I Know What Is King
I’m an idiot. I readily admit that now although I am sure you knew this all along. I have completely and utterly misguided everyone that has ever read anything that I have written and published on the web. For the longest time I was of the belief that content is king. I preached it over and over again to the point where it was almost impossible to argue otherwise.
That all changes today.
Content isn’t king, it plays a big part in the big scheme of the big picture in your big plan, but it isn’t sitting at the head of the big table in the big chair. Nope, I am not going to tell you that money, marketing or the people you know is king either. SEO helps, but that doesn’t even deserve a place at the table.
So what is king? Well let me go over some questions and answer them to see if you can envision where I am going.
- Can you name more people you like to read or great articles that you have come across on the web?
- Of the people you like to read can you name five great articles that they have written or in general do you just like to read them?
- Would Digg stand any chance of being big if it wasn’t for Kevin Rose?
- How many sites do you visit aren’t the first to break a story, but it doesn’t bother you because you like to read them anyways?
- How many movies have you seen where you thought the writing wasn’t very good, but the actors brought it all together?
- How many musical artists make music that you love to listen to, but you can’t stand them as a person?
- Why is 50 Cent popular? It isn’t his deep lyrics.
Personality is king.
Nothing comes before it. When people say that they come to read you they really mean they came to read you. Sure you can’t sound like an idiot in your writing, but then if you have the personality of an idiot that is how you will sound anyways. It is so obvious I am ashamed to have missed it before.
I love personalities. Gruber writes killer content, but the reason it is killer is because the personality that gets injected into his writing takes it to new levels. Same can be said of Kottke. How many people do you hear say Scoble is a genius vs. how much they really just like the guy? Need I even explain the phenomenon behind Calacanis?
50 Cent has a bravado that people love. Without that his lyrics and catchy beats are just like every other two-bit rap artist. Remember ZeFrank? If that wasn’t 100% personality then I don’t know what was.
Does this mean having a great personality grants you that free pass to success? Come on now, stop being an idiot. Hard work, good placement, briliant marketing all play a huge part because you are not the only one in the world with a stunning personality.
If you have seen the movie SuperBad or the show Arrested Development then you know Michael Cera. He doesn’t have stunningly good looks or the typical “oh my freaking god that guy is a stud” type of face. Just a normal looking man to me, but I have yet to meet a girl that doesn’t say how much they adore him. Why? Have you seen him act? He pulls off this innocent act like nobody else that makes women melt. His personality takes him to levels never seen before.
What upsets me about this topic is that I knew all of this before. Maybe I didn’t acknowledge it or recognize the importance of it. Why should the web work any differently than real life? When you meet someone you don’t say you never want to hang out with them again because they are ugly (design of the site) or are seen on billboards everywhere (marketing). You don’t want to hang out with them again because they are annoying (just one example).
The Superficial is a gossip site that is ALWAYS the last to break a story, yet it is one of the most popular gossip sites on the web and to understand why all you have to do is read the content. It is hilarious. “Fish”, as the author is known as, is the type of guy you would want to go drinking with just as long as he throws out his quips like he does on the site. If he didn’t, there would be absolutely no reason to visit the site or hangout with him at the strip club unless he was paying
For some reason in 2007 I ignored this fact and focused on everything else, but continuing to make sure not only my personality was out there, but also those of my crew. I was told nobody would buy Wisdump because the site was about me and not the content. I can’t speak of how well it is doing now, but once I left I know the numbers dropped off by a large amount. Because of this I tried to back away a bit and not become so “attached” to a site, but in the end this was foolish. I’m not where I am now because of my knowledge.
Content isn’t king. It’s the wardrobe you put on and we all know it takes a certain personality to pull off a specific wardrobe. Wear it proudly.
If you want to see the Triad’s personalities at play be around @3pm for the Superstream.
david # —
This is interesting. Though I’m not sure I agree with all of it, I do agree that content isn’t king.
But I’d probably have to say that the personality of the writer is the thing that makes the content. Snarky, funny, mean, personable, honest, all of that infuses into what you write and thus the “content” you have. You’re right that “The Show with Ze Frank” was nothing if not personality, but I think it’s probably also true that the content was the personality. Each episode was like 150 seconds of personality. It’s also my guess that your personality was the thing that generated good Wisdump content. When you left people left because the content changed.
As much as I’d like to deny it, content’s an important part. Probably the most important part. And no argument against it, not even my own, has convinced me otherwise.
Scrivs # —
That’s the thing though, your personality shapes the content. Some people can make any topic seem interesting and entertaining by the way their personality presents it and that is where the content is. I mean how many times have you read a great piece on web design and thought it was either brilliant or horrible and yet it’s about the same topic that everyone else in web design speaks of?
