The Definition of Web Content

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Content is the single most important and sought-after commodity on the web. It’s the entire reason people go online and frequent news sites, blogs, chat rooms and billions of other web pages every day.

But what exactly is content?

On the web, we define content as the topics, ideas, facts or statements in a webpage or website. Content is published in the form of text, images, audio and video.

Content serves four main purposes: to inform, educate, entertain and connect people. Go to any website and you’ll observe at least two of these purposes in action. [Read more...]

Articles vs. Blog Posts: What’s it Going to Be?

I read a very interesting AlertBox article by Jakob Nielsen the other day entitled “Write Articles, Not Blog Postings.” While I tend to think that there is a gray area between what’s an article and what’s a blog post, Nielsen presents a valid point: there’s a limit to the value you can provide if the blog post is “just another comment” on someone else’s work (gee that sounds like this post).

Even someone who demonstrates leadership within their specialized niche is bound to produce some crappy or at least quasi-crappy blog posts, claims Nielsen. “Blogs are also fine for websites that sell cheap products,” he adds.

So here’s my plan: to produce quality and value 100% of the time no matter what. [Read more...]

Value Comes in at Least Three Forms

Like many web-based citizens, I have a certain number of sites from which I consume — as the cliche goes –  content high in value. I spent so much time in the early days learning how to filter out the stuff I didn’t need that now I’m quite efficient with what I read, listen to and watch.

Aside from informative content, two other commodities also grab my attention: entertainment and community. Both of these carry immense value because they satisfy my desire to laugh and my desire to feel connected to others. If a site can deliver all three in some appropriate proportion, you’ve got a winner.

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Evolving the Tone of Communication

How you talk is just as important as what you say.

For example, I expect nothing less than pure relevance and usefulness in Rich Schefren’s writings. And so far he has never failed to deliver on this. I just finished “Attention Age Doctrine” and I must say he’s brought everything I’ve learned thus far into a cohesive document that says Web 2.0 is pro-community and anti-traditional marketing. (ie create something of value, disseminate it like crazy, let it spread virally and then start selling…right?)

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The Writer-Editor as Web Publisher

Who comes to mind when you hear the term “singer-songwriter?” Bob Dylan? Alanis Morisette? I think of Jack Johnson. He’s the kind of guy who can conceive, write and perform all of his own music without the help or accompaniment of anyone. Sure, he’s got a band now, but when he started it was just himself and a guitar on a stage.

I feel that bloggers and other niche publishers need to adapt the singer-songwriter work ethic. Writing content alone–even if it’s focused and on subject–is not enough to sustain and grow an online publication. You need to refine it and experiment with it until you get the best “sound,” and then you’re ready to perform (publish).

It’s one thing to write a lot but it’s better to write less and edit more. That way what you produce quality over quantity, which is what the web is eventually shaking out to be.