Wow David that is really cool. I’m a big fan of GoPro but had no idea the depth they were going.

Thanks Karly. Quality is non-negotiable and I am seeing more brands (and publishers) focus on this in-depth style of reporting. I think there needs to be a mix of quick-hit, helpful how-to’s and some in-depth coverage of important topics.

Hi Vijay, Let me try and take your points one by one:
1. We live in a world that values short, visual content (pictures on instagram, tweets, etc). But sometimes, people want to “lean back” and read a longer, well-thought, well-written perspective on an important topic. This is not only good for reaching those interested, it is also valued by the search engines and can allow you to reach a new and different audience.
2. Everyone is a writer. So you have 2 choices: enter the conversation and write about your own point of view or sit back and watch the conversation as a bystander. Taking the latter approach adds no value to anyone other than you as the bystander.
3. I’m not sure I get your point on technology. Good content is only good if someone is interested in it. Businesses should aim to create more content that their audience is interested in and stop creating the stuff no one wants.

Hope that helps!

Thanks Jeremy, I think you’re right. It’s not necessarily long but it definitely adds more value.

A well-designed infographics with a lot of first hand data may not be a very long content, but it’s definitely very expensive to produce … and probably giving more value to the reader than a 1,000 word article.

In my mind Big Content describes your flagship content. You may create a lot of short and easy-reading content that derives from it, but at the end, these are just breadcrumbs to attract and engage readers to spend time “consuming” your Big content.

Point well taken Bryant. Want to get me curmudgeonly? Just ask me to create a viral video 😉

I wasn’t trying to argue against the turn towards longer-form content (did we ever really get away from that other than via folks eager to hang out a guru, I gots your answers shingle?) Absolutely agree that long-form content continues to have a place (just like it always has). Reading articles that say “your content MUST BE SHORT” is like fingernails on a blackboard. If it’s good and useful, there’s a good chance your audience will read it.

My main point is that there is a technical meaning to Big Content that content marketing folks have taken and mangled because getting that technology right is crazy hard. Just irks me. Spent too long as an editor being bombarded with vendor buzz words and it’s left me curmudgeonly.

That’s a great point Stuart. It’s like the introduction. But there is always the need to tell the bigger story.

My experience of hosting and operating a business-focused Twitter account for the past 4 years (@Hoovers_Energy) is that 99% of the Twitter items I receive are 140-or-less character introductions to long form text presentations. They basically say “Hey, check out this article!”

The short form Twitter venue is the marketer, sales person, and door opener for “old school” long-form content.