Derek Powazek # —
Yes! Put another way, relationships are king. Heather Armstrong’s personality shines through on Dooce, but my connection to her, as a person, is what keeps me coming back (even if that “relationship” is just as a fan). Relationships are key to determining trust, making decisions, and even our self-identities. They are the lens through which we see everything. Ask yourself which you believe more: the newspaper’s review of a movie, or a friend’s? Is it because your friend’s is better said? Doubtful. It’s your relationship that matters.
Scrivs # —
Derek has it. We are attracted to people with personalities that much whatever criteria we set and we build relationships based upon these. Not everyone builds relationships with the people we read or maybe we do in an indirect manner that keeps us coming back.
Now I’m just starting to make my head spin.
Mark # —
Good on ya — Go with what you know, bro.
Scrivs # —
Haha, well that’s the thing I feel like I don’t know much because when you look at things like this you almost have to put yourself in the shoes of your audience and that is damn near impossible.
david # —
Hmm. The relationship/personality thing’s getting even more interesting. I still feel like both of those are subsumed by “content,” but there’s a definite way in which they’re both different from it.
Part of this is just how you define “content.” If content’s the topics of your posts, then personality/relationships are different and perhaps more important. If content’s all the words on your site, then they’re both within it.
But what Derek’s saying about dooce is interesting. He’s a fan–I gather–because of the intimacy of the writing. The way you can feel like you know Heather even though you’ve never met her. You know you can trust her, that she’s telling about herself exactly as she is. And that can be enough for you to come back.
But I think it’s also true that personality/relationship isn’t always enough. There’s not enough of (whatever it is) at dooce for me to be a regular reader. But there’s enough content/personality/relationship for me to follow 3by9. Some of it’s just arbitrary and superficial choices, some of it’s on the recommendation of others, some of it’s just being in the right mood one day. It’s hard to say that readership’s driven by any one thing. Content matters, personality matters, aesthetics matter. Heck, blogging platform probably matters for some people.
Whatever the answer to this is, I’m pretty sure that its something I and other people could benefit from thinking about more. And that’s why I read 3by9.
Scrivs # —
Well again let’s not confuse me saying that Personality is King with it being the only thing that you need for success. As Derek has pointed out, Dooce has a great personality, but I don’t find myself going back because I honestly can’t relate to her experiences and because of this a winning personality just won’t win me over.
How many blogs are doing well and have a horrible design? Tons.
How many blogs are doing well with content you know you could do better with? Tons.
How many blogs do you read where you can’t stand the person or where they stand, but you continue to come back? In this case maybe you love to hate the individual so in that sense personality still works for them.
For example, SvN used to be a multi-daily stop for me back in the days, but now I only drop by on occasion. It could have been that some of the topics/content has changed, but the personality of the writers has also changed since then and I just wasn’t feeling them anymore.
Content is very, very important and I wouldn’t say argue otherwise. Yes some sites get away with less than stellar content and are successful so there is definitely no 100% formula for certain success. However, when sitting down and thinking about the sites that I love, I found that the personalities of the writers are what kept me coming back.
Lea # —
Derek’s comment really nails it and Paul supplements it — what matters is that you care about the person (i.e. relationship — you “like” them) and that you can relate to them (i.e. understand their content/have similar goals/experiences). So Personality is King and Content is its Queen?
You can’t have one without the other.
It’s the same issue with business… Some people STILL whine about talent/quality of work having to be the forefront. The REALITY is marketing/branding is king (e.g. personality+relationship with customer), and the talent/quality (e.g. what they have to offer that’s relevant to the customer) is the queen. Can’t have one without the other.
Scrivs # —
Makes me wonder who the prince, princess and court jester are now.
Lea # —
Prince = Process (how you go about doing things that’s unique)
Princess = Design/Visual Appeal (gotta look hot to be hot)
Court Jester = Comments/Communication?
And let’s add the Knight = heart and values
Scrivs # —
I can roll with that, good looks Lea.
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Nate # —
I just read an article on the Packers immediately after reading your post. Applying what I’ve learned from Derek’s comment, I suspect a big part of the Packers’ success has been the intimate relationship with fans. (self-identity = Cheesehead)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/346940_pack11.html
* Being a fan honors your elders
* Fans can “own” a piece of the team
* A chairman that talks directly to fans
* Games are a key part of a fan’s social life
“It’s about a unique relationship between a professional sports franchise and its fans.
It’s about people feeling they’re a part of something special, something unique, something good.”
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