Posts Tagged ‘content and context’

It’s Not Always About What You Say but How You Say It

October 30th, 2008

Remember that wonderful post that Wired Magazine wrote, about how we should all quit blogging? Well, one of the issues that was not addressed was context.  If everyone is out there is talking about the same thing and you decide to join in, there’s no way that people are going to notice you right?  I mean, won’t you just get drowned out by everyone else?

Absolutely not!

I’m not the only one who talks about social media and marketing, Gary Vaynerchuk is not the only guy who talks about wine, and Yahtzee is not the only guy out there who talks about video games…wait…who?

Yes that’s right Yahtzee

Now, I’m not a huge gamer, however I was very entertained and interested in the way Yahtzee does his game reviews, in fact I watch them every time they come out.  Why?

It’s not really because of the content, because I’m not too interested in video games, it’s because of HOW Yahtzee talks about and reviews the games that’s intriguing.  Watch the video below and you will see exactly what I mean.

There are literally thousands of video game review sites and companies out there, but there is only one Yahtzee.  He talks about the same games that every other review site talks about, but he talks about them in a way that makes him stand out.  He has a unique voice, and it’s that voice that the viewers appreciate and you can bet that Yahtzee is not getting drowned out.

How can you present the information in a way that makes you stand out from everyone else?  What tools or platforms can you use to be different?

How can you be…original?

Now go do it!

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Content VS Context, Why You Need Both

September 19th, 2008

Years ago when I worked at my first start up (Passenger) one of the most important things I learned about (from the director of business development, Josh Pink) was content and context.  Generally speaking content is the actual piece of data or information that you are presented with and context is the framing or meaning behind it.  One does not mean much without the other and I think people in general are in the habit of forgetting that you need both.

I’m sure we can all think of many times where someone said something that didn’t make sense, where we walked in late on a joke, where we saw something that upset us, etc.  As a species we are quick to judge and make conclusions without taking the time to understand both the content and the context behind what is being presented.

The whole point of this post is just to remind and encourage people to always think about both content and context.  When you watch a presentation, read an email, or engage in a conversation try to understand what is being said as well as the framing and meaning behind what is being said.  I think understanding both of these things will help foster success and growth, both professionally and individually.

what do you think?

thanks for reading