? Sure. That is about the least specific word he could have used for it, and it implies that he doesn't care that it is a cheeseburger, but that any type of item produced by any company he happened to lead would have made him equally happy. It is likely true that he is just there to run a business an…

No, it's just that it was an accidental leakage of business vernacular, like product managers or when managers in a company talk about a certain product they're working on.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#246

Post by dredmorbius »

tayo42 wrote: post #60
duggan wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's when companies talk about themselves as brands.

What else would you call smaller companies and products within a company?

"Divisions" and "product lines" were the terms used at the beginning of mass production. One of the innovations of Alfred P. Sloan at General Motors was the idea of a division-based corporation, or the M-form company, contrasting with the earlier U-form (unitary) business.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-divisional_form>

Outside the US you'll find Chaebol (Korea) and Keiretsu / Zaibatsu (Japan) models.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#247

Post by dredmorbius »

duggan wrote: post #52
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.

For me it's when companies talk about themselves as brands.

A few days ago I was watching a video history of a storied company which eventually disappeared. Which one doesn't really matter, as the story is repeated so many times.

By the 1990s, it had largely withdrawn from its earlier manufacturing role to "branding" products made largely in Taiwan. Its manufacturing "partner" learned the design and the business, and eventually took over the marketing role itself. The new (foreign) brand exists, and is relatively well-known, the century-plus original ... was sold in bankruptcy auction in the early aughts and ... surprise to me, actually continues on as a "brand".

What I've noticed as well are two common trends:

Many well-known brands, particularly in appliances, sell products which are all but certainly produced by whitebox manufacturers in China, with the "brand" literally an adhesive label slapped on at the end. There's not even enough trust in the relationship to weld or stamp the name onto the goods. Often times those badges will fall off after a few months....

Increasingly I see goods with no manufacturer indication at all. Ceramics, electronics, household goods, and the like. There may have been some sort of adhesive label, but there's no permanent branding or marking that will remain on the device.

I'm hardly the most brand-aware or brand-loyal person out there, but I did come of age in an environment where the marketing philosophy was "brand is king". After decades of rebadging goods from independent manufacturers, even the pretense of branding's significance no longer seems to exist, in many cases.

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#248

Post by agumonkey »

tombert wrote: post #109
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…

A long time ago Simon Peyton Jones said Haskell tries to "avoid success at all costs". He was being cheeky, but it honestly is how I try and approach most of what I do that isn't directly related to my employment (as a software person). My blog posts are just for me; I don't market them, I don't expect anyone else to read them, I don't spam links to all my friends every time I post anything. I have no idea if my writ…

I guess success can have different meanings, short term trend-chasing success or long-term principled mature success ?

Re: I Stopped “Creating Content”

#249

Post by pseudalopex »

inigyou wrote: post #242
oska wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't resign from a position you never held or a game you never entered into

Oh you're in the game. Your choice is whether to win the game or lose the game. Also if you lose the game you die. It's like Jumanji. Pretending the tiger isn't real is not a viable option.

Life is not 1 game with 2 ends. And everyone dies.
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