Member-only story
Are You a Writer or a Content Creator?
My private quiz
Some of us are writers; some of us are content creators. There’s no shame in either. The thing is, it’s increasingly difficult to tell us apart.
The first time I heard the word “content” was at The Wall Street Journal in the late ‘90s. With the Internet, newspapers were dated by the time they were printed. Worried newspapers would become obsolete, editors hired freelancers to create stories with longer shelf lives to go in special supplements and in the main sections of the paper.
We smug reporters dismissed some of these stories as cheap filler, or “content”. Thus began the long rivalry between writers and content creators.
Over time, the lines blurred.
Corporate leaders, realizing they could write their own “news”, hired content writers for advertorials, newsletters and websites.
As blogs and blog-like reporting spiked, the distinction grew more opaque. Much of what we think of as news nowadays is actually content, with “journalists” spinning other people’s reporting to get clicks.
Eventually, the term content expanded to include videos, podcasts, thought-leadership pieces, classes, etc.
The difference between writers and content creators on this platform is particularly fuzzy. In my mind it’s this:
Writers are obsessed with the craft, and with telling stories and sharing deeper truths. Content creators may care about these things too, but the primary goals, it seems, are getting followers, building a brand, and making money.
Both are valid pursuits but it’s good to know who you are.
I’d always prided myself on being a writer. I grew up reading literary greats — William Faulkner, Virginia Woolf, Willa Cather, Truman Capote — and wanted to be just like them. But sometimes I admit I throw up something to feed the algorithm.
The longer I’m on this platform, the more I wonder whether I’m becoming a content creator. To keep myself in check, I created a quiz.
(See quiz below, with my answers. You can use it too).
