My most valued content-creation skill is...

I wanted to write down some thoughts about content creation, since that's what we're all about up in here — unless you don a virtual pig snout and refer to everything that moves as “Bro”. I'm also trying to “mix things up” this year, adding a wider range of content. In 2017 I had quite a range, from voice overs and animated videos or gifs in addition to my usual scribbles or vector illustrations — but that was hard to sustain.

So to elaborate, I'm trying to have an efficiently produced range of content creation, so I don't make a severe dent in my energy or time. I'm been an expert at running myself into the ground, but being very spotty in creating. This can't continue any longer.

Recently I made a post about what I think is the key to shining in a crowded sea of content — in a nutshell, it's taking a popular topic and personalizing it — putting one's unique spin on it — and perhaps tapping into something your audience already cares about. For example, I got my start here by combining scribbles with crypto headlines. It was a double-shot of lolz for a while, till I fizzled out at the peak of the Bear's reign.

Back when crypto was booming, I'd get a common question: “How do you even think of all your ideas?”. It's a reasonable question, however I'm going to wager that ANYONE can be creative with their content themes. It's really as simple as intertwining two interesting concepts, and mixing one's viewpoint in.

I don't think generating ideas is the best content-related skill. It's foundational, of course — without it, there'd be no starting point.

The content-related skill that I value the most is stubborn *persistence*. It's not just about having a good idea, it's having the persistence to fine-tune it. Think about how much heat has to be applied to gold ore to get 24 karat gold. It's a process. Thankfully writing or art is way easier... not so sure about animation though.

After an idea is fine-tuned, the real work begins — making the idea convincing (or at least feasible) to others... although my ideas are often weak, I try very hard to develop them — to the point where, even if I fail, it's still somewhat of an entertaining experience. Witnessing me trying in vain to make a lame concept interesting is like watching a pathetically dim dog fail at a task. It's a good show!

Pushing an idea as far as it can go, to me, is what it’s all about — even if the idea isn’t the greatest

We've all seen sci-fi B movies with rubberized monsters battling humanity... I love these movies because the director had to have a lot of heart to push their ideas as far as they could go. Though the production, effects and sometimes acting could use a lot of help, I appreciate their efforts. If I were to offer the equivalent of flawless CGI in my content, I'd be toast in under a month. To an extent, that's happened before and it was an overall loss.

Conclusion:

I'm no expert, but I think what keeps content fans coming back is NOT perfection, but interesting concepts that are presented with enthusiasm, personality and focus.