The first article I ever published was on the importance of writing. It is a habit I have found valuable, both personally and professionally. But recently I've been thinking a lot about published writing. Specifically, any writing published through a content management system geared towards hobbyist writers. The goal for many of these companies is to recruit contributors underneath their brand. As a company, more writers is better, but as a content provider, is that still true? My initial reaction was yes, as described in my first article, but I have started to reconsider.
On one hand it's a numbers game. More people writing means more people to spread the brand and increase brand awareness. On the other hand, do more writers actually lead to more valuable content?
My specific curiosity is in repetition of topics and lack of uniqueness. My own writing could be seen as an example of this. With a few exceptions, most of the content I have posted is either regurgitation of a topic I read elsewhere or listing out someone else's ideas.
This can be seen in the context of local and world events or the time of year. With the seasons always changing, there is a revolving stream of topics. Yet, this doesn't always lead to new and interesting content. The weeks leading up to summer were greeted with reminders of exciting summer plans. The beginning of the fall semester will inevitably include study tips and the joys of Greek recruitment. And the latest guide for exploring your city being a year round favorite. While some people may have a new perspective, I can't imagine that there has been a significant change in these areas to warrant a new article. As an example, this article should be published on July 4th. So I can only imagine how many articles will involve the holiday. Is it better that there are now more articles about what the best traditions are and how to celebrate them? Has the way we celebrate changed since last year?
A quick search will show what's already out there. A quick skim will reveal if the topic you were considering has already been covered in detail. Objectively ask yourself if it needs to be covered again. Otherwise, there are more writers writing about the same stuff, and where's the value in that?
