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The idea of "content" predates YouTube and the internet. When we're talking about algorithmic ranking of content the term content probably arose from the SEO e

The idea of "content" predates YouTube and the internet. When we're talking about algorithmic ranking of content the term content probably arose from the SEO era of the 2000's when the mantra "content is king" took off (it was coined by Bill Gates in the 90's). https://medium.com/@HeathEvans/content-is-king-essay-by-bill-gates-1996-df74552f80d9 https://medium.com/@HeathEvans/content-is-king-essay-by-bill...

gman83 3y ago
This video also gives a good overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAtbFwzZp6Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAtbFwzZp6Y
chabes 3y ago
The article didn’t say YouTube invented the term. It said they popularized it.
debo_ 3y ago
I read this differently. The author doesn't say YouTube "invented" the term; he says they "established" it. I interpreted this to mean that they brought attention to the concept of "focusing on the output rather than the medium or the message" to the masses of "amateur" creators who now felt like their purpose was not just to "consume" this stuff, but also to create it, regardless of its worth or the harm it does to them. I've certainly experienced this all around me. Perfectly boring people who have nothing to do with media production will reference the stuff they're watching on YouTube or finding on Instagram as "content", even when it's just their cousin's photos of themselves taking selfies on a beach in Hawaii with an acai bowl. This to me is "establishing" a trend, not inventing it. Personally, I really dislike this trend. I especially find the term "consume content" to be... gross, actually. Like a pig at a trough. But I'm not sure how common my experience is.
- egypturnash 3y ago
  Related: all images posted to the internet are "photos", even if its origin has nothing to do with capturing light bouncing off physical objects.
ambicapter 3y ago
I mean, "content is king" is the exact opposite level of respect for the material in the mindset the author was talking about, where it doesn't matter what it contains, it's all just "content" to the provider as well as the user.
x0x0 3y ago
Yeah, this leapt out at me and is dumb. People have been building content businesses for well over 20 years. 50 if you don't think that, eg, NBC execs had a deep focus on the qualities of a cat loving alien (Alf debuted today, 37 years ago). If he'd had something interesting to say, it could be that content recommendation systems driving what people see has some downsides. But that ain't new; we've been talking about that for a long time too. And youtube certainly didn't invent that problem. Also, you could cover that in one paragraph instead of dragging it out over 10. (Content recommendation has upsides too: I never would have found Kenji Lopez Alt or Chef John's cooking videos; or modindustrial's general making videos; or AvE's hilarious teardown videos; or alvin zhou's amazing slow cooking channel; or CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt; etc w/o content recommendation.)

gman83 3y ago

This video also gives a good overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAtbFwzZp6Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAtbFwzZp6Y

chabes 3y ago

The article didn’t say YouTube invented the term. It said they popularized it.

debo_ 3y ago

I read this differently. The author doesn't say YouTube "invented" the term; he says they "established" it. I interpreted this to mean that they brought attention to the concept of "focusing on the output rather than the medium or the message" to the masses of "amateur" creators who now felt like their purpose was not just to "consume" this stuff, but also to create it, regardless of its worth or the harm it does to them. I've certainly experienced this all around me. Perfectly boring people who have nothing to do with media production will reference the stuff they're watching on YouTube or finding on Instagram as "content", even when it's just their cousin's photos of themselves taking selfies on a beach in Hawaii with an acai bowl. This to me is "establishing" a trend, not inventing it. Personally, I really dislike this trend. I especially find the term "consume content" to be... gross, actually. Like a pig at a trough. But I'm not sure how common my experience is.

egypturnash 3y ago
Related: all images posted to the internet are "photos", even if its origin has nothing to do with capturing light bouncing off physical objects.

ambicapter 3y ago

I mean, "content is king" is the exact opposite level of respect for the material in the mindset the author was talking about, where it doesn't matter what it contains, it's all just "content" to the provider as well as the user.

x0x0 3y ago

Yeah, this leapt out at me and is dumb. People have been building content businesses for well over 20 years. 50 if you don't think that, eg, NBC execs had a deep focus on the qualities of a cat loving alien (Alf debuted today, 37 years ago). If he'd had something interesting to say, it could be that content recommendation systems driving what people see has some downsides. But that ain't new; we've been talking about that for a long time too. And youtube certainly didn't invent that problem. Also, you could cover that in one paragraph instead of dragging it out over 10. (Content recommendation has upsides too: I never would have found Kenji Lopez Alt or Chef John's cooking videos; or modindustrial's general making videos; or AvE's hilarious teardown videos; or alvin zhou's amazing slow cooking channel; or CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt; etc w/o content recommendation.)