I admit it, I started out in agencies when the digital guys worked in a hole round the back somewhere and it was cool to write TV. So hailing from a traditional agency background I write copy not content, and even though 80% of the work I do now is digital, I still call myself a copywriter, not a content writer.
And if people refer to me as the latter, I correct them.
Trust me; it’s an uphill battle keeping this content thing at bay, so why bother?
Well, if you think I’m splitting hairs, you’re wrong.
Here’s why I bother.
Content undermines the creative process because the problem with content is context.
Content is just too close to contents.
And logically, the contents of anything must be contained in something.
Whether it’s a book, or a can of tomatoes, content needs a container.
And I would say four out of five websites are built that way.
That is to say designed first and then filled with content, tomatoes, whatever..
I think the word encourages people, unconsciously perhaps, to think and work that way.
That is to build a site and fill it –as opposed to building it around a core idea or functionality.
You might as well refer to a skeleton as the body’s content.
I think it’s pretty clear it’s much more than that.
So I think content has something to do with the poor standard of most websites.
And I’ll continue to write copy.
One thing’s for sure.
There’s a ton of difference between content and meaning.
