It seems like everybody’s ‘doing’ the social media and content writing thing in one way or another. Should I feel threatened or scared? Or should I just feel happy to be part of the whole process and comfortable (smug) about the fact that I’m far enough along the curve to have clients who are willing to pay me to help them write web content or advise them on social media activity?
In fact, it’s a bit of both. Chris Brogan is right when he says it’s not easy. Tom Barnes gives me a hard time for not writing enough – and I’m still trying to work out how he has time to add so many articles to his website and still manage his clients. And all of this angst is prompted by visting Brendan Cooper’s blog to find that he’s now officially writing content for a living.
But the very fact that I feel comfortable in introducing possible ‘competitors’, is a kind of celebration of the fact that the whole content element of communication is really alive and kicking – perhaps more than ever. Yes, the developing communication strategies is challenging and great fun, but my writing (whether it’s blogs or media releases) and multimedia production work takes me back to the roots of what I do best – after all I started my working life as a broadcast journalist.
So, in answer to my own question: is it scary? Yes, knowing that there are so many of us generating so much content as part of the ‘conversation’. Is it threatening? Possibly – I’ll soon find out if the three people I mentioned above are suddenly swamped with business generated by this blog post! But in reality, it’s fulfilling to be able to use my creative talents on a regular basis – enough to make a living from something I really enjoy.
Smug? Maybe, but sometimes one needs to recognise that years of graft have led to a modicum of expertise.
