The Content Revolution | Sparksheet.
Custom publishing is recast as “content marketing.” Editorial directors are reborn as “content directors.” Spafax’s Arjun Basu explains why this is all more than just semantics: It’s part of the “Content Revolution.”
Something happened to me recently. My title went from “Editorial Director” to “Content Director.” My job description changed but minimally; the changes more reflected the work I already do and have been doing for quite some time.
But first, let’s step back a bit and examine the word “content.” It’s both misunderstood and overused and that’s a dangerous combination. It runs the risk of becoming a redundancy, or worse, a buzzword, like “boutique” or “bespoke” (this is also happening to the lovely word “curate.”) But the word is also important. Because I believe we live in a world where almost everything is content.
The content era
Everything – from nacho chips to shoes to television – throws content at us and it is this content that makes up the stories of our lives. That sounds grandiose, I know, but think about it.
Nike is a content provider. Sure, it was providing content when it printed “Just Do It” on t-shirts but now its shoes are content too. In fact, one could argue that Nike running shoes are social media hubs.
A few years ago that sentence wouldn’t have made any sense at all and now it’s indisputable. Not only can the shoessync to an app and measure the development and rhythm of your jogging regime, your shoes can broadcast this to your peers around the world. So Nike shoes are content