Why Content Is No Longer King...And 2 Trends Taking It's Place

The good days are coming to an end.

Once upon a time, you could write a blog post and command the attention of thousands of readers over night.

Not too long ago, you could post a vlog documenting your life, and have tens of thousands of comments flood your inbox.

A few years back, the internet was scarce and desperate for content. And anyone who filled the gap, reaped great rewards in traffic, sponsorships, and customers.

And hence, the "Content Is King" prophecy was born.

And yes I called it a prophecy.

Everyone that created content back then, whether a vlog, blog, FB page, website or forum, was winning.

But then word started to spread.

Everyday people started turning into Instagram models, food critics, and travel vloggers.

The human race as we knew it had a mental shift.

If you weren't creating content, you weren't going to succeed.

And that's why our little prophecy has started to crumble.

Nobody cares about my Instagram posts, your aunt's vacation vlog, or you writing tech reviews on your WordPress site anymore.

I'm sorry to be the messenger but I have to share the message.

Content is no longer king.

Content is still a great asset to any company, brand, or organization trying to flourish in the internet age.

But content is no longer the all powerful dictator of the internet that we once worshipped.

There are two new leaders in town.

And they're making a name for themselves.

The first goes by the name of "Curation".

Curation has become a very powerful strategy for internet relevance.

You see, the more thoughtless content that is churned out by me, you, and my uncle Greg down the street, the harder it is to sort through the junk.

We've all sat down with a hot meal, flicked on Netflix to watch something and 30 minutes later we're still browsing as our food gets cold and soggy.

We're all learning in real time that more isn't always better.

Now the people who put their time and energy into curating quality content are getting recognition. 

As long as you curate good content, that reflects your taste, people will start to trust your recommendations.

And being the person that curates the content just might be more powerful than making the content yourself.

No wonder all these tech companies invest billions into creating the best algorithms to curate our feeds.

And curation isn't the only threat.

The other trend that's taking the world by storm is "Commentary".

This one isn't anything we haven't heard of because we comment on news and current events every day.

But I don't think anybody has expected commentary to be such a powerful way to add value on the internet.

Apparently people love to hear and see other people's reactions to the content they already love and hate.

And honestly it makes sense.

Watching a basketball game by yourself is cool.

But it's a whole experience when you watch it with your diehard Laker's fan homeboy that screaming at Lebron the whole game.

Every sport and livestream event has commentators that share their thoughts and opinions in real time to keep things interesting.

Now the internet is evolving to do the same.

You can take any piece of content on the web, add your reaction, opinion, or insights and create a whole new experience for people.

There are Youtubers like "FlightReacts" making millions of dollars from reacting to videos on the web.

And some might say it's even easier than making original content.

Content was the one surefire way to make an impact on the web.

But content is no longer king.

Content, Curation, and Commentary are the new tactical trifecta.

Use them to your advantage while they still reign supre...

In progress,

Tim