7/7: Content Isn’t King, Where Does Creativity Come From?
A weekly conversation about the future of (team)work and (l)earning.
Welcome to the 5th edition of ‘Logs by Cabin’.
#1: Content isn’t king anymore
Anyone else sick of hearing ‘content is king’?
Fun fact: the phrase stems from an essay Bill Gates wrote in 1996. “Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting.”
His predictions were bold and eerily accurate. But the world has a way of changing quickly.
Today, people don’t just want content, they want community. Personalized interactions that solve their problems, whether that’s through education, entertainment, or behavior change. Which makes content creation important, but effective storytelling and communication crucial.
On the flip side, creators benefit from putting their thoughts and ideas into the world. Making yourself scalable is a key pillar to financial fulfillment. As Naval puts it, “fortune requires leverage. Leverage comes from capital, people, and products. If you can’t code, write books and blogs, record videos and podcasts.”
Why? Because “media travels and earns while you sleep. It searches the world for opportunities for you.” Content and community are intangibles that serve as the backbone to growth and productivity.
That’s why we’re seeing platforms like Discord and Substack pop up. We’re realizing how tech breaks down barriers to solopreneurship, learning, and collaboration. And that achieving scale doesn’t require a boardroom.
So content is no longer king. It’s the vessel, or messenger, for finding community.
#2: Where does creativity come from?
Contrary to popular belief, necessity or survival doesn’t always breed creativity. Exploration, experimentation, and experience do.
The best definition I could find describes creativity as “the use of skill or imagination to produce something new.” How can we exercise skill or imagination? The RISE framework by Ash Rathod outlines 4 ways that I put my own creative spin on.
Remix: combine or reframe disparate ideas, ways of thinking, or solutions
Improve: identify areas of opportunity and iterate from existing solutions
Solve: find nuance within the problem and develop new solutions
Evolve: capture a trend or insight and take action on it
New isn’t limited to grand inventions. It often begins with tinkering. The smallest of changes, improvements, or remixes. Where does this need or desire come from?
If you ask neuroscientists, the jury is still out. Yet we do know that the brain has three different networks involved in the creative process.
Default network is our inactive mode, our executive network serves as the center for decisions and emotions, and the salience network determines what we notice or observe.
One theory suggests creativity happens when these networks cross paths, supported by a Harvard and Yale study that used MRIs to predict an individual’s creative ability. Others point out that genetics play a role, with research linking imaginative minds to more grey brain matter and serotonin.
Good to know, but tough to act upon. That’s why I believe that the 3 E’s present a strong case for how creativity can be cultivated, from the individual to organizational level. To boost convergent and divergent thinking...
Explore: spend time in nature, search for opposing viewpoints
Experiment: try new habits, test ideas, develop safety nets to allow for risk-taking
Experience: learn from others, tap into the subconscious to let your mind wander
Wood For The Fire, W(F)TF
(our way of saying “food for thought” or “in case you missed it”):
Startups ditch CVs for skill tests
The Great “Chip Crisis” threatens the promise of Moore’s Law
5 strategies for escaping a creative rut [podcast]
What to do about burnout, according to Wired
A brief history of music and humanity
The case for a company-wide vacay (4-day weeks are working in Iceland)
60% of Millennials making $100k+/yr live paycheck to paycheck
Quote of the Week:
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer
Featured Builder:
Deanna Shoss, CEO of Intercultural Talk, Inc. Deanna is a mentor and former manager/client who gave me one of my first starts back in 2016. She’s an amazing leader, marketer, and human. Her agency helps non-digital natives navigate the online world, and also provides DEI strategy and training.
I was lucky enough to be on her show last week, give it a watch or listen here. (SPOILER: There’s penguins…llamas…and star-jumping involved?)
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