Stop Making Content

Content is King?

This is a little essay born of the frustration I have felt when “Content Creators” talk about “Creating Content” as if it’s a noble pursuit in and of itself. In the hustle culture world, there is this bottomless pit of desperation for attention and a sad agnosticism about the true ends of making. This is a vapid pursuit.

We also frequently see “influencers” unmoored from creeds and unconcerned about consistency falling into the oldest, most foul (and tedious) hatreds in order to get clicks and capture an audience to monetize. Boo to that. Yuck.

That’s part of the context behind this short essay. Bless you!

Stop Making Content

I am not interested in Content Creation. Content? Content! It’s like going to a restaurant and praising them because they serve calories. It’s like rooting for a sports team because they got their heart rate up. Who cares?

“I’m creating content.” So what.

“Content is king.” No it isn’t.

“Making content” is so often about building a brand for yourself to make yourself known and is pretty agnostic when it comes to what that content is. Often, the less genuinely valuable but most easily addictive for the “content consumers” wins out. It is drug dealing for digital attention. It’s a desperate selfie from the top of the Tower of Babel.

Stop Making Content.

Start serving your neighbor.

Love your neighbor as yourself is the golden rule and is the opposite of what mostly passes for content creation.

So much of content “creation” is more unmaking than making.

We actually need makers, those who generate and iterate and curate and care. We need artists, sub-creators who carry on the mandates of a Maker who gave us light and life and love.

We need poems and books and essays and art and movies and songs. We need these gifts that don’t fit neatly into the cages built for us by the addiction experts who harness our free labor to cheaply monetize attention.

Stop Making Content.

Start giving gifts.

There is an ancient framework that makes sense of creation and connection as epitomized by love and service, by dying to self, and by seeing inconceivable value in those who are maligned and mistreated.

Don’t settle for just doing things to get attention, or keep attention, or make a name for yourself.

Stop making content.

Start loving and serving.

I’m on your side,

Sam

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“One of my favorite ones yet!”

P.S. Next week is the official launch of the 13th Green Ember book! In addition to our family store, The Lost Legend will be available at your favorite places to get books.

One way you can help out on release day is to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Start writing your review now so that when May 19th hits, you’ll be ready to go. Thank you for your help!