Content Is King! Long Live the King!
Content is king.
It started with a Tweet by Jeremy Meyers, that said the following:
“Ironically, content about how “Content is King” is not an example of good content.”
“If Content were King, then Pink would have stayed dry.”
I was referring, of course, to Pink’s performance at the Grammy Awards, where she sang partially suspended and spinning in the air, then was dipped in a pool of water, where she came up spinning dripping and still singing pitch-perfect.
It was stunning.
It is also a clear example, to me, of where you can draw a significant line between Content and Presentation.
Her song is the same, whether she sings it in a studio, on stage, or in an S&M harness. What differs is the Presentation.
If there were no difference between Content and Presentation, then Iron Chef would not have points for “plating.” It’s a different experience, one that is separate from the content.
My blog engine – Wordpress – makes a significant distinction between Content and Presentation. I’ve changed themes a few times in the last three years – but the content remains the same.
That’s why this post seems a little naked – I’ve taken much of the Presentation away.
It’s a very different experience. Yet my words are the same. My argument stands just as valid on its face – exactly the way it would appear in most RSS readers.
Yet here – through the Presentation of this one post – I have communicated more about the difference between Content and Presentation.
Content is King – but Presentation can make it more palatable. Style without Substance will leave you lacking. Substance with no Style will send the readers packing.
Long live the King!
about 1 month ago
I think content is king unless the presentation is clownish — unless, of course, you ARE a clown!
about 1 month ago
ever seen the bookmarklet “readability”?
I haven’t seen the Pink performance, but admire her as a singer with style, and a set of pipes. There’s a big difference to me between entertainment and information. If I like a Pink song, it’s not because she performs it dipped and spinning. But that’s just my dos centavos.
about 1 month ago
Yes this is true, but (as I meant to respond to you), I think this viewpoint can allow companies to spend all their time on the packaging and ignore the fact that they’re not really saying anything interesting.
about 1 month ago
I think we’re in total agreement.
I don’t believe in giving companies a pass with regards to content, but like to think about this mathematically:
effectiveness = content * (presentation + 1)
In other words, if your content is a Zero, it doesn’ matter what your presentation looks like. But decent content, with no regard to presentation, will not fall into the black hole of nothing.
about 1 month ago
I agree. A lot of web designers subscribe to a sort of zen-like, eastern approach to this kind of stuff (stay with me folks).
Think of a yin yang. There’s black with white, and white with black. There is a little bit of Content and a little bit of presentation and they’re both interwoven so well. Sure, presentation and content should be separated, but they should also compliment each other.
So, why not say Long live the King and Queen, and may they both stay happily married but yet remain in separate beds.
Sort of like the Cleavers.