Confessions of a Content and Community Manager – 3 tips to help you steal content.
Submitted by Reece Jacobsen on Wed, 2013-01-30 14:51
There is a difference between being influenced by content and stealing content. T.S. Eliot summed this up when he wrote, “The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn.”
As a content manager, I relish the creative process behind developing unique ideas for content. I don’t steal content, but this does not mean I am not influenced by other content that I see. Here are three quick tips to help you steal content and keep your dignity.
1) Forget Originality
Once you realise that nothing is original, you alleviate the pressure of having to come up with something completely new.
Musicians have been doing it for years. They use samples of old songs and create something new. Although they pay for these samples, there is nothing wrong with the way they use content and create something fresh.
The way you dress, the style of your hair, ahem, Harvey Spector and even the way you speak has been influenced (read stolen) from somewhere else.
2) Copy and evolve
If you’re going to steal something, mould it into something different from that from which it was torn. Memes, like the one underneath this post for instance, are another perfect example of how you copy and evolve (read steal) content and make it your own.
Listen to T.S. Eliot, he was a pretty smart man.
3) Steal with your eyes
You’ll get inspiration from what you see in this world. Get out there or read something and you will be able to morph these ‘stolen’ experiences into something different. You can steal concepts with your eyes, do not steal content with your hands.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there is nothing new under the sun! “Unique content” is a myth. You are constantly stealing ideas, images, and thoughts because they are referenced from somewhere else. Salvador Dali set the record straight when he said, “Those who do not want to imitate anything produce nothing.”
Be careful though, there is a fine line between being influenced and imitating and blatant thievery.
