I can’t remember where, but at some point during my time as a journalism student, while spending summers interning at entertainment news outlets, I read something that struck a chord with me. (Apparently not enough for me to remember who wrote it!) The writer was bemoaning the new nomenclature had completely taken over in digital media. The word “post” — as in “blog post” — was starting to replace other terms like “article,” “feature,” “profile,” “interview.” This person was calling on editors and writers to start calling their work what it actually was; explaining that their reporting, criticism, etc. shouldn’t be minimized to the level of “a post”. By doing that, they’d be valuing their work more, and telling media overlords and readers alike to do the same.
This is where I feel we find ourselves with the word “content”. This word has gobbled up not only articles on a news site (posts), but also recipes in a food magazine, and even entire TV shows made for a streaming platform! My morning bowl of oatmeal is content, and so, too, is Game of Thrones.
It’s the great flattening that seems to have been happening since the mid-90s dot-com bubble, when Bill Gates declared “Content is king.” (Maybe it even started before then.) But never has the word been more overused and abused than it is now. And it’s happening because of a definition problem. We as internet denizens are deciding what to name culture, art, information based on where they appear, not by what they actually are. To give you a better idea of how far this has crept, but also where it seems to have not taken hold, imagine reading a Joan Didion book and saying out loud, “Wow, that was some crackerjack content!” Or going to the movies to watch Dune Part II and writing a little Letterboxd review proclaiming, “That was some of the best content of the 21st century so far!”
Imagine that I have a box in my hands. Would you like to know the contents of the box? I open it up and reveal, a matchbook, a remote control and some pocket lint. Those are the contents, but that word says nothing about what they are, only that they are filling up this box. So what if we took that word and used it to describe images that took months to plan shoots for and a huge team of artists to produce; videos that an editor worked for weeks cutting down and coloring; reporting done in a war zone. I realize that what I do — putting out recipe videos and baking information and posting about my lunches — isn’t exactly that. But when we flatten everything that appears on social media, or the internet at large, under the word “content” it says this work only exists to fill up a never-ending, forever scroll. This is the stuff they show in between ads for body hair trimmers.
So, yeah, that’s why I don’t love being called a content creator. And, honestly, I still have a hard time deciding how I do want to be known. I will say I don’t have a problem being called a creator! It’s a little vague but it’s better than “influencer”, which is definitely not the first thing I see myself as. “Creator” is certainly faster than saying I’m a recipe developer-writer-baker-photographer who publishes baking videos on the internet.
And I think that other creators who make at lease some of their living on social media should start thinking more critically about what they’re calling the videos and images they’re putting out. I think this will also make it more likely that writers, photographers, recipe developers and other creators to get fairly compensated for their work by brands and other clients. It could also help us move past the dependency on ever-changing, turbulent, possibly fleeting social platforms that don’t care about creators or users. I also sense a growing sentiment against creators and influencers who — no offense — don’t do anything (?) or don’t don’t provide discernible value other than entertainment … or hate-watching … or being hot … or opening PR hauls. I think people who start defining themselves by what value they provide to their audience will also be the ones who last beyond whatever hell era of the social media and internet economy this is.
The same goes for online publishers who call all their output content. For a long time, social media was an afterthought for these companies — I would know! I was there! — and the social team got the dregs of whatever assets they could, solely existing to promote what was happening in the rest of the publication or organization. Now, the companies that know what they’re doing are taking a social-first strategy (or Youtube-first?) which is good in some ways and bad in others.
This naming problem could be made better or worse by the fact that, increasingly, everyone is a creator on social media now. Authors, artists, musicians all find it harder nowadays to do their jobs without also amassing a following online and making videos of them painting, talking … writing (?) that engage them. Even some accountants, real estate agents and other analog professionals are starting to feeling the pressure to “build their brands” online. Maybe I won’t have to worry about this for much longer because, if everyone becomes a “content creator” (despite having a IRL job) then maybe no one will be one. And maybe then we’ll just go back to using normal career names.
I know it’s convenient to use the word content. And, of course, almost everyone knows what you’re referencing when you say it. But when we’re talking about our hard work and art, let’s just challenge ourselves to think outside of the box.
Recommendations
Writer 💻 : Derek Guy of @DieWorkWear
Not much can get me on X dot com (formerly Twitter) nowadays. However, I still managed to stumble on this account from menswear expert Derek Guy where he shares style advice, explains fashion history, and dunks on right wing nutjobs who wear ill-fitting suits. Here’s a good one to start with. His explainers reveal why, despite a sea of options on the market, we have no idea how to dress anymore — especially when it comes to formalwear. (Hint, it has to do with toxic masculinity!) The blog he edits, Put This On, is also worth checking out.
My Two Favorite Bakeries in NYC Right Now 🥖🥖🥖: Radio Bakery and Librae
I first visited Radio Bakery in Greenpoint a few months ago and had recently been dying for an excuse to go back. And I got one this past Saturday when my sister was in town. We got two sandwiches (on the positively ethereal baguettes and focaccia), a cinnamon roll, and the star: a pastry with passionfruit mango cream filling. Everything is incredible and the line moves fairly quickly so it’s worth the wait.
I also visited Librae near Astor Place for the first time with a new friend yesterday, and I was really impressed. (As have most people who discovered it way, way before me.) The Za’atar morning bun was perfectly flakey as was the artichoke pastry but I would have happily tried the whole lineup.
Updates
No updates this week, just getting back into a normal schedule for these newsletters and recipes!
This Week’s Recipe
One of the first franchises of Jeni’s, the popular artisinal ice cream brand, opened in my hometown of Powell, Ohio — about 30 minutes away from the original location in downtown Columbus. This was the most goober-y, expensive ice cream I had experienced — and we had like seven other ice cream shops in that town — but occasionally I’d go with friends or family. And I would pretty consistently order one of two flavors: brambleberry crisp or wildberry lavender.
It’s the latter of these that inspired the filling for these Lavender Berry Chocolate Bars, which sandwich blackberry lavender buttercream between a chewy, moist brownie base and a rich chocolate ganache topping. Lavender and orange zest are steeped in heavy cream, then cooked with blackberry puree until thick, then strained and beat into an simple American buttercream frosting. What results is a flavor that’s subtly berry, subtly floral, and just enough to break up all that deep, dark chocolate.
Lavender Berry Chocolate Bars
Makes 16 bars (or more, if you slice thinner)
Ingredients
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