Nicholas Carr on the "Value" of Content (or, Why You Should Build Value For Yourself)
By Tom Chandler on Apr 28, 2008 in Business of Freelancing, Copywriting
In a prior post, I wrote about the growing commercial value of high-quality content — and why content-based marketing offers long-term opportunities to new copywriters.
Now — Nicholas Carr (who remains a favorite online read) — points out why you don’t want to be somebody else’s free content generator (a point also made by Brian Clark in in this perceptive Copyblogger post).
Carr said:
Bebo founders Michael and Xochi Birch are the latest Web 2.0 entrepreneurs to cash in on user-generated content. A little over a week ago, the Birches sold Bebo, the third largest social network, to AOL for $850 million, about $600 million of which will reportedly go into the pockets of their jeans.
As for the millions of members who have happily served as sharecroppers on the Birches’ plantation, they’ll get the satisfaction of knowing that all the labor they donated to their "community" did indeed create something of tangible value.
Carr’s point is simple; the people whose content "built" Bebo received marginal (if any) value for their efforts while the site owners pocketed a cool $600 million.
InBebo’s case, musicians largely built the site by posting music (mostly in the vain hope of a big break). The real "value" they received? Not much, for the most part.
It’s a good illustration that "user-generated" has fast become a corporate code phrase for "free."
Given that copywriters are increasingly being asked to write for nothing more than the "exposure," you need to look hard at your non-paid writing efforts.
I’ve done articles for free in the past — and I’ll certainly do it again — but I always ask myself this: Am I significantly furthering my career, or investing my time building value for someone else?
You’re right, Tom. “User-generated” is nothing more than a euphemism for “free.” But that’s not all bad. Write an article, hook a carefully worded bio box at the end and post it on one of the major directories. A day or so later, you’ll see your graph on Google Analytics zoom up. Free articles bring sizeable numbers to your blog or web site, and that’s what matters to all of us.
Charles Jacobs | Apr 29, 2008 | Reply
It’s important to point out that this is not just a writer-centric phenomenon. Take reality TV, for example. The whole basis is that it is “user-generated” content — and a whole lot cheaper than paying writers and actors.
Of course, “Survivor” may be the grandaddy of the modern wave, but you can see this in things like America’s Funniest Home Videos, and even Let’s Make a Deal, where people dressed up in ridiculous get-ups to get on the show. I imagine that was half the appeal to viewers.
There are always going to be AFHV-type shows, just as there will likely always be Bebo-type websites. But the good news for us writers is that there will also always be well-paying, scripted projects. Where each of us lands individually, as you say, will depend on the value we place on our own work.
~Graham
Graham Strong | Apr 29, 2008 | Reply
Tom,
Content has value, even if it builds someone else’s site too.
Now, if you create the environment where others share content, that’s where the money is in social marketing…if you can hack it.
Ebay built its business on creating the environment where people sell to people…
Amazon did the same thing…
Bebo and others simply did it by creating the environment where people are sharing words with each other, in exchange for exposure for it’s users.
Joseph Ratliff
Joseph Ratliff | Apr 29, 2008 | Reply
Charles & Joseph: Your points are well taken, but I’m suggesting “exposure” and traffic aren’t always enough. Copywriters in the process of marketing themselves need to apply to the same metrics an organization would — things like qualified leads, revenue and a growing email list.
Why create articles for an article directory when it could be written and submitted to a well-read marketing magazine or site? Why, in fact, do it for free at all — especially if the traffic it delivers doesn’t result in quality leads or revenue?
Would that time better spent pitching specific clients?
Newer copywriters should be asking those questions.
I’m not suggesting free content generation has no value to they copywriter, but I will suggest copywriters should look hard at the results, and truly decide if they’re wasting their time or not.
Tom Chandler | Apr 30, 2008 | Reply
Hey Tom,
I agree — one of the most obvious examples of this is the decision to start a blog. I mean, what else is that but “free” content?
But just because it is free for the reader does not mean it has no value to the writer. That value is different from blog to blog: exposure, thought leadership, ad revenues, or maybe just another fun, creative outlet (yes, there is value in non-commercial ventures too!).
Social networking, blogging, and other “free content” activities certainly do take time. And unfortunately, it is hard to gauge the return on your investment — especially in the short term.
~Graham
Graham Strong | May 1, 2008 | Reply
Graham: A blog is an excellent example of free content, though I’d differentiate a blog from most social networking sites.
Regardless of how “successful” a blog might be for a writer, at least you retain some measure of control over your own content; when you create content for someone else’s site (Facebook, online marketing portal, e-zine, etc), you’re not building your brand, you’re building theirs.
That’s fine as long as the return is there and you go into the arrangement with eyes open. My concern is that many newer copywriters are getting stars in their eyes over the somewhat vague concept of “exposure” — and giving away the farm (and the content) when the return is unclear.
As always, I appreciate everyone’s participation. The online world has changed how we market, and quality discussions among practitioners are one way we uncover the truth behind so much of the hype.
Tom Chandler | May 2, 2008 | Reply
lol — yes, same story, new technology. I’ve seen it all, as I’m sure you have, from vanity presses to the old “give me a good rate now, and it will help build your portfolio/give you good leads/promise more work in the future.”
It’s like the writer’s version of the casting couch, except writers only get taken for a ride figuratively…
I agree, it’s a good rule of thumb for new writers: make sure you know specifically what compensation you are getting for your writing up front. And cash for your content is always king.
~Graham
Graham Strong | May 2, 2008 | Reply
Cash? What’s that?
Tom Chandler | May 2, 2008 | Reply