A Familiar Phrase: "Content is (fill in the blank)"

Today in the mail, I got a flier from an organization advertising an upcoming conference. In the headline was a reference to a phrase that I feel intimately familiar with: Content is King.

I remember the first time I heard that term. It was about fifteen years ago as a friend of mine entered into the world of web development and programming. He and I were “geeking out” about the possibilities and promises of the “information super highway.” Avid board sport enthusiasts (snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, etc.), we had been working on a website dedicated to these sports (if you want to travel in time and see a rough, slow-loading, lost-image version of it, then check it out on the Wayback Machine, here). We were getting pretty good traffic and interest, but began asking questions about how to gain more traffic and traction. As the writer/communicator of the duo, I wanted to push out journalistically styled stories and articles, thinking simply that this approach would lend the site some interest. My friend agreed, and uttered those words, which he apparently picked up somewhere, “Yeah, well, content is king.”

That definitive statement struck me at the time. It seemed so right on, and so common sense, especially considering our thought process at the time. In the many years since then, I’ve heard that phrase over and over. In the Dot Com emergence, and even more after it popped, the phrase became nearly ubiquitous and indisputable. While I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that statement since the first time I heard it from my friend, I readily admit that I’m glad a few years ago people began questioning its veracity as applied to the online world. As a result, we don’t have to be so subjected to it so much anymore.

Not that I would argue against the core value of content. But since the late 90’s as I became more and more immersed in developing for the web, I came to understand that content certainly can’t be the only thing. I think we can all see this clearly now, particularly in the world of learning and education. Otherwise, why not just throw an encyclopedia at every learner? No, content obviously isn’t king. Rather, it’s a partner to delivery, motivation, and other factors like clarity, timing, and priority. Any good communication will take these factors into account and balance them accordingly.

While I feel significantly experienced in the world of online content, three and a half years after entering the world of learning and development, I still feel like a “newbie.” And maybe that’s why I really appreciate the constant attention our industry pays to balancing content, design, delivery, etc. Do we have work to do? Certainly. But at least we’re focused on it. As we move forward in time, I believe the next few years are going to be significant. The economy will either improve…or implode. Either way, it will provide new opportunities and challenges. And who knows what new technology or innovation will await? Through whatever may come, though, our challenge as it pertains to corporate learning will be the same as it has always been: balancing our ability to marry content and delivery, motivation and clarity.

Finally, I have this quote from Winston Churchill in my office space: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” As we take on the upcoming as well as ongoing challenges of employee learning and development, let’s always be optimistic in our approach to content and its delivery.