Saturday, October 31, 2009

My OpenSalon post on Content NOT Being King





Contrary to popular myth, Content is NOT "King." Completely dependent on other factors, Content is actually...a Slave.

Many times, not only is Content not King, but Content poses as a Drag Queen -- something prancing around, dancing as corporations pull its strings, pretending to be something it's not.

Content cannot be King. Dethroned, or better, usurped by Connectivity, Presentation, and Interactivity, Content is low man on the totem pole.

Often, people search for pure Content, like movies, music, news and opinions. But even then, if the content is poorly organized, badly displayed, hard to navigate, or non-interactive, it will be ignored.

Many times, when someone is consuming content they enjoy or find valuable, their first impulse is to interact with it. They want to post a comment, a question, a praise or a complaint. Some may want to enrich the content, add their own view, amplify or criticize it.

Content, to be effective and valuable, is entirely reliant upon other factors. Content is extremely important, but is not the ultimate, universally dominant entity.

To call Content a "king" is to revert to old fashioned imperialistic, phallocentric, male-dominated hierarchy. Even worse, "Content is King" is a meaningless mantra that people chant, without being able to explain it.



READ MORE:


"Content is NOT King, But Slave" at my new OpenSalon blog.




Saturday, October 24, 2009

Twitter is where my main content is posted



Just a heads up to my fans and colleagues who want the most juicy and timely updates. My web usability analysis, social media insights, and anarchist political rants are to be found on Twitter. This micro-blogging platform is where I spend most of my blogging hours.

I whip out my best thinking, in easy to absorb, condensed, 140 character bursts. Late at night I tend to go really wild with it. My best thoughts, my funniest jokes, and tons of relevant links are in my tweets.

Often I let it all hang out on Twitter, then am too tired to re-package my observations and opinions in a proper "blog post" on Pluperfecter. I wish I was better at this. But with the advent of Twitter, slomo (slow motion) blogging is dying. It's because Twitter is faster, easier, and more interactive in real time.

When you say something clever or controversial on Twitter, you typically get an immediate DM (direct message) or @ (reply tweet) from one or more your Followers. This instant gratification aspect of Twitter makes it addictive.

If you gradually build a good list of Followers, by Following smart people at interacting with them so they notice you and Follow you back, you'll have a virtual advisory board of great value.

How do you assemble a valuable list of people to Follow and Followers? Start by going to blogs and websites you like, then look for their "Follow Me on Twitter" link (usually right under their "Follow Me on Facebook" link). Click on it.

In some cases, like my Pluperfecter blog, they'll have a Twitter update display widget you can read recent tweets at and click on to Follow them. But I just now added a big Twitter logo, with clickable link to my Twitter page, near the top of my sidebar.

Get hip. Get competitive advantage. Get on Twitter today.

Click here to read my profile: Steven E. Streight aka Vaspers on Twitter.


Sunday, October 4, 2009

This Was Your Life