Why is Content Creation “Someone Else’s Problem” When “Anyone Can Write?”

I went to the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco yesterday. Had a good time – talked with all sorts of people, listened to some presentations. I was even surprised by a few things coming up soon in IT.

But one thing stuck out. As far as I could tell, I was the only writer there. (No, that’s not as good a thing as you think. Keep reading.)

What’s worse is, I heard talk about content. About aggregating it, managing it, distributing it…

But NOTHING about creating it!

Microblogging, mobile apps, social platforms, CMSes…

…so when’s the content enter the picture? You know, the stuff around which all of those are supposedly built?

“That’s Someone Else’s Problem.” Are You Sure?

I started asking people where they get their content. Who writes it, who photographs it, who designs it and lays it out all nice and neat?

The answers I got were slightly troubling.

• Blank stares
• “Marketing/Web Dev handles that. I don’t know.” (A sales rep at a major expo tells me this?)
• Acquired from customer
• “Not my problem.” (Yes, someone actually said this to me.)

Admittedly, I didn’t question everyone. But not one person told me that they or someone they knew directly was responsible for content creation. Arguably the most important part of any website, marketing strategy, or lead generation material (for, say, a big convention expo)…and nobody knew where it came from!

Look, I’m a writer. I admit that a lot of my livelihood is invested in this topic. But this sort of willful ignorance worries me. When there’s a disconnect between content creation and content use, its effectiveness is drastically lowered.

So “Anyone Can Write” But No One Is?

Let me change focus here a second. The second-biggest objection to outsourcing a content writer is the notion that “anyone” can write content. (The biggest is cost, if you wondered.)

With that in mind, consider the mindset of “someone else’s problem.” If you don’t care about content creation, and you think anyone can write about it? What does that mean?

It means you don’t value your own company’s message.

And if you don’t…then why would you expect customers to?

Worried yet?