"One day I'm make a magazine that makes me feel excited about my life." (Little teen me)
Seems like THAT'S not going to happen easily.
"Content marketing IS the future," chants a speaker on entrepreneurial journalism. Things have changed, she says, you're no longer a publication writing for an audience, you're a publication with an audience and corporate companies use you to push their products.
Errrrm…So I'm the 'via'…
Big ass company: "We will tell this target market that they WANT this Brand of glue, because it will show others they are rich and savvy and … and … and will say this to them VIA Ctrl_minds publication."
Me: "No, big ass company, I'm not the 'via' for making other people feel they NEED glue to be accepted. NO."
Big ass company: "So how you going to make money?"
Me: "Errrrrmmm. Dunno.
...
……um… ………………………………………………….………………………………
… ………………………………………………….but………………………..
………………….eh……...
… …………..………………………………………….………………………………
………um
Maybe I'll do just a LITTLE content marketing just to get by" [then I curl up and let out little sobs until I decide I'd rather do some emotional eating]
[I flip open a magazine with muffin nr. 2]
"Sheesh, this magazine makes me feel bad about myself. Everyone's so successful and impeccably dressed and everyone has matt perfect skin and stuff"
[more sobs, more muffins]
Little teen me comes out and remarks: "One day I'm make a magazine that makes me feel excited about my life."
Image if now-me actually flipped open a magazine that made me feel better about myself, maybe then I'd pull myself together. Maybe all I needed was a little less "you need to be like this" or "that". Maybe I just wanted to feel like I'm fine just the way I am.
What if old-me makes a mag that teen-me or now-me flipped open and it made them feel shitty about themselves like ALL the other ads and content marketing publications.
I don't know how I'm going to make money Big ass company, maybe one day I'll work for you? But I can promise you this: I will not be killing the teen-me's or now-me's like so many of your publications do. I'll do something different.
If you don't like that I prioritize the messages I give to people above the money I make, I'll just go eat my ready-mix muffins for dinner and be poor and do my own thing.
But I'll have just one. And I'll enjoy the heck out of it, because I won't turn to emotional binge eating or sobbing after feeling so shitty from your ad-pushing-content.
I'll read my mag and get excited about all the wondrous things there are to try. Probably free stuff.
I won't be able to get Woolies and I'll probably do tedious design jobs (like moving around jik bottles on a pamphlet) to get by.
But I won't have to deal with pushing people content that I present as 'life' and that makes life a truckload better anyways. And maybe someday it'll make life a little less shitty for teen-me's too.
HASHTAG_I'll_get_some_bling_for_that
HASHTAG_LINK_a_golden_halo_I_mean
I'f you're not sure what Content marketing here are some PRishly or Marketing definitions (journalist should NOT see it this way):
"Content marketing creates interest in a product through educational or informative material. Successful content marketing relies on providing 'consistent, high-quality content that solves people's problems'" - http://www.natedesmond.com/the-beginners-guide-to-content-marketing/
"Content marketing is any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers. This information can be presented in a variety of formats, including news, video, white papers, e-books, infographics, case studies, how-to guides, question and answer articles, photos, etc" - http://www.omedia24.de/trends/trends-2014-im-online-marketing-content-marketing/
[thank you Wikipedia for 'aggravating' these sources in one place]
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