The Value of Content Takes on New Meaning
By now I’m sure you’ve heard of eHow or Cracked and quite possibly Golf Link. These are all subsidiaries of mega content producing giant (wow that’s a mouthful) Demand Media.
Basically, Demand specializes in creating online content (comedy, how to articles, training videos) at the cheapest possible price. Essentially, they are the Wal-Mart of online content production.
When deciding which content to produce, they don’t have a bunch of editors sitting in a smoked filled room mulling over topics…instead, a state of the art algorithm is utilized to review traffic patterns, hot search trends and keyword bid rates. Besides interpreting the data, this process all but removes the human element out of subject selection.
The key part about Demand’s business model is what I want to take a close look at. Even though you can develop a software and world class system to pick the topics, someone or something has to create it, right? In this case it’s a someone. Most of Demand’s someone’s (or better known as freelancers) earn up to $15.00 per article, and $20 per video…with other contributors participate in their revenue sharing program based on ad sales.
I think it’s a scary thing to see how much content has been devalued. And, I know these aren’t New York Times quality op-ed columns Demand is trying to produce. The user demands quick answers, which, in turn, demands quick replies (content).
The state of today’s content can easily be paralleled with today’s food industry. Yes, when driving down your city’s main drag you’ll see McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Red Robin (any mass produced food you can think of)…but, drive a little further and there’s a Macaroni Grill, drive some more and you may spot an Olive Garden hang on a little longer and, what do ya know, Ruth Chris Steakhouse.
Here’s the lesson: hamburgers will never be a substitute for the people who want steaks. As long as some want steaks.
Neither will Demand Media take the place of Politico or the Wall Street Journal. There will always be a group of people who want more. Don’t think for a second these companies will take the place of thoughtful commentary…and turn all content in a vat of fried grease.
Still, the market has to demand it. If everything turns into a Tweet or a Wall Post than, heck, if that’s what society wants…let em’ have it. I heard someone say once, “people choose their own reality.”
Now that I’ve mentioned the negative aspects of the New Content Society. I will say this. I thank God for a quick answer when I need it. Thank God for Wikipedia or eHow when I want some stupid fact fast. And, I may be stretching it when I say these mediums will replace the troughs of integrity reporting. But, the care and diligence taken to fact check and compile information, I think, has began to dwindle.
This “if a blog says it, I must believe it” mentality has overtaken many. Of course, Meta Fever is a totally different story.
I do know this.
If the only people vetting the government and keeping big business in check are the freelancers who get paid $15 / an article, as the Beatles so eloquently said, Let It Be.
